I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 937 

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 

FEBRUARY 12, 2015 

Mr. HINOJOSA (for himself and Mr. FATTAH) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

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 2015’’. 

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 

10 age of 26, including among low-income students and stuVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 20, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H937.IH H937

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1 dents from other populations underrepresented in higher 

2 education. 

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 secondary school student is 

8 able simultaneously to earn credit toward a sec9 ondary school diploma and a postsecondary degree 

10 or credential. 

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

12 ‘‘early college high school’’ means a secondary school 

13 that provides a course of study that enables a stu14 dent to earn a secondary school diploma and either 

15 an associate’s degree or one to two years of postsec16 ondary credit toward a postsecondary degree or cre17 dential. 

18 (3) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY.—The 

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

20 given such term in section 9101(17) of the Elemen21 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 7801(17)). 

23 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti24 ty’’ means a local educational agency, which may be 

25 an educational service agency, in a collaborative 


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1 partnership with an institution of higher education. 

2 Such partnership also may include other entities, 

3 such as a nonprofit organization with experience in 

4 youth development. 

5 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

7 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High8 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

9 (6) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

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

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

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

13 7801(26)). 

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

15 the Secretary of Education. 

16 (8) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in17 come student’’ means a student described in section 

18 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)). 

20 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA21 TIONS. 

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

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

24 2016 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

25 years 2017 through 2021. 


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1 (b) EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS.—The Sec2 retary shall reserve not less than 45 percent of the funds 

3 appropriated under subsection (a) to support early college 

4 high schools under section 5. 

5 (c) DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary 

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

7 support dual enrollment programs (other than early col8 lege high schools) under section 5. 

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

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

11 for grants to States under section 9. 

12 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZED PROGRAM. 

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

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

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

16 or other dual enrollment program in accordance with sec17 tion 6. 

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

19 that grants are of sufficient size to enable grantees to 

20 carry out all required activities and otherwise meet the 

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

22 may not exceed $2,000,000. 

23 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall con25 tribute matching funds toward the costs of the early 


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1 college high school or other dual enrollment program 

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

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

4 funds shall represent not less than the following: 

5 (A) Twenty percent of the grant amount 

6 received in each of the first and second years of 

7 the grant. 

8 (B) Thirty percent in each of the third and 

9 fourth years. 

10 (C) Forty percent in the fifth year. 

11 (D) Fifty percent in the sixth year. 

12 (2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT CONTRIB13 UTED.—The Secretary shall allow an eligible entity 

14 to satisfy the requirement of this subsection through 

15 in-kind contributions. 

16 (d) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible enti17 ty shall use a grant received under this section only to 

18 supplement funds that would, in the absence of such 

19 grant, be made available from non-Federal funds for sup20 port of the activities described in the eligible entity’s appli21 cation under section 7, and not to supplant such funds. 

22 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec23 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants— 

24 (1) that propose to establish or support an 

25 early college high school or other dual enrollment 


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1 program that will serve a student population of 

2 which 40 percent or more are students counted 

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

4 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

5 6313(a)(5)); and 

6 (2) from States that provide assistance to early 

7 college high schools or other dual enrollment pro8 grams, such as assistance to defray the costs of 

9 higher education (including costs of tuition, fees, 

10 and textbooks). 

11 (f) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

12 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that 

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

14 suburban, and rural areas. 

15 SEC. 6. USES OF FUNDS. 

16 (a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 

17 shall use grant funds received under section 5 to support 

18 the activities described in its application under section 7, 

19 including the following: 

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

21 early college high school or dual enrollment program, 

22 during the first year of the grant— 

23 (A) hiring a principal and staff, as appro24 priate; 


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1 (B) designing the curriculum and sequence 

2 of courses in collaboration with (at a minimum) 

3 teachers from the local educational agency and 

4 faculty from the partner institution of higher 

5 education; 

6 (C) informing parents and the community 

7 about the school or program and opportunities 

8 to become actively involved in the school or pro9 gram; 

10 (D) establishing a course articulation proc11 ess for defining and approving courses for sec12 ondary school and postsecondary credit or cre13 dential; 

14 (E) outreach programs to ensure that sec15 ondary school students and their families are 

16 aware of the early college high school or dual 

17 enrollment program; 

18 (F) liaison activities among partners in the 

19 eligible entity; and 

20 (G) coordinating secondary and postsec21 ondary support services, academic calendars, 

22 and transportation. 

