PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Create an Educational Collaborative 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 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 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.     "Collaborative" means a dual enrollment career and technical education collaborative 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.
 
2.  Collaborative agreement.     "Collaborative agreement" means an agreement between a secondary school, a career and technical education program and one or more public postsecondary education institutions in the State to form a collaborative 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.
 
3.  Collaborative board.     "Collaborative board" means the governing body composed of representatives of the publicly supported educational institutions with the powers and duties set forth in this chapter to form a dual enrollment career and technical education program.
 
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, 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; and
 
(3) Concludes at the end of summer following the student's senior year in secondary school; 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.  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
Representatives of the governing bodies of publicly supported educational institutions may file an application to the commissioner for the purpose of entering into a collaborative agreement. A collaborative 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. The application for the collaborative must designate the lead publicly supported educational institution for the collaborative. The chief academic officer or designee of the lead publicly supported educational institution shall serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the collaborative board and shall administer the collaborative agreement and serve as fiscal agent for the collaborative board.
§ 6973. Application; approval; ratification
 
1.  Application.     An application under section 6972 for a collaborative 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;
 
B.  The identification of the lead publicly supported educational institution;
 
C.  The specified educational functions and support services to be provided by the collaborative, 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;
 
D.  The duration of the collaborative agreement;
 
E.  The cost estimate or operational budget for the specified educational functions or support services to be carried out;
 
F.  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; and
 
G.  The method of sharing costs among the publicly supported educational institutions.
 
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 is approved. The commissioner shall keep a register of collaboratives that have been approved and ratified pursuant to this chapter.
 
3.  Governing body ratification.     If the commissioner approves an application for a collaborative pursuant to subsection 2, the collaborative must be ratified by a majority of the members of the governing body of each publicly supported educational institution involved in the collaborative before the collaborative 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.     A collaborative 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 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 formed pursuant to this chapter if the following requirements are satisfied:
 
1.  Availability.     The collaborative has space available for the secondary school student;
 
2.  Academic standing.     The student is maintaining a minimum secondary school grade point average of at least 2.0 on a scale of 4.0, or the equivalent as determined by the collaborative board, except that the collaborative board may waive the minimum grade point average in the case of a student demonstrating special circumstances and a substantial likelihood of improvement;
 
3.  Application; prerequisites.     The collaborative board has determined that the student has satisfactorily completed the application for admission to the program and any prerequisite courses;
 
4.  School approval.     The secondary school approves;
 
5.  Parental approval.     The student's parent or guardian approves; and
 
6.  Recommendation.     The student has received a recommendation to participate in the dual enrollment career and technical education program from one of the administrators at the student's secondary school or career and technical education program and from one of the student's secondary school teachers.
§ 6976. Credits
 
1.  High school credit.     A school administrative unit shall grant academic credit toward a high school diploma to a student who successfully completes a secondary course under this chapter.
 
2.  Postsecondary credit.     A public postsecondary education institution in the State shall grant full credit to any secondary student who successfully completes a postsecondary course under this chapter. The course must apply to graduation requirements at the public postsecondary education institution at which it was taken or be transferable to another public postsecondary education institution in the State on an equal basis with a course taken by any other student at the public postsecondary education institution at which it was taken.
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.
 
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a collaborative of publicly supported educational institutions in the State, including career and technical education programs, a public secondary school, a private secondary school approved for the receipt of public funds under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 117, subchapter 2 that enrolls 60% or more publicly funded students and public postsecondary institutions in the State, to implement a program that enables career and technical education students to earn college credits while attending high school. The program runs for 3 years, beginning with students in their junior year in high school, enabling students to earn an associate degree following one year of postsecondary education and saving students time and money in obtaining that degree.
The educational collaborative will develop and implement a cohort-based learning pathway that enables career and technical education students to earn academic credits during their junior and senior years of high school that are equivalent to about a year of college. The program includes opportunities for students to attend up to 3 summer career academies held at an area business, a career and technical education program or a public postsecondary education institution in the State. The students will then move into a degree program at a community college or university campus and graduate with an associate degree within one year after receiving their high school diplomas.