I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1578 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to support early 

college high schools and other dual enrollment programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 18, 2009 

Mr. KILDEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants 

to support early college high schools and other dual 

enrollment programs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fast Track to College 

5 Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to increase high school 

8 graduation rates and the percentage of students who com9 plete a recognized postsecondary credential by the age of 

10 26, including among low-income students and students 


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1 from other populations underrepresented in higher edu2 cation. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 For purposes of this Act: 

5 (1) DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM.—The term 

6 ‘‘dual enrollment program’’ means an academic pro7 gram through which a high school student is able si8 multaneously to earn credit toward a high school di9 ploma and a postsecondary degree or certificate. 

10 (2) EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL.—The term 

11 ‘‘early college high school’’ means a high school that 

12 provides a course of study that enables a student to 

13 earn a high school diploma and either an associate’s 

14 degree or one to two years of college credit toward 

15 a postsecondary degree or credential. 

16 (3) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY.—The 

17 term ‘‘educational service agency’’ has the meaning 

18 given such term in section 9101(17) of the Elemen19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

20 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti21 ty’’ means a local educational agency, which may be 

22 an educational service agency, in a collaborative 

23 partnership with an institution of higher education. 

24 Such partnership also may include other entities, 


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1 such as a nonprofit organization with experience in 

2 youth development. 

3 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

5 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High6 er Education Act of 1965. 

7 (6) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

9 such term in section 9101(26) of the Elementary 

10 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

11 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Education. 

13 (8) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in14 come student’’ means a student described in section 

15 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu16 cation Act of 1965. 

17 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA18 TIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this Act, there are 

20 authorized to be appropriated $150,000,000 for fiscal year 

21 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

22 years 2011 through 2015. 

23 (b) EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS.—The Sec24 retary shall reserve not less than 45 percent of the funds 


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1 appropriated under subsection (a) to support early college 

2 high schools under section 5. 

3 (c) DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary 

4 shall reserve not less than 45 percent of such funds to 

5 support dual enrollment programs (other than early col6 lege high schools) under section 5. 

7 (d) STATE GRANTS.—The Secretary shall reserve 10 

8 percent of such funds, or $10,000,000, whichever is less, 

9 for grants to States under section 9. 

10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZED PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 

12 award 6-year grants to eligible entities seeking to establish 

13 a new, or support an existing, early college high school 

14 or other dual enrollment program in accordance with sec15 tion 6. 

16 (b) GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall ensure 

17 that grants are of sufficient size to enable grantees to 

18 carry out all required activities and otherwise meet the 

19 purposes of this Act, except that a grant under this section 

20 may not exceed $2,000,000. 

21 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall con23 tribute matching funds toward the costs of the early 

24 college high school or other dual enrollment program 

25 to be supported under this section, of which not less 


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1 than half shall be from non-Federal sources, which 

2 funds shall represent not less than the following: 

3 (A) 20 percent of the grant amount re4 ceived in each of the first and second years of 

5 the grant. 

6 (B) 30 percent in each of the third and 

7 fourth years. 

8 (C) 40 percent in the fifth year. 

9 (D) 50 percent in the sixth year. 

10 (2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT CONTRIB11 UTED.—The Secretary shall allow an eligible entity 

12 to satisfy the requirement of this subsection through 

13 in-kind contributions. 

14 (d) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible enti15 ty shall use a grant received under this section only to 

16 supplement funds that would, in the absence of such 

17 grant, be made available from non-Federal funds for sup18 port of the activities described in the eligible entity’s appli19 cation under section 7, and not to supplant such funds. 

20 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec21 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants— 

22 (1) that propose to establish or support an 

23 early college high school or other dual enrollment 

24 program that will serve a student population of 

25 which 40 percent or more are students counted 


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1 under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and 

2 Secondary Education Act of 1965; and 

3 (2) from States that provide assistance to early 

4 college high schools or other dual enrollment pro5 grams, such as assistance to defray the costs of 

6 higher education (including costs of tuition, fees, 

7 and textbooks). 

8 (f) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

9 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that 

10 grantees are from a representative cross-section of urban, 

11 suburban, and rural areas. 

