II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2860 

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

college high schools and other dual or concurrent enrollment programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, and 

Mrs. HAGAN) 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 

or concurrent 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 2014’’. 

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 OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT PRO7 GRAM.—The term ‘‘dual or concurrent enrollment 

8 program’’ means an academic program through 

9 which a secondary school student is able simulta10 neously to earn credit toward a secondary school di11 ploma and a postsecondary degree or credential. 

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

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

14 that provides a course of study that enables a stu15 dent to earn a secondary school diploma and either 

16 an associate’s degree or 1 to 2 years of postsec17 ondary credit toward a postsecondary degree or cre18 dential. 

19 (3) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY.—The 

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

21 given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary 

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

23 7801). 

24 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti25 ty’’ means a partnership between a local educational 


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1 agency, which may be an educational service agency, 

2 and an institution of higher education. Such part3 nership also may include other entities, such as a 

4 nonprofit organization with experience in youth de5 velopment. 

6 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

8 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High9 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

10 (6) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

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

12 such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

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

14 (7) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in15 come student’’ means a student described in section 

16 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)). 

18 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Education. 

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 2015 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

25 years 2016 through 2020. 


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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 OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT PRO6 GRAMS.—The Secretary shall reserve not less than 45 per7 cent of the funds appropriated under subsection (a) to 

8 support dual or concurrent enrollment programs (other 

9 than early college high schools) under section 5. 

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

11 percent of the funds appropriated under subsection (a), 

12 or $10,000,000, whichever is less, for grants to States 

13 under section 9. 

14 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZED PROGRAM. 

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

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

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

18 or other dual or concurrent enrollment program in accord19 ance with section 6. 

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

21 that grants are of sufficient size to enable grantees to 

22 carry out all required activities and otherwise meet the 

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

24 may not exceed $2,000,000. 

25 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall con2 tribute matching funds toward the costs of the early 

3 college high school or other dual or concurrent en4 rollment program to be supported under this section, 

5 of which not less than half shall be from non-Fed6 eral sources, which funds shall represent not less 

7 than the following: 

8 (A) 20 percent of the grant amount re9 ceived in each of the first and second years of 

10 the grant. 

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

12 fourth years. 

13 (C) 40 percent in the fifth year. 

14 (D) 50 percent in the sixth year. 

15 (2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT CONTRIB16 UTED.—The Secretary shall allow an eligible entity 

17 to satisfy the requirement of this subsection through 

18 in-kind contributions. 

19 (d) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible enti20 ty shall use a grant received under this section only to 

21 supplement funds that would, in the absence of such 

22 grant, be made available from non-Federal funds for sup23 port of the activities described in the eligible entity’s appli24 cation under section 7, and not to supplant such funds. 


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1 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec2 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants— 

3 (1) that propose to establish or support an 

4 early college high school or other dual or concurrent 

5 enrollment program that will serve a student popu6 lation of which 40 percent or more are students 

7 counted under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary 

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

9 6313(a)(5)); and 

10 (2) from States that provide assistance to early 

11 college high schools or other dual or concurrent en12 rollment programs, such as assistance to defray the 

13 costs of higher education (including costs of tuition, 

14 fees, and textbooks). 

15 (f) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

16 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that 

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

18 suburban, and rural areas. 

19 SEC. 6. USES OF FUNDS. 

20 (a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 

21 shall use grant funds received under section 5 to support 

22 the activities described in its application under section 7, 

23 including the following: 

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

25 early college high school or dual or concurrent enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Oct 01, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2860.IS S2860

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1 rollment program, during the first year of the 

2 grant— 

3 (A) hiring a principal and staff, as appro4 priate; 

5 (B) designing the curriculum and sequence 

6 of courses (which shall not be mandated, di7 rected, or controlled by the Secretary or other 

8 officer or employee of the Federal Government) 

9 in collaboration with (at a minimum) teachers 

10 from the local educational agency and faculty 

11 from the partner institution of higher edu12 cation; 

13 (C) informing parents and the community 

14 about the school or program and opportunities 

15 to become actively involved in the school or pro16 gram; 

17 (D) establishing a course articulation proc18 ess for defining and approving courses for sec19 ondary school and postsecondary credit or cre20 dential; 

21 (E) outreach programs to ensure that sec22 ondary school students and their families are 

23 aware of the early college high school or dual 

24 or concurrent enrollment program; 


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1 (F) liaison activities among partners in the 

2 eligible entity; and 

3 (G) coordinating secondary and postsec4 ondary support services, academic calendars, 

5 and transportation. 

