II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 154 

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

college high schools and other dual enrollment programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 2011 

Mr. KOHL (for himself and Mr. BROWN of Ohio) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

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 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to increase secondary 

8 school graduation rates and the percentage of students 

9 who complete a recognized postsecondary credential by the 


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1 age of 26, including among low-income students and stu2 dents from other populations underrepresented in higher 

3 education. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM.—The term 

7 ‘‘dual enrollment program’’ means an academic pro8 gram through which a secondary school student is 

9 able simultaneously to earn credit toward a sec10 ondary school diploma and a postsecondary degree 

11 or credential. 

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

13 ‘‘early college high school’’ means a public secondary 

14 school, as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary 

15 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 7801), that provides a course of study that enables 

17 a student to earn a secondary school diploma and ei18 ther an associate’s degree or 1 to 2 years of postsec19 ondary credit toward a postsecondary degree or cre20 dential. 

21 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti22 ty’’ means a local educational agency in a collabo23 rative partnership with an institution of higher edu24 cation. Such partnership also may include other enVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:05 Feb 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S154.IS S154

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1 tities, such as a nonprofit organization with experi2 ence in youth development. 

3 (4) 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 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

7 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

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

9 such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

10 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

12 the Secretary of Education. 

13 (7) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in14 come student’’ means a student who meets a meas15 ure of poverty described in section 1113(a)(5) of the 

16 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)). 

18 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA19 TIONS. 

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

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

22 2012 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

23 years 2013–2017. 

24 (b) EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS.—The Sec25 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) OTHER DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAMS.—The 

4 Secretary shall reserve not less than 45 percent of such 

5 funds to support other dual enrollment programs (not in6 cluding early college 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, on a competitive basis, 6-year grants to eligible en13 tities seeking to establish a new, or support an existing, 

14 early college high school or other dual enrollment program. 

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

16 that each grant under this section is of sufficient size to 

17 enable grantees to carry out all required activities and oth18 erwise meet the purposes of this Act, except that a grant 

19 under this section may not exceed $2,000,000. 

20 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall con22 tribute matching funds toward the costs of the early 

23 college high school or other dual enrollment program 

24 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 requirements of this subsection 

13 through 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 (20 U.S.C. 

3 6313(a)(5)); and 

4 (2) from States that provide assistance to early 

5 college high schools or other dual enrollment pro6 grams, such as assistance to defray the costs of 

7 higher education, such as tuition, fees, and text8 books. 

9 (f) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

10 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that re11 cipients of grants under this section are from a represent12 ative cross-section of urban, suburban, and rural areas. 

13 SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS. 

14 (a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 

15 shall use grant funds received under section 5 to support 

16 the activities described in its application under section 7, 

17 including the following: 

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

19 early college high school or other dual enrollment 

20 program, during the first year of the grant— 

21 (A) hiring a principal and staff, as appro22 priate; 

23 (B) designing the curriculum and sequence 

24 of courses in collaboration with, at a minimum, 

25 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 sec9 ondary school credit and credit toward a post10 secondary degree or credential; 

11 (E) outreach programs to ensure that sec12 ondary school students and their families are 

13 aware of the school or 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 sec5 ondary school students and their families are 

6 aware of the early college high school or other 

7 dual enrollment program; 

8 (E) professional development, including 

9 joint professional development for secondary 

10 school personnel and faculty from the institu11 tion of higher 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 use grant funds received under section 5 to support the 

17 activities described in its application under section 7, in18 cluding— 

19 (1) purchasing textbooks and equipment that 

20 support the curriculum of the early college high 

21 school or other dual enrollment program; 

22 (2) developing learning opportunities for stu23 dents that complement classroom experiences, such 

24 as internships, career-based capstone projects, and 

25 opportunities to participate in the activities provided 


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1 under chapters 1 and 2 of subpart 2 of part A of 

2 title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq., 1070a–21 et seq.); 

4 (3) transportation; and 

5 (4) planning time for secondary school edu6 cators and educators from an institution of higher 

7 education to collaborate. 

8 SEC. 7. APPLICATION. 

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

10 5, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an appli11 cation at such time, in such manner, and including such 

12 information as the Secretary may require. 

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

14 the application described in subsection (a) shall include 

15 a description of— 

16 (1) the budget of the early college high school 

17 or other dual enrollment program; 

18 (2) each partner in the eligible entity and the 

19 partner’s experience with early college high schools 

20 or other dual enrollment programs, key personnel 

21 from each partner and such personnel’s responsibil22 ities for the school or program, and how the eligible 

23 entity will work with secondary and postsecondary 

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1 tions, and parents to ensure that students will be 

2 prepared to succeed in postsecondary education and 

3 employment, which may include the development of 

4 an advisory board; 

5 (3) how the eligible entity will target and re6 cruit at-risk youth, including those at risk of drop7 ping out of school, students who are among the first 

8 generation in their family to attend an institution of 

9 higher education, and students from populations de10 scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Ele11 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); 

13 (4) a system of student supports, including 

14 small group activities, tutoring, literacy and 

15 numeracy skill development in all academic dis16 ciplines, parental and community outreach and en17 gagement, extended learning time, and activities to 