12 SEC. 6. USES OF FUNDS. 

13 (a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 

14 shall use grant funds received under section 5 to support 

15 the activities described in its application under section 7, 

16 including the following: 

17 (1) PLANNING YEAR.—In the case of a new 

18 early college high school or dual enrollment program, 

19 during the first year of the grant— 

20 (A) hiring a principal and staff, as appro21 priate; 

22 (B) designing the curriculum and sequence 

23 of courses in collaboration with (at a minimum) 

24 teachers from the local educational agency and 


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1 faculty from the partner institution of higher 

2 education; 

3 (C) informing parents and the community 

4 about the school or program and opportunities 

5 to become actively involved in the school or pro6 gram; 

7 (D) establishing a course articulation proc8 ess for defining and approving courses for high 

9 school and college credit; 

10 (E) outreach programs to ensure that mid11 dle and high school students and their families 

12 are aware of the early college high school or 

13 dual enrollment program; 

14 (F) liaison activities among partners in the 

15 eligible entity; and 

16 (G) coordinating secondary and postsec17 ondary support services, academic calendars, 

18 and transportation. 

19 (2) IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD.—During the re20 mainder of the grant period— 

21 (A) academic and social support services, 

22 including counseling; 

23 (B) liaison activities among partners in the 

24 eligible entity; 


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1 (C) data collection and use of such data 

2 for student and instructional improvement and 

3 program evaluation; 

4 (D) outreach programs to ensure that mid5 dle and high school students and their families 

6 are aware of the early college high school or 

7 dual enrollment program; 

8 (E) professional development, including 

9 joint professional development for secondary 

10 school and faculty from the institution of higher 

11 education; and 

12 (F) school or program design and planning 

13 team activities, including curriculum develop14 ment. 

15 (b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity may 

16 also use grant funds received under section 5 otherwise 

17 to support the activities described in its application under 

18 section 7, including— 

19 (1) purchasing textbooks and equipment that 

20 support the school or program’s curriculum; 

21 (2) developing learning opportunities for stu22 dents that complement classroom experiences, such 

23 as internships, career-based capstone projects, and 

24 opportunities provided under chapters 1 and 2 of 


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1 subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu2 cation Act of 1965; 

3 (3) transportation; and 

4 (4) planning time for high school and college 

5 educators to collaborate. 

6 SEC. 7. APPLICATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under section 

8 5, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an appli9 cation at such time, in such manner, and including such 

10 information as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

11 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—At a minimum, 

12 the application described in subsection (a) shall include 

13 a description of— 

14 (1) the early college high school’s or other dual 

15 enrollment program’s budget; 

16 (2) each partner in the eligible entity and its 

17 experience with early college high schools or other 

18 dual enrollment programs, key personnel from each 

19 partner and their responsibilities for the early col20 lege high school or dual enrollment program, and 

21 how the eligible entity will work with secondary and 

22 postsecondary teachers, other public and private en23 tities, community-based organizations, businesses, 

24 labor organizations, and parents to ensure that stu25 dents will be prepared to succeed in postsecondary 


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1 education and employment, which may include the 

2 development of an advisory board; 

3 (3) how the eligible entity will target and re4 cruit at-risk youth, including those at risk of drop5 ping out of school, first generation college students, 

6 and students from populations described in section 

7 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965; 

9 (4) a system of student supports including, but 

10 not limited to, small group activities, tutoring, lit11 eracy and numeracy skill development in all aca12 demic disciplines, parental and community outreach 

13 and engagement, extended learning time, and college 

14 readiness activities, such as early college academic 

15 seminars and counseling; 

16 (5) in the case of an early college high school, 

17 how a graduation and career plan will be developed, 

18 consistent with State graduation requirements, for 

19 each student and reviewed each semester; 

20 (6) how parents or guardians of dually enrolled 

21 students will be informed of their academic perform22 ance and progress and, subject to paragraph (5), in23 volved in the development of their career and grad24 uation plan; 


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1 (7) coordination that will occur between the in2 stitution of higher education and the local edu3 cational agency, including regarding academic cal4 endars, provision of student services, curriculum de5 velopment, and professional development; 

6 (8) how the eligible entity will ensure that 

7 teachers in the early college high school or other 

8 dual enrollment program receive appropriate profes9 sional development and other supports, including to 

10 enable them to utilize effective parent and commu11 nity engagement strategies, and help English-lan12 guage learners, students with disabilities, and stu13 dents from diverse cultural backgrounds to succeed; 

14 (9) learning opportunities for students that 

15 complement classroom experiences, such as intern16 ships, career-based capstone projects, and opportuni17 ties provided under chapters 1 and 2 of subpart 2 

