Amendment #1 to H.4644

HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 5056

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, July 28, 2022.

The committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the Bill relative to college in high schools (House, No. 4644), reports recommending that the same ought to pass with an amendment substituting therefor the accompanying bill (House, No. 5056).

For the committee,

AARON MICHLEWITZ.

FILED ON: 7/28/2022

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 5056

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to college in high schools.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 15A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 39 the following section:-

Section 39A. (a) All public institutions of higher education established pursuant to section 5 shall develop and adopt written policies and procedures for accepting scores of all advanced placement examinations to satisfy college degree requirements.

(b)(i) The policies pursuant to subsection (a) shall indicate whether college credit shall be granted for general education, major, minor or elective credit requirements at the public institutions of higher education and shall include procedures related to the transferability of college credits from another institution of higher education.

(ii) All policies, procedures and exceptions governing the awarding of college credit shall be posted on the public institution of higher education’s website under the category of admission or with other information related to the admission process, which the public institution of higher education shall update annually to reflect any changes in policies or procedures. Each public institution of higher education shall submit its policies and procedures, or any changes thereto, to the department, which shall post each public institution of higher education’s policies and procedures, or changes thereto, on the department’s website.

(c) A public institution of higher education requiring an advanced placement exam score of more than 3 for the purpose of receiving college credit for general education, major, minor or elective credit requirements shall annually report to the department: (1) evidence that students who obtain an exam score of more than 3 have greater success in a related or more advanced course for which a lower level course is a prerequisite; and (2) any disparate student impacts that result from requiring an exam score of more than 3 for college credit. Annual reports shall be posted on each public institution of higher education’s website and be accessible to the public for review.

(d) The board shall annually review each public institution of higher education’s policies and procedures for accepting advanced placement examination scores pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) and shall report its findings to the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the joint committee on education and the joint committee on higher education. Each public institution of higher education shall provide the board with all necessary data to conduct its analysis as determined by the board.

(e) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this section in a manner that ensures compliance with federal and state law regarding confidentiality of student education information, including, but not limited to, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.

SECTION 2. Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 37. (a) The department, in consultation with the department of higher education, shall establish standards for approving and designating college in high school programs. Designation as a college in high school program shall be granted for an initial period of 5 years, subject to review after the first 3 years and renewable based upon performance. All programs approved under this section shall:

(i) offer a coherent sequence of courses that allows a student to earn a high school diploma and achieve at least 1 of the following:

(A) the accumulation of transferable college credits; provided, that academic courses that count for college credit shall be agreed to by the public institutions of higher education participating in the partnership with the high school;

(B) an industry-recognized credential or certificate, including those determined to be necessary for occupations with high employment value, which shall be determined by considering factors, including, but not limited to, a given occupation’s entry wage, growth rate in employment and average annual openings; or

(ii) prepare students adequately for future success in the workforce or in an institution of higher education;

(iii) encourage the cooperative or shared use of resources, personnel and facilities between public high schools, public and independent colleges or universities and employers;

(iv) emphasize involvement of parents and guardians and provide consistent counseling, advising and parent conferencing so that parents, guardians and students can make responsible decisions regarding course selection and can track the student’s academic progress and success;

(v) develop methods for early identification of potential participating students in the middle grades and through high school and provide outreach to those students to promote academic preparation and awareness of college in high school programs; and

(vi) develop strategies to identify and engage underserved populations, including by income, race, ethnicity, sex, English language learner status and disability status.

(b) Annually, not later than July 1, each college in high school program shall file a report with the commissioner and the commissioner of higher education on performance measures, including, but not limited to, the following data on participating students: (i) high school graduation rates; (ii) percentage who complete the program; (iii) percentage who gain any postsecondary credits; (iv) credits earned in college in high school programs, including percentage of each program incorporating early college who gain at least 12 credits; (v) percentage in a 6-year cohort who attain postsecondary degrees; and (vi) college and career outcomes.

The commissioners shall prepare an aggregate report to be filed with the joint committee on higher education and the joint committee on education.

(c) The department shall, in consultation with the department of higher education and subject to approval by the boards of elementary and secondary education and higher education, set multi-year goals for the commonwealth for the attainment of college degrees and qualifying, industry-recognized certificates for students participating in college in high school programs. Such goals shall include, but not be limited to, goals for historically underserved populations, including by income, race, ethnicity, sex, English language learner status and disability status. Goals shall include state-wide, district-wide and school-level goals. Progress towards the goals at the state-wide, district-wide and school-level shall annually be reported publicly on the department’s website.

(d) The department shall, in consultation with the department of higher education, establish a publicly accessible online dashboard using data from the reports filed pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) to generate information on each college in high school program. The dashboard shall create user-friendly displays of the overall success of the individual programs in achieving the goals and shall be written in terms understandable to the general public and to help students and their families and guardians identify available college in high school opportunities.