18 improve readiness for postsecondary education, such 

19 as academic seminars and counseling; 

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

21 how a graduation and career plan will be developed, 

22 consistent with State graduation requirements, for 

23 each student and reviewed each semester; 

24 (6) how parents or guardians of students par25 ticipating in the early college high school or other 


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1 dual enrollment program will be informed of the stu2 dents’ academic performance and progress and, if 

3 required under paragraph (5), involved in the devel4 opment of the students’ career and graduation 

5 plans; 

6 (7) coordination between the institution of high7 er education and the local educational agency, in8 cluding regarding academic calendars, provision of 

9 student services, curriculum development, and pro10 fessional development; 

11 (8) how the eligible entity will ensure that 

12 teachers in the early college high school or other 

13 dual enrollment program— 

14 (A) receive appropriate professional devel15 opment and other supports, including profes16 sional development and supports to enable the 

17 teachers to utilize effective parent and commu18 nity engagement strategies; and 

19 (B) help English-language learners, stu20 dents with disabilities, and students from di21 verse cultural backgrounds to succeed; 

22 (9) learning opportunities for students that 

23 complement classroom experiences, such as intern24 ships, career-based capstone projects, and opportuni25 ties to participate in the activities provided under 


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1 chapters 1 and 2 of subpart 2 of part A of title IV 

2 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

3 1070a–11 et seq., 1070a–21 et seq.); 

4 (10) how policies, agreements, and the courses 

5 in the program will ensure that postsecondary cred6 its earned will be transferable to, at a minimum, 

7 public institutions of higher education within the 

8 State, consistent with existing statewide articulation 

9 agreements (as of the time of the application); 

10 (11) student assessments and other measure11 ments of student achievement, including benchmarks 

12 for student achievement; 

13 (12) outreach programs to provide elementary 

14 and secondary school students, especially those in 

15 middle grades, and their parents, teachers, school 

16 counselors, and principals with information about, 

17 and academic preparation for, the early college high 

18 school or other dual enrollment program; 

19 (13) how the local educational agency and insti20 tution of higher education will work together, as ap21 propriate, to collect and use data for student and in22 structional improvement and program evaluation; 

23 (14) how the eligible entity will help students 

24 meet eligibility criteria for postsecondary courses 


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1 and ensure that students understand how their cred2 its will transfer; and 

3 (15) how the eligible entity will access and le4 verage additional resources necessary to sustain the 

5 early college high school or other dual enrollment 

6 program after the grant expires, including by engag7 ing businesses and non-profit organizations. 

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

9 under subsection (a) shall include assurances that— 

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

11 the majority of courses offered, including of postsec12 ondary courses, will be offered at facilities of the 

13 partnering institution of higher education; 

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

15 or fees for postsecondary courses offered as part of 

16 the early college high school or other dual enrollment 

17 program; 

18 (3) upon completion of the requisite 

19 coursework, each student shall receive an official 

20 record of postsecondary credits that have been 

21 earned; 

22 (4) faculty teaching such postsecondary courses 

23 meet the normal standards for faculty established by 

24 the institution of higher education. 


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1 (d) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the require2 ment of subsection (c)(1) upon a showing that it is im3 practical to apply due to geographic considerations. 

4 SEC. 8. PEER REVIEW. 

5 (a) PEER REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—The Sec6 retary shall establish peer review panels to review applica7 tions submitted pursuant to section 7 and to advise the 

8 Secretary regarding such applications. 

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

10 Secretary shall ensure that each peer review panel is not 

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

12 Federal Government and includes, at a minimum— 

13 (1) experts in the establishment and adminis14 tration of early college high schools or other dual en15 rollment programs from the secondary and postsec16 ondary perspective; 

17 (2) faculty at institutions of higher education 

18 and secondary school teachers with expertise in dual 

19 enrollment; and 

20 (3) experts in the education of students who 

21 may be at risk of not completing their secondary 

22 school education. 

23 SEC. 9. GRANTS TO STATES. 

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

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1 cies responsible for secondary or postsecondary education 

2 for efforts to support or establish early college high schools 

3 or other dual enrollment programs. 

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

5 that each grant awarded under this section is of sufficient 

6 size to enable the grantee to carry out all required activi7 ties. 

8 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—A State receiving a 

9 grant under this section shall contribute matching funds 

10 from non-Federal sources toward the costs of carrying out 

11 activities under this section, which funds shall represent 

12 not less than 50 percent of the grant amount received in 

13 each year of the grant. 

14 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec15 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to States that, as 

16 of the time of the application for the grant, provide assist17 ance to early college high schools or other dual enrollment 

18 programs, such as assistance to defray the costs of higher 

19 education, such as tuition, fees, and textbooks. 

20 (e) APPLICATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 

22 this section, a State agency shall submit to the Sec23 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

24 and including such information as the Secretary may 

25 require. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—At a min2 imum, the application described in paragraph (1) 

3 shall include a description of— 

4 (A) how the State will carry out all of the 

5 required State activities described in subsection 

6 (f); 

7 (B) how the State will identify and elimi8 nate barriers to implementing effective early 

9 college high schools and other dual enrollment 

10 programs after the grant expires, including by 

11 engaging businesses and non-profit organiza12 tions; and 

13 (C) how the State will access and leverage 

14 additional resources necessary to sustain early 

15 college high schools or other dual enrollment 

16 programs. 