6 (2) IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD.—During the re7 mainder of the grant period— 

8 (A) academic and social support services, 

9 including counseling; 

10 (B) liaison activities among partners in the 

11 eligible entity; 

12 (C) data collection and use of such data 

13 for student and instructional improvement and 

14 program evaluation; 

15 (D) outreach programs to ensure that sec16 ondary school students and their families are 

17 aware of the early college high school or dual 

18 or concurrent enrollment program; 

19 (E) professional development, including 

20 joint professional development for educators 

21 from the secondary school and faculty from the 

22 institution of higher education; and 

23 (F) school or program design and planning 

24 team activities, including curriculum develop25 ment. 


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

2 also use grant funds received under section 5 otherwise 

3 to support the activities described in its application under 

4 section 7, including— 

5 (1) purchasing textbooks and equipment that 

6 support the school or program’s curriculum; 

7 (2) developing learning opportunities for stu8 dents that complement classroom experiences, such 

9 as internships, career-based capstone projects, and 

10 opportunities provided under chapters 1 and 2 of 

11 subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq.); 

13 (3) transportation; and 

14 (4) planning time for educators from a sec15 ondary school and educators from an institution of 

16 higher education to collaborate. 

17 SEC. 7. APPLICATION. 

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

19 5, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an appli20 cation at such time, in such manner, and including such 

21 information as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

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

23 the application described in subsection (a) shall include 

24 a description of— 


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

2 or other dual or concurrent enrollment program; 

3 (2) each partner in the eligible entity and such 

4 partner’s experience with early college high schools 

5 or other dual or concurrent enrollment programs, 

6 and a description of key personnel from each partner 

7 and their responsibilities for the early college high 

8 school or dual or concurrent enrollment program; 

9 (3) how the eligible entity will work with sec10 ondary and postsecondary teachers, other public and 

11 private entities, community-based organizations, 

12 businesses, labor organizations, and parents to en13 sure that students will be prepared to succeed in 

14 postsecondary education and employment, which 

15 may include the development of an advisory board; 

16 (4) how the eligible entity will target and re17 cruit at-risk youth, including those at risk of drop18 ping out of school, first generation college students, 

19 and students from populations described in section 

20 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and Sec21 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

22 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); 

23 (5) a system of student supports including 

24 small group activities, tutoring, literacy and 

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1 ciplines, parental and community outreach and en2 gagement, extended learning time, and college readi3 ness activities, such as early college academic semi4 nars and counseling; 

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

6 how a graduation and career plan will be developed, 

7 consistent with State graduation requirements, for 

8 each student and reviewed each semester; 

9 (7) how parents or guardians of students in the 

10 early college high school or dually enrolled students 

11 will be informed of their academic performance and 

12 progress and, subject to paragraph (6), involved in 

13 the development of their career and graduation plan; 

14 (8) coordination that will occur between the in15 stitution of higher education and the local edu16 cational agency, including regarding academic cal17 endars, provision of student services, curriculum de18 velopment, and professional development; 

19 (9) how the eligible entity will ensure that 

20 teachers in the early college high school or other 

21 dual or concurrent enrollment program receive ap22 propriate professional development and other sup23 ports, including to enable them to utilize effective 

24 parent and community engagement strategies, and 

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1 dents with disabilities, and students from diverse 

2 cultural backgrounds to succeed; 

3 (10) learning opportunities for students that 

4 complement classroom experiences, such as intern5 ships, career-based capstone projects, and opportuni6 ties provided under chapters 1 and 2 of subpart 2 

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

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

9 (11) how policies, agreements, and courses 

10 taken will ensure that postsecondary credits earned 

11 will be transferable to, at a minimum, public institu12 tions of higher education within the State, consistent 

13 with existing statewide articulation agreements; 

14 (12) student assessments and other measure15 ments of student achievement including benchmarks 

16 for student achievement; 

17 (13) outreach programs to provide elementary 

18 and secondary school students, especially those in 

19 middle grades, and their parents, teachers, school 

20 counselors, and principals information about and 

21 academic preparation for the early college high 

22 school or other dual or concurrent enrollment pro23 gram; 

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1 propriate, to collect and use data for student and in2 structional improvement and program evaluation; 

3 (15) how the eligible entity will help students 

4 meet eligibility criteria for postsecondary courses 

5 and ensure that students understand how their cred6 its will transfer; and 

7 (16) how the eligible entity will access and le8 verage additional resources necessary to sustain the 

9 early college high school or other dual or concurrent 

10 enrollment program after the grant expires, includ11 ing by engaging businesses and nonprofit organiza12 tions. 

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

14 under subsection (a) shall include assurances that— 

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

16 the majority of courses offered, including postsec17 ondary courses, will be offered at facilities of the in18 stitution of higher education; 

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

20 or fees for postsecondary courses; 

21 (3) postsecondary credits earned will be tran22 scribed upon completion of the requisite course 

23 work; and 


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1 (4) faculty teaching postsecondary courses meet 

2 the normal standards for faculty established by the 

3 institution of higher education. 

