HB5020 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 36165 RJT 66257 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5020

Introduced 2/8/2024, by Rep. Diane Blair-Sherlock

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

110 ILCS 27/5
110 ILCS 27/16
110 ILCS 27/19
110 ILCS 27/20
110 ILCS 27/25
110 ILCS 27/45 new

Amends the Dual Credit Quality Act. Makes changes concerning high school and community college partnership agreements, the Dual Credit Committee, instructor and other standards for dual credit courses, and the data in reports made by institutions of higher learning. Provides that a Dual Credit Instructor Endorsement Framework shall be developed through a committee involving collaboration between the Illinois Community College Board and the State Board of Education by December 31, 2024. Sets forth the membership of the committee. Provides that the Framework shall establish criteria for evaluating instructors on the basis of academic credentials, progress toward academic credentials, equivalent experience, or some combination of these. Sets forth what the criteria shall include and what the Framework may do. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. The Dual Credit Quality Act is amended by changing Sections 5, 16, 19, 20, and 25 and by adding Section 45 as follows:

(110 ILCS 27/5)

Sec. 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.

"Priority career pathway course" means a career-focused course that has been identified by a school district, after consultation with a community college district, in its submission to the State Board of Education as an early college credit course within a career-focused instructional sequence as part of a College and Career Pathway Endorsement system under the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act.

(Source: P.A. 96-194, eff. 1-1-10.)

(110 ILCS 27/16)

Sec. 16. High school and community college partnership agreements; dual credit. A community college district shall, upon the request of a school district within the jurisdiction of the community college district, enter into a partnership agreement with the school district to offer dual credit coursework within 180 calendar days after the initial request.

A school district may offer any course identified in the Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum package under the Illinois Articulation Initiative Act or any priority career pathway course as a dual credit course on the campus of a high school of the school district and may use a high school instructor who has met the academic credential requirements under this Act to teach the dual credit course.

The partnership agreement shall include all of the following:

(1) The establishment of the school district's and the community college district's respective roles and responsibilities in providing the program and ensuring the quality and instructional rigor of the program. This must include an assurance that the community college district has appropriate academic control of the curriculum, consistent with any State or federal law and as required or negotiated with the Higher Learning Commission or other applicable accrediting agency.

(2) The dual credit courses that the school district will offer its students and whether those courses will be offered on the high school or community college campus or through an online platform established by the Illinois Community College Board.

(3) The establishment of academic criteria for granting eligibility for high school students to enroll in dual credit coursework. The academic criteria shall be evidence-based and shall include multiple appropriate measures to determine whether a student is prepared for any dual credit coursework in which the student enrolls. Multiple appropriate measures may include, but are not limited to, placement measures pursuant to the Developmental Education Reform Act. The school district and community college district shall use the Illinois Community College Board's placement framework, pursuant to the Developmental Education Reform Act, to determine the appropriate cutoff score if using grade point average or assessment scores to determine eligibility criteria, unless both the school district and community college district jointly agree to accept a lower score on individual placement methods in combination with other placement methods. The partnership agreement shall require a communications plan for notifying students, parents, and high school staff of the multiple appropriate measures criteria and shall require the school district to clearly designate dual credit courses in course catalogs and curriculum guides. Any changes to academic criteria shall be communicated to the partnering high school not less than 60 days before any course registration deadline.

(4) The establishment of any limitations that the school district or community college district may put on course offerings due to availability of instructors, the availability of students for specific course offerings, or local board policy.

(5) The requirement that the dual credit instructor meet the academic credential requirements to teach a dual credit course, consistent with paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of Section 20 of this Act, but shall not be required to exceed those credentials.

(6) The collaborative process and criteria by which the school district shall identify and recommend and the community college district shall review and approve high school instructors of dual credit courses taught on the campus of a high school. This provision shall require that the school district be responsible for hiring and compensating the instructor.

(7) The requirement that a community college district take the appropriate steps to ensure that dual credit courses are equivalent to those courses offered at the community college in quality and rigor to qualify for college credit. The dual credit programs shall encompass the following characteristics:

(A) Student learning outcomes expected for dual credit courses in General Education Core Curriculum courses and the professional and career and technical disciplines shall be the same as the student learning outcomes expected for the same courses taught on the postsecondary campus.

(B) Course content, course delivery, and course rigor shall be evaluated by the community college chief academic officer or his or her designee, in consultation with the school district's superintendent or his or her designee. The evaluation shall be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the community college district's review and evaluation policy and procedures for on-campus adjunct faculty, including visits to the secondary class. This evaluation shall be limited to the course and the ability of the instructor to deliver quality, rigorous college credit coursework. This evaluation shall not impact the instructor's performance evaluation under Article 24A of the School Code. This evaluation shall be completed within the same school year that the course is taught.

(C) The academic supports and, if applicable, guidance that will be provided to students participating in the program by the high school and the community college district.

(8) Identify all fees and costs to be assessed by the community college district for dual credit courses. This provision shall require that any fees and costs assessed for dual credit courses shall be reasonable and promote student access to those courses, and may take into account regional considerations and differences. The community college district shall utilize revenue received by the school district for the coordination and administration of the dual partnership agreement and the delivery and administration of dual credit courses.

