SP0506
LD 1412		 PUBLIC Law, Chapter 318

on - Session - 126th Maine Legislature
 
  
Bill Tracking, Additional Documents Chamber Status

An Act To Create an Educational Collaborative Partnership To Implement a Program That Enables Career and Technical Education Students To Earn College Credits while Attending High School

Emergency preamble. Whereas,  acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and

Whereas,  state and national research shows that students who take college-level courses while in high school are more likely to graduate from high school, enter college and complete a college degree program; and

Whereas,  this legislation establishes a collaborative board composed of representatives of career and technical education programs, high schools and publicly supported postsecondary institutions in the State to implement a program that enables career and technical education students to earn college credits while attending high school, saving students the time and money that is normally required to obtain a college degree; and

Whereas,  it is necessary to enact this legislation immediately in order that the publicly supported educational institutions in the State that are authorized to form collaborative agreements pursuant to this legislation, or contract with an existing collaborative partnership that has met the requirements set forth in this legislation, may begin their efforts to establish dual enrollment career and technical education programs by the 2014-2015 school year; and

Whereas,  in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §4722, sub-§4,  as enacted by PL 1983, c. 859, Pt. C, §§5 and 7, is amended to read:

4. Exception.   A secondary school student who has satisfactorily completed the freshman year in an accredited degree-granting institution of higher education or a secondary school student who has satisfactorily completed the junior and senior years in a dual enrollment career and technical education program formed pursuant to chapter 229 may be eligible to receive a high school diploma from the secondary school the student last attended, although the student may not meet the graduation requirements of this Title.

Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §4722-A, sub-§3, ¶B-1  is enacted to read:

B-1.  A student who has satisfactorily completed the junior and senior years in a dual enrollment career and technical education program formed pursuant to chapter 229 and who successfully demonstrates proficiency as required in subsection 1 may be eligible to receive a high school diploma from the secondary school the student last attended.

Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA c. 229  is enacted to read:

CHAPTER 229

DUAL ENROLLMENT CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS

§ 6971.  Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

1.  Collaborative agreement.   "Collaborative agreement" means an agreement between a secondary school, a career and technical education program and one or more public postsecondary educational institutions in the State to form a collaborative partnership that articulates a credit transfer agreement between the publicly supported educational institutions and that specifies each institution's responsibility for and cost of the delivery of specified secondary and postsecondary educational functions and support services over a 3-year period for a cohort-based program that provides secondary school students with the opportunity to take postsecondary education courses and earn credits toward an associate degree while participating in a career and technical education program that integrates secondary education and postsecondary education courses.
2.  Collaborative board.   "Collaborative board" means the governing body composed of representatives of the publicly supported educational institutions participating in the collaborative partnership and the department. The collaborative board has direct oversight over all collaborative agreements.
3.  Collaborative partnership.   "Collaborative partnership" means a dual enrollment career and technical education collaborative partnership formed pursuant to this chapter to provide a cohort-based learning pathway for career and technical education students that provides those students with the opportunity to take postsecondary education courses and earn credits toward an associate degree while participating in a career and technical education program that integrates secondary education and postsecondary education courses.
4.  Dual enrollment career and technical education program.   "Dual enrollment career and technical education program" means a nonduplicative learning pathway for a specific career and technical education program that provides secondary school students with the opportunity to take postsecondary education courses and earn credits toward an associate degree while participating in a career and technical education program that:
A.  Provides a cohort-based experience for secondary school students to acquire technical skills and proficiencies through enrollment in a career and technical education program in their junior and senior years and earn concurrent credits toward a high school diploma and a postsecondary education degree through dual enrollment in integrated secondary and postsecondary education courses over a 3-year period that:

(1) Begins with the student's junior year in secondary school;

(2) Includes up to 3 years of summer career academies;

(3) Includes a college freshman seminar experience;

(4) Meets national concurrent enrollment standards;

(5) Concludes at the end of summer following the student's senior year in secondary school; and

(6) Includes college course work that provides the opportunity to earn a general associate’s degree allowing students of many diverse interests the opportunity to transfer credits earned to postsecondary education programs of their individual choosing; and

B.  Includes individual learning plans, academic and career assessment, college and career advising, career exploration and job-shadowing opportunities matched to achieve the student's individual academic and career goals.
5.  Eligible agencies for funding.   "Eligible agencies for funding" means career and technical education centers and regions as defined in chapter 313.
6.  Publicly supported educational institution.   "Publicly supported educational institution" means a publicly supported secondary school, a career and technical education program and a public postsecondary education institution in the State.