17 (f) STATE ACTIVITIES.—A State receiving a grant 

18 under this section shall use such funds for— 

19 (1) creating outreach programs to ensure that 

20 secondary school students, their families, and com21 munity members are aware of early college high 

22 schools and other dual enrollment programs in the 

23 State; 

24 (2) planning and implementing a statewide 

25 strategy for expanding access to early college high 


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1 schools and other dual enrollment programs for stu2 dents who are underrepresented in higher education 

3 to raise statewide rates of secondary school gradua4 tion, readiness for postsecondary education, and 

5 completion of postsecondary degrees and credentials, 

6 with a focus on at-risk students, including identi7 fying any obstacles to such a strategy under State 

8 law or policy; 

9 (3) providing technical assistance to early col10 lege high schools and other dual enrollment pro11 grams, such as brokering relationships and agree12 ments that forge a strong partnership between ele13 mentary and secondary and postsecondary partners; 

14 (4) identifying policies that will improve the ef15 fectiveness and ensure the quality of early college 

16 high schools and other dual enrollment programs, 

17 such as access, funding, data and quality assurance, 

18 governance, accountability, and alignment policies; 

19 (5) planning and delivering statewide training 

20 and peer learning opportunities for school leaders 

21 and teachers from early college high schools and 

22 other dual enrollment programs, which may include 

23 providing instructional coaches who offer on-site 

24 guidance; 


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1 (6) disseminating best practices in early college 

2 high schools and other dual enrollment programs 

3 from across the State and from other States; and 

4 (7) facilitating statewide data collection, re5 search and evaluation, and reporting to policymakers 

6 and other stakeholders. 

7 SEC. 10. REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT. 

8 (a) REPORTING BY GRANTEES.— 

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

10 uniform guidelines for all grantees under this Act 

11 concerning the information that each grantee shall 

12 report annually to the Secretary in order to dem13 onstrate progress toward achieving the purpose of 

14 this Act. 

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

16 report submitted under this subsection by an eligible 

17 entity receiving funds under section 5 for an early 

18 college high school or other dual enrollment program 

19 shall include the following information about the stu20 dents participating in the school or program, for 

21 each category of students described in section 

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

23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 6311(h)(1)(C)(i)): 

25 (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 such Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)). 

5 (C) The performance of students on other 

6 assessments or measurements of achievement. 

7 (D) The number of secondary school cred8 its earned. 

9 (E) The number of postsecondary credits 

10 earned. 

11 (F) Attendance rate, as appropriate. 

12 (G) Graduation rate. 

13 (H) Placement in postsecondary education 

14 or advanced training, in military service, and in 

15 employment. 

16 (I) A description of the school or pro17 gram’s student, parent, and community out18 reach and engagement. 

19 (b) REPORTING BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary an20 nually shall— 

21 (1) prepare a report that compiles and analyzes 

22 the information described in subsection (a) and iden23 tifies the best practices for achieving the purpose of 

24 this Act; and 


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1 (2) submit the report to the Committee on 

2 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen3 ate and the Committee on Education and the Work4 force of the House of Representatives. 

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

6 shall visit each grantee under this Act at least once for 

7 the purpose of helping the grantee achieve the goals of 

8 this Act and to monitor the grantee’s progress toward 

9 achieving such goals. 

10 (d) NATIONAL EVALUATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

12 after the date on which funds are appropriated to 

13 carry out this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a 

14 contract with an independent organization to per15 form an evaluation of the grants awarded under this 

16 Act. 

17 (2) CONTENTS OF EVALUATION.—The evalua18 tion described in paragraph (1) shall apply rigorous 

19 procedures to— 

20 (A) obtain valid and reliable data con21 cerning participant outcomes, disaggregated by 

22 relevant categories, which the Secretary shall 

23 determine; and 


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1 (B) monitor the progress of students from 

2 secondary school to and through postsecondary 

3 education. 

4 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

5 provide technical assistance to eligible entities concerning 

6 best practices in early college high schools and other dual 

7 enrollment programs and shall disseminate such best prac8 tices among eligible entities, State educational agencies, 

9 and local educational agencies. 

10 SEC. 11. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

11 (a) EMPLOYEES.—Nothing in this Act shall be con12 strued to alter or otherwise affect the rights, remedies, 

13 and procedures afforded to the employees of local edu14 cational agencies (including schools) or institutions of 

15 higher education under Federal, State, or local laws (in16 cluding applicable regulations or court orders) or under 

17 the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda 

18 of understanding, or other agreements between such em19 ployees and their employers. 

20 (b) GRADUATION RATE.—Notwithstanding any other 

21 provision of law, a student who graduates from an early 

22 college high school supported under this Act in the stand23 ard number of years for graduation described in the eligi24 ble entity’s application shall be considered to have grad25 uated on time for purposes of section 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) 


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1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

2 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi)). 

Æ 


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