AN ACT CONCERNING DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAMS.

Substitute Senate Bill No. 427

Public Act No. 26-18

AN ACT CONCERNING DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAMS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 10 -221w of the 2026 supplement to the general
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof
(Effective July 1, 2026):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Advanced course or program" means an honors class, advanced
placement class, International Baccalaureate program, Cambridge
International program, dual enrollment, dual credit, early college or any
other advanced or accelerated course or program offered b y a local or
regional board of education in grades nine to twelve, inclusive; [and]
(2) "Prior academic performance" means the course or courses that a
student has taken, the grades received for such course or courses and a
student's grade point average; and
(3) "Dual enrollment course" and "concurrent enrollment course"
have the same meanings as provided in section 10a-35d.
(b) Not later than July 1, 2022, each local and regional board of
education shall adopt a policy, or revise an existing policy, concerning
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Public Act No. 26-18 2 of 3

the eligibility criteria for student enrollment in an advanced course or
program. Such policy shall provide for multiple methods by which a
student may satisfy the eligibility criteria for enrollment in an advanced
course or program, including, but not lim ited to, recommendations
from teachers, administrators, school counselors or other school
personnel. Such eligibility criteria shall not be based exclusively on a
student's prior academic performance and any use of a student's prior
academic performance shall rely on evidence-based indicators of how a
student will perform in an advanced course or program.
(c) Any policy adopted or revised and implemented under this
section shall be in accordance with guidance provided by the
Department of Education.
(d) (1) Not later than July 1, 2026, the Commissioner of Education
shall, in partnership with the constituent units of the state system of
higher education and independent institutions of higher education, as
defined in section 10a -173, develop a model agreement b etween
secondary schools and postsecondary institutions for the provision of
dual enrollment courses and concurrent enrollment courses, as such
terms are defined in section 10a -35d, and postsecondary credit courses
to students in grades nine to twelve, inclusive.
(2) Not later than January 1, 2027, the Commissioner of Education
shall appoint a dual and concurrent enrollment course coordinator to
track the establishment of such courses throughout the state and student
outcomes from such courses, including, but not l imited to, completion
rates and average grades, by school district.
(e) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, and each fiscal year
thereafter, the Commissioner of Education shall, within available
appropriations, establish a fee -waiver grant program to expand
opportunities for high -need high school students to access advan ced
courses or programs, including, but not limited to, dual and concurrent
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enrollment courses. A local or regional board of education or institution
of higher education in the state may apply, in a form and manner
prescribed by the Commissioner of Education, for reimbursement for
any fees charged to such board or incurred by such institution for any
high-need student who enrolls in an advanced course or program. No
institution of higher education that receives a grant pursuant to this
subsection shall charge the parents of a student for the cost of enrolling
in the advanced course or program for which such institution received
the grant.
(f) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, and each fiscal year
thereafter, the Commissioner of Education may, within available
appropriations, pay up to five hundred thousand dollars in a fiscal year
to the State Education Resource Center for programming t hat provides
direct support to local and regional boards of education in the
articulation and expansion of dual credit courses. In expending such
funds under this subsection, the State Education Resource Center shall
give priority to providing funds to alliance districts.