SB1717 - 561R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 15, chapter 2, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding sections 15-244.02, 15-244.03 and 15-244.04, to read:

START_STATUTE15-244.02. Dual enrollment incentive program; bonus monies; fund; annual report; definitions

A. The dual enrollment incentive program is established within the department of education to provide an incentive bonus to teachers, school districts and charter schools for students who obtain a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course.

B. Beginning in fiscal year 2026-2027, the department of education shall pay an incentive bonus to school districts and charter schools for each student who receives a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course. A student who receives a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course and who is enrolled in a school where fifty percent or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches shall generate for the school or charter school a bonus of $450 per passing grade on a qualifying dual enrollment course. A student who receives a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course and who is enrolled in a school where less than fifty percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches shall generate for the school or charter school a bonus of $300 per passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course. If the statewide sum of per student bonuses awarded pursuant to this subsection exceeds the amount of available monies appropriated for incentive bonuses, the bonus monies shall be reduced proportionally to cover all eligible bonus awards.

C. A school district or charter school that receives an incentive bonus pursuant to this section shall distribute at least fifty percent of the bonus monies to the associated classroom teacher for each student who receives a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course. Bonus monies awarded to a teacher pursuant to this subsection are in addition to any regular wage, compensation or other bonus the teacher receives or is scheduled to receive and shall be provided to the teacher not later than thirty days after the end of the school year. The remainder of any bonus monies received by a school district or charter school shall be allocated by the school principal on behalf of students who receive a passing grade and may be used for teacher professional development, student instructional support, reimbursement of tuition and mandatory fees or instructional materials. Any bonus monies received by a school district or charter school pursuant to this subsection shall be separately accounted for in the school district's or charter school's annual financial report.

D. Incentive bonuses distributed to and any bonus monies received by a school district or charter school pursuant to this section are not subject to collective bargaining. Incentive bonuses distributed to and any bonus monies received by a teacher pursuant to this section are not compensation as defined in section 38-711.

E. Payments of bonus monies made by the department of education pursuant to this section shall be distributed to schools not later than March 1 of each year. School districts and charter schools may appeal the allocation of bonus monies not later than August 1 of each year. The department may withhold up to $10,000 of the monies appropriated for the purposes of this section to address allocation appeals by school districts and charter schools.

F. The dual enrollment incentive fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations. The department of education shall administer the fund and shall use the monies in the fund for the purposes of this section. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.

G. On or before December 15, 2027, and on or before December 15 of each year thereafter, the department of education shall submit a report to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the governor, the secretary of state and the joint legislative budget committee on all of the following:

1. The number of students who enrolled in a qualifying dual enrollment course at each school.

2. The number of students who received a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course and the number of incentive bonus awards distributed.

3. The number and type of qualifying dual enrollment courses taken by students.

4. The amount of bonus monies received by each school.

H. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Passing grade" means a letter grade of A, B or C.

2. "Qualifying dual enrollment course" means a dual enrollment course that either:

(a) Fulfills a lower division general education credit at a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents or a community college as defined in section 15-1401.

(b) Is a career and technical education course that is required for a program that results in a certificate, credential or license. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE15-244.03. Dual enrollment development fund; incentive bonuses

A. The dual enrollment development fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations. The department shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated. The department shall distribute monies in the fund to schools to provide an incentive bonus of up to $1,000 per teacher who both:

1. Satisfies the requirements for teaching a dual enrollment course adopted by a higher learning commission that accredits degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the north central region, including this state.

2. Provides instruction in at least one dual enrollment course.

B. A teacher may not receive more than one incentive bonus pursuant to subsection A of this section. If the statewide sum of per teacher bonuses awarded pursuant to subsection A of this section exceeds the amount of available monies in the dual enrollment development fund, the bonus monies shall be reduced proportionally to cover all eligible bonus awards. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE15-244.04. Dual enrollment student fund; eligibility; definitions

A. The dual enrollment student fund is established within the state board of education to provide financial assistance to students who meet the criteria prescribed in this section. The department of education shall administer the fund and shall use the monies in the fund for the purposes of this section. The department shall distribute monies from the fund to qualifying providers for reimbursements pursuant to subsection B of this section and prioritize distributions from the fund to qualifying providers that serve students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.

B. A student who obtains a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course may receive a reimbursement of up to $50 per credit hour for the qualifying dual enrollment course, subject to the following:

1. A student who is enrolled in grade nine or ten may not receive more than $300 per school year.

2. A student who is enrolled in grade eleven or twelve may not receive more than $600 per school year.

3. To be eligible to receive monies pursuant to this subsection, a student must have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

C. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Passing grade" means a letter grade of A, B or C.

2. "Qualifying dual enrollment course" means a dual enrollment course that either:

(a) Fulfills a lower division general education credit at a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents or a community college as defined in section 15-1401.

(b) Is a career and technical education course that is required for a program that results in a certificate, credential or license.