23 (2) IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD.—During the re24 mainder of the grant period— 


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1 (A) academic and social support services, 

2 including counseling; 

3 (B) liaison activities among partners in the 

4 eligible entity; 

5 (C) data collection and use of such data 

6 for student and instructional improvement and 

7 program evaluation; 

8 (D) outreach programs to ensure that sec9 ondary school students and their families are 

10 aware of the early college high school or dual 

11 enrollment program; 

12 (E) professional development, including 

13 joint professional development for secondary 

14 school and faculty from the institution of higher 

15 education; and 

16 (F) school or program design and planning 

17 team activities, including curriculum develop18 ment. 

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

20 also use grant funds received under section 5 otherwise 

21 to support the activities described in its application under 

22 section 7, including— 

23 (1) purchasing textbooks and equipment that 

24 support the school or program’s curriculum; 


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1 (2) developing learning opportunities for stu2 dents that complement classroom experiences, such 

3 as internships, career-based capstone projects, and 

4 opportunities provided under chapters 1 and 2 of 

5 subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq.); 

7 (3) transportation; and 

8 (4) planning time for secondary school and edu9 cators from an institution of higher education to col10 laborate. 

11 SEC. 7. APPLICATION. 

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

13 5, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an appli14 cation at such time, in such manner, and including such 

15 information as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

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

17 the application described in subsection (a) shall include 

18 a description of— 

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

20 enrollment program’s budget; 

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

22 experience with early college high schools or other 

23 dual enrollment programs, key personnel from each 

24 partner and their responsibilities for the early col25 lege high school or dual enrollment program, and 


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1 how the eligible entity will work with secondary and 

2 postsecondary teachers, other public and private en3 tities, community-based organizations, businesses, 

4 labor organizations, and parents to ensure that stu5 dents will be prepared to succeed in postsecondary 

6 education and employment, which may include the 

7 development of an advisory board; 

8 (3) how the eligible entity will target and re9 cruit at-risk youth, including those at risk of drop10 ping out of school, first generation college students, 

11 and students from populations described in section 

12 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and Sec13 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); 

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

16 not limited to, small group activities, tutoring, lit17 eracy and numeracy skill development in all aca18 demic disciplines, parental and community outreach 

19 and engagement, extended learning time, and college 

20 readiness activities, such as early college academic 

21 seminars and counseling; 

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

23 how a graduation and career plan will be developed, 

24 consistent with State graduation requirements, for 

25 each student and reviewed each semester; 


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1 (6) how parents or guardians of students in the 

2 early college high school or dually enrolled students 

3 will be informed of their academic performance and 

4 progress and, subject to paragraph (5), involved in 

5 the development of their career and graduation plan; 

6 (7) coordination that will occur between the in7 stitution of higher education and the local edu8 cational agency, including regarding academic cal9 endars, provision of student services, curriculum de10 velopment, and professional development; 

11 (8) how the eligible entity will ensure that 

12 teachers in the early college high school or other 

13 dual enrollment program receive appropriate profes14 sional development and other supports, including to 

15 enable them to utilize effective parent and commu16 nity engagement strategies, and help English-lan17 guage learners, students with disabilities, and stu18 dents from diverse cultural backgrounds to succeed; 

19 (9) learning opportunities for students that 

20 complement classroom experiences, such as intern21 ships, career-based capstone projects, and opportuni22 ties provided under chapters 1 and 2 of subpart 2 