18 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act 

19 of 1965; 

20 (10) how policies, agreements, and courses 

21 taken will ensure that postsecondary credits earned 

22 will be transferable to, at a minimum, public institu23 tions of higher education within the State, consistent 

24 with existing statewide articulation agreements; 


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1 (11) student assessments and other measure2 ments of student achievement including benchmarks 

3 for student achievement; 

4 (12) outreach programs to provide elementary 

5 and secondary school students, especially those in 

6 middle grades, and their parents, teachers, school 

7 counselors, and principals information about and 

8 academic preparation for the early college high 

9 school or other dual enrollment program; 

10 (13) how the local educational agency and insti11 tution of higher education will work together, as ap12 propriate, to collect and use data for student and in13 structional improvement and program evaluation; 

14 (14) how the eligible entity will help students 

15 meet eligibility criteria for postsecondary courses 

16 and ensure that students understand how their cred17 its will transfer; and 

18 (15) how the eligible entity will access and le19 verage additional resources necessary to sustain the 

20 early college high school or other dual enrollment 

21 program after the grant expires, including by engag22 ing businesses and non-profit organizations. 

23 (c) ASSURANCES.—An eligible entity’s application 

24 under subsection (a) shall include assurances that— 


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1 (1) in the case of an early college high school, 

2 the majority of courses offered, including of postsec3 ondary courses, will be offered at facilities of the in4 stitution of higher education; 

5 (2) students will not be required to pay tuition 

6 or fees for postsecondary courses; 

7 (3) postsecondary credits earned will be tran8 scribed upon completion of the requisite course 

9 work; and 

10 (4) faculty teaching postsecondary courses meet 

11 the normal standards for faculty established by the 

12 institution of higher education. 

13 (d) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the require14 ment of subsection (c)(1) upon a showing that it is im15 practical to apply due to geographic considerations. 

16 SEC. 8. PEER REVIEW. 

17 (a) PEER REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—The Sec18 retary shall establish peer review panels to review applica19 tions submitted pursuant to section 7 to advise the Sec20 retary regarding such applications. 

21 (b) COMPOSITION OF PEER REVIEW PANELS.—The 

22 Secretary shall ensure that each peer review panel is not 

23 comprised wholly of full-time officers or employees of the 

24 Federal Government and includes, at a minimum— 


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1 (1) experts in the establishment and adminis2 tration of early college high schools or other dual en3 rollment programs from the secondary and postsec4 ondary perspective; 

5 (2) faculty at institutions of higher education 

6 and secondary school teachers with expertise in dual 

7 enrollment; and 

8 (3) experts in the education of at-risk students. 

9 SEC. 9. GRANTS TO STATES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 

11 award 5-year grants to State agencies responsible for sec12 ondary or postsecondary education for efforts to support 

13 or establish early college high schools or other dual enroll14 ment programs. 

15 (b) GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall ensure 

16 that grants are of sufficient size to enable grantees to 

17 carry out all required activities. 

18 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—A State shall con19 tribute matching funds from non-Federal sources toward 

20 the costs of carrying out activities under this section, 

21 which funds shall represent not less than 50 percent of 

22 the grant amount. 

23 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec24 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to States that pro25 vide assistance to early college high schools or other dual 


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1 enrollment programs, such as assistance to defray the 

2 costs of higher education, such as tuition, fees, and text3 books. 

4 (e) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec5 tion, a State agency shall submit to the Secretary an appli6 cation at such time, in such manner, and including such 

7 information as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

8 (f) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—At a minimum, the 

9 application described in subsection (e) shall include— 

10 (1) how the State will carry out all of the re11 quired State activities described in subsection (g); 

12 (2) how the State will identify and eliminate 

13 barriers to implementing effective early college high 

14 schools and dual enrollment programs after the 

15 grant expires, including by engaging businesses and 

16 non-profit organizations; 

17 (3) how the State will access and leverage addi18 tional resources necessary to sustain early college 

19 high schools or other dual enrollment programs; and 

20 (4) such other information as the Secretary de21 termines to be appropriate. 