4 (d) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the require5 ment of subsection (c)(1) upon a showing that it is im6 practical to apply due to geographic considerations. 

7 SEC. 8. PEER REVIEW. 

8 (a) PEER REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—The Sec9 retary shall establish peer review panels to review applica10 tions submitted pursuant to section 7 and to advise the 

11 Secretary regarding such applications. 

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

13 Secretary shall ensure that each peer review panel is not 

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

15 Federal Government and includes, at a minimum— 

16 (1) experts in the establishment and adminis17 tration of early college high schools or other dual or 

18 concurrent enrollment programs from the secondary 

19 and postsecondary perspective; 

20 (2) faculty at institutions of higher education 

21 and secondary school teachers with expertise in dual 

22 enrollment; and 

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


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1 SEC. 9. GRANTS TO STATES. 

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

3 award 5-year grants to State agencies responsible for sec4 ondary or postsecondary education for efforts to support 

5 or establish early college high schools or other dual or con6 current enrollment programs. 

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

8 that grants are of sufficient size to enable grantees to 

9 carry out all required activities. 

10 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—A State shall con11 tribute matching funds from non-Federal sources toward 

12 the costs of carrying out activities under this section, 

13 which funds shall represent not less than 50 percent of 

14 the grant amount. 

15 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec16 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to States that pro17 vide assistance to early college high schools or other dual 

18 or concurrent enrollment programs, such as assistance to 

19 defray the costs of higher education, such as tuition, fees, 

20 and textbooks. 

21 (e) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec22 tion, a State agency shall submit to the Secretary an appli23 cation at such time, in such manner, and including such 

24 information as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

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

26 application described in subsection (e) shall include— 


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1 (1) a description of how the State will carry out 

2 all of the required State activities described in sub3 section (g); 

4 (2) a description of how the State will identify 

5 and eliminate barriers to implementing effective 

6 early college high schools and dual or concurrent en7 rollment programs after the grant expires, including 

8 by engaging businesses and nonprofit organizations; 

9 (3) a description of how the State will access 

10 and leverage additional resources necessary to sus11 tain early college high schools or other dual or con12 current enrollment programs; and 

13 (4) such other information as the Secretary de14 termines to be appropriate. 

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

16 under this section shall use such funds for— 

17 (1) creating outreach programs to ensure that 

18 secondary school students, their families, and com19 munity members are aware of early college high 

20 schools and dual or concurrent enrollment programs 

21 in the State; 

22 (2) planning and implementing a statewide 

23 strategy for expanding access to early college high 

24 schools and dual or concurrent enrollment programs 

25 for students who are underrepresented in higher 


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1 education to raise statewide rates of secondary 

2 school graduation, readiness for postsecondary edu3 cation, and completion of postsecondary degrees and 

4 credentials, with a focus on at-risk students, includ5 ing identifying any obstacles to such a strategy 

6 under State law or policy; 

7 (3) providing technical assistance to early col8 lege high schools and other dual or concurrent en9 rollment programs, such as brokering relationships 

10 and agreements that forge a strong partnership be11 tween elementary and secondary and postsecondary 

12 partners; 

13 (4) identifying policies that will improve the ef14 fectiveness and ensure the quality of early college 

15 high schools and dual or concurrent enrollment pro16 grams, such as access, funding, data and quality as17 surance, governance, accountability and alignment 

18 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 dual or concurrent enrollment programs, which may 

23 include providing instructional coaches who offer on24 site guidance; 


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1 (6) disseminating best practices in early college 

2 high schools and dual or concurrent enrollment pro3 grams from across the State and from other States; 

4 and 

5 (7) facilitating statewide data collection, re6 search and evaluation, and reporting to policymakers 

7 and other stakeholders. 

8 SEC. 10. REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT. 

9 (a) REPORTING BY GRANTEES.— 

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

11 uniform guidelines for all grantees concerning infor12 mation such grantees annually shall report to the 

13 Secretary to demonstrate a grantee’s progress to14 ward achieving the goals of this Act. 

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

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

17 for eligible entities receiving funds under section 5, 

18 for students participating in the early college high 

19 school or other dual or concurrent enrollment pro20 gram within each category of students described in 

21 section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

23 6311(h)(1)(C)(i)): 

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 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)). 

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 the Workforce of the House of Representatives. 


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1 The 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 secondary school to and through postsec17 ondary 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 or con21 current enrollment programs and shall disseminate such 

22 best practices among eligible entities and State and local 

23 educational 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)(vi) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi)). 

Æ 


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