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

24 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq.); 


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1 (10) how policies, agreements, and courses 

2 taken will ensure that postsecondary credits earned 

3 will be transferable to, at a minimum, public institu4 tions of higher education within the State, consistent 

5 with existing statewide articulation agreements; 

6 (11) student assessments and other measure7 ments of student achievement including benchmarks 

8 for student achievement; 

9 (12) outreach programs to provide elementary 

10 and secondary school students, especially those in 

11 middle grades, and their parents, teachers, school 

12 counselors, and principals information about and 

13 academic preparation for the early college high 

14 school or other dual enrollment program; 

15 (13) how the local educational agency and insti16 tution of higher education will work together, as ap17 propriate, to collect and use data for student and in18 structional improvement and program evaluation; 

19 (14) how the eligible entity will help students 

20 meet eligibility criteria for postsecondary courses 

21 and ensure that students understand how their cred22 its will transfer; and 

23 (15) how the eligible entity will access and le24 verage additional resources necessary to sustain the 

25 early college high school or other dual enrollment 


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1 program after the grant expires, including by engag2 ing businesses and non-profit organizations. 

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

4 under subsection (a) shall include assurances that— 

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

6 the majority of courses offered, including postsec7 ondary courses, will be offered at facilities of the in8 stitution of higher education; 

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

10 or fees for postsecondary courses; 

11 (3) postsecondary credits earned will be tran12 scribed upon completion of the requisite course 

13 work; and 

14 (4) faculty teaching postsecondary courses meet 

15 the normal standards for faculty established by the 

16 institution of higher education. 

17 (d) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the require18 ment of subsection (c)(1) upon a showing that it is im19 practical to apply due to geographic considerations. 

20 SEC. 8. PEER REVIEW. 

21 (a) PEER REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—The Sec22 retary shall establish peer review panels to review applica23 tions submitted pursuant to section 7 to advise the Sec24 retary regarding such applications. 


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

2 Secretary shall ensure that each peer review panel is not 

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

4 Federal Government and includes, at a minimum— 

5 (1) experts in the establishment and adminis6 tration of early college high schools or other dual en7 rollment programs from the secondary and postsec8 ondary perspective; 

9 (2) faculty at institutions of higher education 

10 and secondary school teachers with expertise in dual 

11 enrollment; and 

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

13 SEC. 9. GRANTS TO STATES. 

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

15 award 5-year grants to State agencies responsible for sec16 ondary or postsecondary education for efforts to support 

17 or establish early college high schools or other dual enroll18 ment programs. 

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

20 that grants are of sufficient size to enable grantees to 

21 carry out all required activities. 

22 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—A State shall con23 tribute matching funds from non-Federal sources toward 

24 the costs of carrying out activities under this section, 


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1 which funds shall represent not less than 50 percent of 

2 the grant amount. 

3 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec4 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to States that pro5 vide assistance to early college high schools or other dual 

6 enrollment programs, such as assistance to defray the 

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

9 (e) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec10 tion, a State agency shall submit to the Secretary an appli11 cation at such time, in such manner, and including such 

12 information as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

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

14 application described in subsection (e) shall include— 

15 (1) how the State will carry out all of the re16 quired State activities described in subsection (g); 

17 (2) how the State will identify and eliminate 

18 barriers to implementing effective early college high 

19 schools and dual enrollment programs after the 

20 grant expires, including by engaging businesses and 

21 non-profit organizations; 

22 (3) how the State will access and leverage addi23 tional resources necessary to sustain early college 

24 high schools or other dual enrollment programs; and 


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1 (4) such other information as the Secretary de2 termines to be appropriate. 