(8.5) The collaborative process and criteria by which a school district and a community college district shall work to ensure that individual students with disabilities have access to dual credit courses, provided that those students are able to meet the criteria for entry into a dual credit course. Through this process and criteria, the student shall have access to the supplementary aids and accommodations included in the student's individualized education program under Article 14 of the School Code or Section 504 plan under the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 while the student is accessing a dual credit course on a high school campus taught by a high school instructor, in accordance with established practices at the high school for providing these services. A student who accesses a dual credit course on a community college campus shall have access to supplementary aids and accommodations provided in the partnership agreement, including access to the community college's disability services. A school district and community college district shall work together to provide seamless communication about the student's progress.

(9) The community college district shall establish a mechanism for evaluating and documenting on a regular basis the performance of students who complete dual credit courses, consistent with paragraph (9) of Section 20 and Section 30 of this Act, and for sharing that data in a meaningful and timely manner with the school district. This evaluation shall be limited to the course and the coursework. This evaluation shall not impact the instructor's performance evaluation under Article 24A of the School Code.

(10) The expectations for maintaining the rigor of dual credit courses that are taught at the high school and including students not deemed ready for college-level coursework according to the standards of the community college.

(11) A requirement that the school district and community college annually assess disaggregated data pertaining to dual credit course enrollments, completions, and subsequent postsecondary enrollment and performance to the extent feasible. If applicable, this assessment shall include an analysis of dual credit courses with credit sections for dual credit and for high school credit only pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 16.5 that reviews student characteristics by credit section in relation to gender, race and ethnicity, and low-income status.

(12) For courses taught by a high school instructor at the high school, the school district may use its policies to determine maximum class enrollment, grading procedures, student technology access and usage, student accommodations, including course length, and the number of classes an individual instructor may teach. If the school district weighs Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, dual credit courses shall receive the same weight as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses. If the school district does not weigh Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, then the school district may consider the rigor of the dual credit course and the school district's policies to determine the course's weight.

If, within 180 calendar days of the school district's initial request to enter into a partnership agreement with the community college district, the school district and the community college district do not reach agreement on the partnership agreement, then the school district and community college district shall jointly implement the provisions of the Model Partnership Agreement established under Section 19 of this Act for which local agreement could not be reached. A community college district may combine its negotiations with multiple school districts to establish one multi-district partnership agreement or may negotiate individual partnership agreements at its discretion.

Upon disapproval by the community college district of a course request or instructor, failure to reach agreement on course documentation, or the community college district's withdrawal of course or instructor approval, the school district may pursue an alternative provider of that course and must notify the community college district of its intent to do so, along with the reason for seeking an alternative provider. Thereafter, the community college district may not object to or seek to limit the school district's ability to contract with another community college district or institution of higher learning to offer that course. An alternative provider may not be an institution of higher learning operating as a for-profit institution.

(Source: P.A. 102-516, eff. 8-20-21; 102-1077, eff. 1-1-23.)

(110 ILCS 27/19)

Sec. 19. Model Partnership Agreement and Dual Credit Committee. A Model Partnership Agreement shall be developed through a Dual Credit Committee involving collaboration between the Illinois Community College Board and the State Board of Education by June 30, 2019. The Committee shall consist of 5 members appointed by the State Superintendent of Education and 5 members appointed by the Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board. The Model Partnership Agreement shall address all of the matters set forth in Section 16 of this Act.

The Committee shall meet within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly and subsequently shall meet annually to consider and develop updates to the Model Partnership Agreement and associated exhibits to ensure concordance with any policies established by State, federal, or accrediting entities.

(Source: P.A. 100-1049, eff. 1-1-19.)

(110 ILCS 27/20)

Sec. 20. Standards. All institutions offering dual credit courses shall meet the following standards:

(1) High school instructors teaching credit-bearing college-level courses for dual credit must meet any of the academic credential requirements set forth in this paragraph or paragraph (2) or (3) of this Section and need not meet higher certification requirements or those set out in Article 21B of the School Code:

(A) Approved instructors of dual credit courses shall meet any of the faculty credential standards allowed by the Higher Learning Commission to determine minimally qualified faculty, including achievement of academic credentials, progress toward academic credentials, equivalent experience, or some combination of these, as defined by the Dual Credit Instructor Endorsement Framework developed pursuant to Section 45 of this Act. Instructors may not be required to meet higher standards than those established in the Dual Credit Instructor Endorsement Framework. At the request of an instructor, an instructor who meets these credential standards shall be provided by the State Board of Education with a Dual Credit Endorsement, to be placed on the professional educator license, as established by the State Board of Education and as authorized under Article 21B of the School Code and promulgated through administrative rule in cooperation with the Illinois Community College Board and the Board of Higher Education.