§ 6972.  Dual enrollment career and technical education program

1.  Application.   Representatives of the governing bodies of publicly supported educational institutions may file an application with the commissioner for the purpose of entering into a collaborative agreement. A collaborative partnership is governed by a collaborative board formed and operating in accordance with this chapter. The participation of publicly supported educational institutions in any of the specified educational functions or support services included in the collaborative agreement is voluntary. A collaborative board may designate personnel of the publicly supported educational institutions or service providers to provide the specified educational functions or support services included in the collaborative agreement. The collaborative board must include one representative from each publicly supported educational institution participating in the collaborative partnership.
2.  Contract.   The career and technical education center or region may enter into a contract with a service provider that operates as a nonprofit organization to provide technical assistance in developing and implementing the initial phase of the dual enrollment program. The service provider selected must meet the specified educational functions, support services and all other requirements of the grant application as required by the department to facilitate the development and implementation of the dual enrollment career and technical education program.

§ 6973.  Application; approval; ratification

1.  Application.   An application under section 6972 for a collaborative partnership must be in a form and contain such information as required by the commissioner, including, but not limited to:
A.  The identification of the publicly supported educational institutions that are applying to form the collaborative partnership;
B.  The specified educational functions and support services to be provided by the collaborative partnership, including the identification of the publicly supported educational institution that will participate in each specified educational function or support service and the number of students or staff to be served in each publicly supported educational institution that is participating in each specified educational function or support service to be carried out by the collaborative partnership;
C.  The duration of the collaborative agreement;
D.  The cost estimate or operational budget for the specified educational functions or support services to be carried out;
E.  The method of providing the specified educational functions or support services and the designation of publicly supported educational institution personnel or service providers who will provide the specified educational functions or support services;
F.  The method of sharing costs among the publicly supported educational institutions; and
G.  The identity of the service provider, if any, with which a career and technical center or region plans to contract with pursuant to section 6972, subsection 2.
2.  Approval.   If the commissioner finds that an application under section 6972 contains the information required to be submitted pursuant to subsection 1, the commissioner shall notify each publicly supported educational institution participating in the collaborative agreement that, pending ratification as set forth in subsection 3, the collaborative partnership is approved. The commissioner shall keep a register of collaborative partnerships that have been approved and ratified pursuant to this chapter.
3.  Governing body ratification.   If the commissioner approves an application for a collaborative partnership pursuant to subsection 2, the collaborative partnership must be ratified by a majority of the members of the governing body of each publicly supported educational institution involved in the collaborative partnership before the collaborative partnership becomes effective.

§ 6974.  Collaborative agreement

1.  Duration of collaborative agreement.   A collaborative agreement that has been ratified pursuant to section 6973 is valid for the fiscal year beginning July 1st following the ratification vote and ends June 30th of the calendar year that coincides with the expiration date included in the collaborative agreement.
2.  Renewal of collaborative partnership.   A collaborative partnership may be renewed only upon ratification by a majority of the members of the governing body of each publicly supported educational institution involved in the collaborative partnership in accordance with this chapter.

§ 6975.  Student eligibility

A secondary school student is eligible to participate in secondary and postsecondary courses offered by a collaborative partnership formed pursuant to this chapter if the student is a full-time student at a public secondary school and enrolled in a career and technical education program at a career and technical education center or a career and technical education region.

Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §8306-B, sub-§4,  as enacted by PL 2011, c. 679, §10, is amended to read:

4. Learning pathways and articulation agreements with postsecondary institutions; collaborative agreements.   To the greatest extent possible, a career and technical education program offered at a center or region must provide students the opportunity to take advantage of any applicable learning pathways, including learning pathways set forth in an articulation agreement with a postsecondary institution or in a collaborative agreement with publicly supported secondary and postsecondary educational institutions that form a dual enrollment career and technical education program pursuant to chapter 229.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.

Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 126th Legislature, First Regular Session, unless otherwise indicated.

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