Public Act 096-0194
 		





HB1079 Enrolled
LRB096 09650 NHT 19811 b






    AN ACT concerning education.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:


 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Dual 
Credit Quality Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions.
 In this Act:
    "Dual credit course" means a college course taken by a high 
school student for credit at both the college and high school 
level.
    "Institution" means an "institution of higher learning" as 
defined in the Higher Education Student Assistance Act.

 
    Section 10. Purpose.   The purpose of this Act is to 
accomplish all of the following:
        (1)  To reduce college costs.
        (2)  To speed time to degree completion.
        (3)  To improve the curriculum for high school students 
    and the alignment of the curriculum with college and 
    workplace expectations.
        (4)  To facilitate the transition between high school 
    and college.
        (5)  To enhance communication between high schools and 
    colleges.
        (6)  To offer opportunities for improving degree 
    attainment for underserved student populations.

 
    Section 15. Student access, eligibility, and attainment.
 
    (a)  The Illinois Community College Board and the Board of 
Higher Education shall develop policies to permit multiple 
appropriate measures using differentiated assessment for 
granting eligibility for dual credit to students.  The measures 
developed shall ensure that a student is prepared  for any 
coursework in which the student  enrolls.
    (b)  Institutions may adopt policies to protect the academic 
standing of students who are not successful in dual credit 
courses, including, but not  limited to, options for (i) late 
withdrawal from a course, or (ii) taking the course on a 
pass-fail basis, or both. All institutional policies relating 
to the academic standing of students enrolled in dual credit 
courses or the transfer of credit for dual credit courses must 
be made publicly available by the institution and provided to 
each student enrolled in dual credit courses offered by that 
institution.

 
    Section 20. Standards.  All institutions offering dual 
credit courses shall meet the following standards:
        (1) Instructors teaching credit-bearing college-level 
    courses for dual credit must meet the same academic 
    credential requirements as faculty teaching on campus and 
    need not meet certification requirements set out in Article 
    21 of the School Code.
        (2)  Instructors in career and technical education 
    courses must possess the credentials and demonstrated 
    teaching competencies appropriate to the field of 
    instruction.
        (3)  Students must meet the same academic criteria as 
    those enrolled in credit-bearing college courses, 
    including taking appropriate placement testing.
        (4)  Course content must be the same as that required 
    for credit-bearing college courses.
        (5)  Learning outcomes must be the same as for 
    credit-bearing college courses and be appropriately 
    measured.
        (6)  Institutions shall provide high school instructors 
    with an orientation in course curriculum, assessment 
    methods, and administrative requirements before high 
    school instructors are permitted to teach dual credit 
    courses.
        (7)  Dual credit instructors must be given the 
    opportunity to participate in all activities available to 
    other adjunct faculty, including professional development, 
    seminars, site visits, and internal communication, 
    provided that such opportunities do not interfere with an 
    instructor's regular teaching duties.
        (8)  Every dual credit course must be reviewed annually 
    by faculty through the appropriate department to ensure 
    consistency with campus courses.

        (9)  Dual credit students must be assessed using methods 
    consistent with students in traditional credit-bearing 
    college courses.

 
    Section 25. Oversight, review, and reporting.
 
    (a)  The Illinois Community College Board shall be 
responsible for oversight and review of dual credit programs 
offered jointly by public community colleges and high schools. 
The Illinois Community College Board shall implement a review 
process and criteria for evaluating dual credit program quality 
based upon the standards enumerated in Section 20 of this Act.
    (b)  The Board of Higher Education shall be responsible for 
oversight and review of dual credit programs offered jointly by 
high schools and institutions, except for public community 
colleges as provided in subsection (a) of this Section. The 
Board of Higher Education shall develop and implement a review 
process based on the standards enumerated in Section 20 of this 
Act.

    (c)  Each institution shall report annually to the 
appropriate agency, the Illinois Community College Board or the 
Board of Higher Education. The reports shall include, but not 
be limited to, the following data:
        (1)  Number and description of dual credit courses.
        (2)  Faculty teaching dual credit courses and their 
    academic credentials.
        (3)  Enrollments in dual credit courses.
        (4)  Sites of dual credit offerings.

 
    Section 30. Accountability.
 
    (a)  The State Board of Education, the Illinois Community 
College Board, and the Board of Higher Education shall include 
information regarding student participation and performance in 
dual credit programs and their success in postsecondary 
education in a statewide longitudinal data system.
    (b)  The data system shall track dual credit students and 
courses on student records.
    (c)  Analysis of data relating to student success in dual 
credit courses as well as performance in postsecondary 
education must be incorporated into the evaluation of dual 
credit programs in both high school and college.