3. "Qualifying provider" means a community college, university or institution that provides a qualifying dual enrollment course. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 15-1821.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-1821.01. Dual enrollment information

On a determination by a community college district governing board that it is in the best interest of the citizens of a district, the district governing board may authorize district community colleges to offer college courses that may be counted toward both high school and college graduation requirements at the high school during the school day, subject to the following:

1. The community college district governing board and the governing board of the school district or organization of which the high school is a part shall enter into an agreement or contract. These intergovernmental agreements or contracts shall be based on a uniform format that has been cooperatively developed by the community college districts in this state. Each of these agreements or contracts shall clearly specify the following:

(a) The financial provisions of the agreement or contract and the format for billing all services under the agreement or contract, including the amount that the community college received in full-time student equivalent funding pursuant to section 15-1466.01, the portion of the funding that is distributed to the school district governing board or charter school and any amount that is subsequently returned to the community college district by the school district governing board or charter school.

(b) Student tuition and financial aid policies, including whether scholarships or grants are awarded to students in dual enrollment courses from the community college.

(d) The responsibilities and services required of each party to the agreement or contract.

(e) The type of instruction that will be provided under the agreement or contract, including the titles of the courses to be offered.

(f) The quality of the instruction that will be provided under the agreement or contract.

2. Students shall be admitted to the community college under the policies adopted by each district, except that all students who are enrolled for college credit shall be high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors. All students who are in the course, including those not electing to enroll for college credit, shall satisfy the prerequisites for the course as published in the college catalog and shall comply with college policies regarding student placement in courses.

3. The courses shall be previously evaluated and approved through the curriculum approval process of the district, shall be at a higher level than taught by the high school and shall be transferable to a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents or be applicable to an established community college occupational degree or certificate program. Physical education courses are not available for dual enrollment purposes.

4. College-approved textbooks, syllabuses, course outlines and grading standards that are applicable to the courses if taught at the community college shall apply to these courses and to all students in the courses offered pursuant to this section. The chief executive officer of each community college shall establish an advisory committee of full-time faculty who teach in the disciplines offered at the community college to assist in course selection and implementation in the high schools and to review and report at least annually to the chief executive officer whether the course goals and standards are understood, the course guidelines are followed and the same standards of expectation and assessment are applied to these courses as though they were being offered at the community college. The advisory committee of full-time faculty shall meet at least three times each academic year.

5. Each faculty member shall meet the requirements established by the governing board pursuant to section 15-1444. The chief executive officer of each community college district shall establish an advisory committee of full-time faculty who teach in the disciplines offered at the community college district to assist in the selection, orientation, ongoing professional development and evaluation of faculty who are teaching college courses in conjunction with the high schools. The advisory committee of full-time faculty shall meet at least two times each academic year.

6. A school district shall ensure that a pupil is a full-time student as defined in section 15-901 and is enrolled in and attending a full-time instructional program at a school in the school district before that pupil is allowed to enroll in a college course pursuant to this section, except that high school seniors who satisfy high school graduation requirements with less than a full-time instructional program are exempt from this paragraph.

7. Notwithstanding paragraph 6 of this section, homeschooled students may fully participate in dual enrollment, including receipt of college credit pursuant to this section.

8. A child with a disability as defined in section 15-761 shall have access to any supplementary aid, service or accommodation provided in the child's individualized education program as defined in section 15-731 or in the student's section 504 plan as defined in section 15-731. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Dual enrollment grant program; delayed repeal

A. The dual enrollment grant program is established within the department of education to support the establishment of dual enrollment programs by school districts and charter schools in this state. The department of education shall administer the dual enrollment grant program and establish procedures and requirements for school districts and charter schools to apply for grants. A school district or charter school is eligible to receive a grant pursuant to this section only if the school district or charter school does not offer dual enrollment courses or have an established dual enrollment program on or before July 1, 2023. Monies appropriated for the dual enrollment grant program may be used for only:

1. The establishment and operation of a new dual enrollment program by a school district or charter school.

2. The costs of administering the dual enrollment grant program, except that the administrative costs may not exceed three percent of the appropriated monies each fiscal year.

B. The department of education shall prioritize grant applications as follows:

1. Applications submitted by a school district or charter school in which fifty percent or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches shall have highest priority. If the statewide sum of grant applications from school districts or charter schools described in this paragraph exceeds the amount of available monies appropriated for the dual enrollment grant program, the grant awards shall be reduced proportionally to cover all eligible grant applications.

2. Subject to available monies, the department of education may award grants to a school district or charter school in which less than fifty percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches on a first-come, first-served basis after awarding grants to all applicants described in paragraph 1 of this subsection.

C. This section is repealed from and after December 31, 2027.

Sec. 4. Appropriations; dual enrollment; incentive fund; development fund; student fund; grant program; exemptions; transfer of monies

A. The sum of $5,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2023-2024 to the dual enrollment incentive fund established by section 15-244.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act. The appropriation made in this subsection is exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations.

B. The sum of $500,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2023-2024 to the dual enrollment development fund established by section 15-244.03, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act. The appropriation made in this subsection is exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations, except that all monies remaining unencumbered and unexpended on July 1, 2029 revert to the state general fund.

C. The sum of $15,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2023-2024 to the dual enrollment student fund established by section 15-244.04, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act.

D. The sum of $5,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2023-2024 to the dual enrollment grant program established by this act. The appropriation made in this subsection is exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations, except that all monies remaining unencumbered and unexpended on July 1, 2027 are transferred to the dual enrollment incentive fund established by section 15-244.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act.