(B) An instructor who does not meet the faculty credential standards allowed by the Higher Learning Commission to determine minimally qualified faculty may teach dual credit courses if the instructor has a professional development plan, approved by the institution and shared with the State Board of Education no later than January 1, 2025, to raise his or her credentials to be in line with the credentials under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph (1). The institution shall have 30 days to review the plan and approve an instructor professional development plan that is in line with the credentials set forth in paragraph (2) of this Section. The institution shall not unreasonably withhold approval of a professional development plan. These approvals shall be good for as long as satisfactory progress toward the completion of the credential is demonstrated, but in no event shall a professional development plan be in effect for more than 3 years from the date of its approval or after January 1, 2028, whichever is sooner. A high school instructor whose professional development plan is not approved by the institution may appeal to the Illinois Community College Board or the Board of Higher Education, as appropriate.

(C) The Illinois Community College Board and Board of Higher Education shall report yearly on their Internet websites the following:

(i) the number of teachers presently enrolled in an approved professional development plan under this Section;

(ii) the number of instructors who successfully completed an approved professional development plan;

(iii) the number of instructors who did not successfully complete an approved professional development plan after 3 years;

(iv) a breakdown of the information in subdivisions (i), (ii), and (iii) of this subparagraph (C) by subject area; and

(v) a summary, by community college district, of professional development plans that are in progress, that were successfully completed, or that have expired.

(2) For a high school instructor entering into a professional development plan prior to January 1, 2023, the high school instructor shall qualify for a professional development plan if the instructor:

(A) has a master's degree in any discipline and has earned 9 graduate hours in a discipline in which he or she is currently teaching or expects to teach; or

(B) has a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 18 graduate hours in a discipline that he or she is currently teaching or expects to teach and is enrolled in a discipline-specific master's degree program; and

(C) agrees to demonstrate his or her progress toward completion to the supervising institution, as outlined in the professional development plan.

(2.5) For a high school instructor entering into a professional development plan on or after January 1, 2023, the high school instructor shall qualify for a professional development plan if the instructor:

(A) has a master's degree in any discipline, meets the graduate coursework requirements of the Dual Credit Instructor Endorsement Framework for the course , has earned 9 graduate hours in a discipline in which he or she currently teaches or expects to teach, and agrees to demonstrate his or her progress toward completion to the supervising institution, as outlined in the professional development plan; or

(B) is a fully licensed instructor in career and technical education who is halfway toward meeting the institution's requirements for faculty in the discipline to be taught and agrees to demonstrate his or her progress toward completion to the supervising institution, as outlined in the professional development plan; or .

(C) has a bachelor's degree, has completed a minimum of 18 graduate hours in a discipline that the instructor is currently teaching in or expects to teach in, and is enrolled in a discipline-specific master's degree program.

(3) An instructor in career and technical education courses must possess the credentials and demonstrated teaching competencies appropriate to the field of instruction. Equivalent experience may be considered if determining instructor qualifications.

(4) Course content must be equivalent to credit-bearing college-level courses offered at the community college.

(5) Learning outcomes must be the same as credit-bearing college-level courses and be appropriately measured.

(6) A high school instructor is expected to participate in any orientation developed by the institution for dual credit instructors in course curriculum, assessment methods, and administrative requirements.

(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 the chief academic officer of the institution or the officer's designee, 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.

(10) Within 15 days after entering into or renewing a partnership agreement, the institution shall notify its faculty of the agreement, including access to copies of the agreement if requested.

(Source: P.A. 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-1077, eff. 1-1-23; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

(110 ILCS 27/25)

Sec. 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.

(5) The multiple appropriate measures adopted for program eligibility and for placement into English, mathematics, and other subject-area coursework.

(Source: P.A. 96-194, eff. 1-1-10.)

(110 ILCS 27/45 new)

Sec. 45. Dual Credit Instructor Endorsement Framework.

(a) A Dual Credit Instructor Endorsement Framework shall be developed through a committee involving collaboration between the Illinois Community College Board and the State Board of Education by December 31, 2024. The Committee shall consist of 5 members appointed by the State Superintendent of Education and 5 members appointed by the Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board. The Framework shall establish criteria for evaluating instructors on the basis of academic credentials, progress toward academic credentials, equivalent experience, or some combination of these. The criteria shall include all of the following:

(1) The academic credentials required to be a fully qualified instructor, which shall include:

(A) a master's degree within the discipline to be taught; or

(B) any master's degree and not more than 18 graduate hours appropriate to the academic field of study or in the discipline to be taught.

The criteria shall list the appropriate coursework organized by discipline.

(2) The progress toward academic credentials required to be an interim-qualified instructor, which shall include a threshold for an instructor to be considered halfway to meeting the required graduate coursework in the discipline to be taught, not to exceed 9 graduate hours.

(3) The equivalent experience considered to be commensurate with achievement of academic credentials to be a fully qualified instructor. The criteria shall establish a minimum threshold of experience and the appropriate combination of the following items:

(A) Two thousand hours of related work experience, along with the appropriate, recognizable credential for the field to be taught.

(B) Research or scholarship.

(C) Recognized achievement.

(D) Previous years of teaching experience.

(E) Honors and awards.

(F) Other activities and factors to demonstrate teaching competencies appropriate to the field of instruction.

(b) The Framework may differentiate between career and technical courses and general education core curriculum courses. The Framework may reference the faculty credential standards allowed by an accrediting body to ensure uniform guidance from this State and the accrediting body.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.