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

4 under this section shall use such funds for— 

5 (1) creating outreach programs to ensure that 

6 secondary school students, their families, and com7 munity members are aware of early college high 

8 schools and dual enrollment programs in the State; 

9 (2) planning and implementing a statewide 

10 strategy for expanding access to early college high 

11 schools and dual enrollment programs for students 

12 who are underrepresented in higher education to 

13 raise statewide rates of secondary school graduation, 

14 readiness for postsecondary education, and comple15 tion of postsecondary degrees and credentials, with 

16 a focus on at-risk students, including identifying any 

17 obstacles to such a strategy under State law or pol18 icy; 

19 (3) providing technical assistance to early col20 lege high schools and other dual enrollment pro21 grams, such as brokering relationships and agree22 ments that forge a strong partnership between ele23 mentary and secondary and postsecondary partners; 

24 (4) identifying policies that will improve the ef25 fectiveness and ensure the quality of early college 


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1 high schools and dual enrollment programs, such as 

2 access, funding, data and quality assurance, govern3 ance, accountability and alignment policies; 

4 (5) planning and delivering statewide training 

5 and peer learning opportunities for school leaders 

6 and teachers from early college high schools and 

7 dual enrollment programs, which may include pro8 viding instructional coaches who offer on-site guid9 ance; 

10 (6) disseminating best practices in early college 

11 high schools and dual enrollment programs from 

12 across the State and from other States; and 

13 (7) facilitating statewide data collection, re14 search and evaluation, and reporting to policymakers 

15 and other stakeholders. 

16 SEC. 10. REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT. 

17 (a) REPORTING BY GRANTEES.— 

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

19 uniform guidelines for all grantees concerning infor20 mation such grantees annually shall report to the 

21 Secretary to demonstrate a grantee’s progress to22 ward achieving the goals of this Act. 

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

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

25 for eligible entities receiving funds under section 5, 


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1 for students participating in the early college high 

2 school or other dual enrollment program within each 

3 category of students described in section 

4 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Elementary and Secondary 

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

6 6311(h)(1)(C)(i)): 

7 (A) The number of students. 

8 (B) The percentage of students scoring ad9 vanced, proficient, basic, and below basic on the 

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

11 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

12 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)). 

13 (C) The performance of students on other 

14 assessments or measurements of achievement. 

15 (D) The number of secondary school cred16 its earned. 

17 (E) The number of postsecondary credits 

18 earned. 

19 (F) Attendance rate, as appropriate. 

20 (G) Graduation rate. 

21 (H) Placement in postsecondary education 

22 or advanced training, in military service, and in 

23 employment. 


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1 (I) A description of the school or pro2 gram’s student, parent, and community out3 reach and engagement. 

4 (b) REPORTING BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary an5 nually shall compile and analyze the information described 

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

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

8 and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu9 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives. The 

10 report shall include identification of best practices for 

11 achieving the goals of this Act. 

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

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

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

15 monitor the grantee’s progress toward achieving such 

16 goals. 

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

18 months after the date on which funds are appropriated 

19 to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a con20 tract with an independent organization to perform an eval21 uation of the grants awarded under this Act. Such evalua22 tion shall apply rigorous procedures to obtain valid and 

23 reliable data concerning participants’ outcomes by social 

24 and academic characteristics and monitor the progress of 


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1 students from secondary school to and through postsec2 ondary education. 

3 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

4 provide technical assistance to eligible entities concerning 

5 best practices in early college high schools and dual enroll6 ment programs and shall disseminate such best practices 

7 among eligible entities and State and local educational 

8 agencies. 

9 SEC. 11. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

10 (a) EMPLOYEES.—Nothing in this Act shall be con11 strued to alter or otherwise affect the rights, remedies, 

12 and procedures afforded to the employees of local edu13 cational agencies (including schools) or institutions of 

14 higher education under Federal, State, or local laws (in15 cluding applicable regulations or court orders) or under 

16 the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda 

17 of understanding, or other agreements between such em18 ployees and their employers. 

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

20 from an early college high school supported under this Act 

21 in the standard number of years for graduation described 

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

23 have graduated on time for purposes of section 


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1 1111(b)(2)(C)(6) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(6)). 

Æ 


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