22 (g) STATE ACTIVITIES.—A State receiving a grant 

23 under this section shall use such funds for— 

24 (1) creating outreach programs to ensure that 

25 middle and high school students, their families, and 


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1 community members are aware of early college high 

2 schools and dual enrollment programs in the State; 

3 (2) planning and implementing a statewide 

4 strategy for expanding access to early college high 

5 schools and dual enrollment programs for students 

6 who are underrepresented in higher education to 

7 raise statewide rates of high school graduation, col8 lege readiness, and completion of postsecondary de9 grees and credentials, with a focus on at-risk stu10 dents, including identifying any obstacles to such a 

11 strategy under State law or policy; 

12 (3) providing technical assistance to early col13 lege high schools and other dual enrollment pro14 grams, such as brokering relationships and agree15 ments that forge a strong partnership between ele16 mentary and secondary and postsecondary partners; 

17 (4) identifying policies that will improve the ef18 fectiveness and ensure the quality of early college 

19 high schools and dual enrollment programs, such as 

20 access, funding, data and quality assurance, govern21 ance, accountability and alignment policies; 

22 (5) planning and delivering statewide training 

23 and peer learning opportunities for school leaders 

24 and teachers from early college high schools and 

25 dual enrollment programs, which may include proVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:56 Mar 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1578.IH H1578

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1 viding instructional coaches who offer on-site guid2 ance; 

3 (6) disseminating best practices in early college 

4 high schools and dual enrollment programs from 

5 across the State and from other States; and 

6 (7) facilitating Statewide data collection, re7 search and evaluation, and reporting to policymakers 

8 and other stakeholders. 

9 SEC. 10. REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT. 

10 (a) REPORTING BY GRANTEES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

12 uniform guidelines for all grantees concerning infor13 mation such grantees annually shall report to the 

14 Secretary to demonstrate a grantee’s progress to15 ward achieving the goals of this Act. 

16 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—At a minimum, 

17 the report described in paragraph (1) shall include, 

18 for eligible entities receiving funds under section 5, 

19 for students participating in the early college high 

20 school or other dual enrollment program within each 

21 category of students described in section 

22 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Elementary and Secondary 

23 Education Act of 1965: 

24 (A) The number of students. 


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1 (B) The percentage of students scoring ad2 vanced, proficient, basic, and below basic on the 

3 assessments described in section 1111(b)(3) of 

4 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

5 of 1965. 

6 (C) The performance of students on other 

7 assessments or measurements of achievement. 

8 (D) The number of secondary school cred9 its earned. 

10 (E) The number of postsecondary credits 

11 earned. 

12 (F) Attendance rate, as appropriate. 

13 (G) Graduation rate. 

14 (H) Placement in postsecondary education 

15 or advanced training, in military service, and in 

16 employment. 

17 (I) A description of the school or pro18 gram’s student, parent, and community out19 reach and engagement. 

20 (b) REPORTING BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary an21 nually shall compile and analyze the information described 

22 in subsection (a) and shall submit a report containing such 

23 analysis to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

24 and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu25 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives. The 


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1 report shall include identification of best practices for 

2 achieving the goals of this Act. 

3 (c) MONITORING VISITS.—The Secretary’s designee 

4 shall visit each grantee at least once for the purpose of 

5 helping the grantee achieve the goals of this Act and to 

6 monitor the grantee’s progress toward achieving such 

7 goals. 

8 (d) NATIONAL EVALUATION.—Not later than 6 

9 months after the date on which funds are appropriated 

10 to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a con11 tract with an independent organization to perform an eval12 uation of the grants awarded under this Act. Such evalua13 tion shall apply rigorous procedures to obtain valid and 

14 reliable data concerning participants’ outcomes by social 

15 and academic characteristics and monitor the progress of 

16 students from high school to and through postsecondary 

17 education. 

18 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

19 provide technical assistance to eligible entities concerning 

20 best practices in early college high schools and dual enroll21 ment programs and shall disseminate such best practices 

22 among eligible entities and State and local educational 

23 agencies. 


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1 SEC. 11. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 (a) EMPLOYEES.—Nothing in this Act shall be con3 strued to alter or otherwise affect the rights, remedies, 

4 and procedures afforded to the employees of local edu5 cational agencies (including schools) or institutions of 

6 higher education under Federal, State, or local laws (in7 cluding applicable regulations or court orders) or under 

8 the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda 

9 of understanding, or other agreements between such em10 ployees and their employers. 

11 (b) GRADUATION RATE.—A student who graduates 

12 from an early college high school supported under this Act 

13 in the standard number of years for graduation described 

14 in the eligible entity’s application shall be considered to 

15 have graduated on time for purposes of section 

16 1111(b)(2)(C)(6) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965. 

Æ 


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