AN ACT relating to the dual credit scholarship program.

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AN ACT relating to the dual credit scholarship program. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 164.786 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) For purposes of this section: 4
(a) "Academic term" means the fall or spring academic semester; 5
(b) "Academic year" means July 1 through June 30 of each year; 6
(c) "Approved dual credit course" means a dual credit course developed in 7
accordance with KRS 164.098 and shall include: 8
1. General education courses that meet the criteria outlined in the statewide 9
general education core approved by the Council on Postseconda ry 10
Education; and 11
2. Career and technical education courses within a career pathway 12
approved by the Kentucky Department of Education that leads to an 13
industry-recognized credential; 14
(d) "Authority" means the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority; 15
(e) "Dual credit" has the same meaning as in KRS 158.007; 16
(f) "Dual credit tuition rate ceiling" means one -third (1/3) of the per credit hour 17
tuition amount, rounded down to the nearest whole dollar, charged by the 18
Kentucky Community and Technical College System for in-state students; 19
(g) "Eligible high school apprentice" means an eligible high school student 20
that is enrolled in an eligible registered teacher apprenticeship program; 21
(h) "Eligible high school student" means a student who: 22
1. Is a Kentucky resident; 23
2. Is enrolled in a Kentucky high school; 24
3. Has completed a thirty (30) minute college success counseling session; 25
and 26
4. Is enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, in an approved dual credit course 27
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at a participating institution; 1
(i) "Eligible regi stered teacher apprenticeship program" means a registered 2
teacher apprenticeship program that is: 3
1. Offered by a school district, in partnership with one (1) or more 4
postsecondary institutions; 5
2. Designed to prepare future educators by providing student participants 6
a direct pathway towards teacher certification and employment within 7
the school district; and 8
3. Approved by the Education and Labor Cabinet in accordance with 9
KRS Chapter 343 and the authority for the purposes of this section; 10
(j)[(h)] "Participating institution" means a postsecondary institution that: 11
1. Has an agreement with the authority for the administration of the Dual 12
Credit Scholarship Program; 13
2. Charges no more than the dual credit tuition rate ceiling per credit hour, 14
including any additional fees, for any approved dual credit course it 15
offers to any Kentucky public or nonpublic high school student; 16
3. Does not charge any tuition or fees to an eligible high school student for 17
an approved dual credit course beyond what is paid by the Dual Credit 18
Scholarship Program when the course is not successfully completed; and 19
4. Is a: 20
a. Kentucky Community and Technical College System institution; 21
b. Four (4) year Kentucky public college or university; or 22
c. Four (4) year private college or unive rsity that is accredited by the 23
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and whose main 24
campus is located in Kentucky; and 25
(k)[(i)] "Successfully completed" means a student receiving both 26
secondary and postsecondary credit upon completion of an approv ed dual 27
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credit course. 1
(2) To promote dual credit coursework opportunities at no cost to eligible Kentucky 2
high school students, the General Assembly hereby establishes the Dual Credit 3
Scholarship Program. 4
(3) In consultation with the Council on Postsecondary Education and the Kentucky 5
Department of Education, the authority shall administer the Dual Credit Scholarship 6
Program and shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS 7
Chapter 13A as may be needed for the administration of the program. 8
(4) (a) Each high school shall apply to the authority for dual credit scholarship funds 9
for each eligible high school student. 10
(b) The authority may award a dual credit scholarship to an eligible high sch ool 11
student for an academic term on a first -come, first-served basis by application 12
date, to the extent funds are available for that purpose. 13
(c) An eligible high school student may receive a dual credit scholarship for a 14
maximum of: 15
1. a. Two (2) career a nd technical education dual credit courses per 16
academic year; and 17
b.[2.] Two (2) general education dual credit courses over the junior and 18
senior year; or 19
2. Beginning with the 2027 -2028 academic year, an eligible high school 20
apprentice may receive a total of twenty (20) dual credit courses, 21
which shall not exceed eight (8) courses per academic year, that are 22
required for admission to a teacher education program in pursuit of 23
initial teacher certification. 24
(d) The dual credit scholarship award amount shall be equal to the amount 25
charged by a participating institution, not to exceed the dual credit tuition rate 26
ceiling for each dual credit hour. 27
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(e) Dual credit scholarship funds shall not be used for remedial or developmental 1
coursework. 2
(5) (a) To qualify f or the dual credit scholarship for an eligible registered teacher 3
apprenticeship program, a student shall: 4
1. Be approved by a school district to participate as an eligible high 5
school apprentice in an eligible registered teacher apprenticeship 6
program; 7
2. Submit a program commitment form, as required by the authority, that 8
is signed by the student, parent or guardian of a minor student, and 9
superintendent or designee; 10
3. Successfully complete a minimum of one (1) teaching and learning 11
career pathway course each year of high school while participating in 12
the eligible registered teacher apprenticeship program until 13
completion of all required pathway courses; and 14
4. Maintain a high school grade point average of 2.75 or higher. 15
(b) An eligible high school apprentice who withdraws from the program or does 16
not achieve the academic criteria for continued eligibility while in high 17
school: 18
1. Shall not be eligible for additional dual credit courses through the 19
eligible registered teacher apprenticeship program; 20
2. May receive additional dual credit scholarships under subsection 21
(4)(c)1. of this section, except course eligibility shall be reduced by the 22
courses taken under subsection (4)(c)2. of this section; and 23
3. Shall be required to repay the authority the dual cr edit scholarship 24
amount paid for courses that exceed the number of courses provided 25
under subsection (4)(c)1. of this section unless waived by the authority 26
for cause. Any person who fails to repay this obligation to the 27
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authority shall not be awarded a gr ant or scholarship under any 1
program administered by the authority under KRS Chapter 164 until 2
all financial obligations to the authority are satisfied, except that 3
ineligibility for this reason may be waived by the authority for cause. 4
(c) To be considere d for approval by the authority as offering an eligible 5
registered teacher apprenticeship program under this section, the school 6
district shall: 7
1. Design the program to offer full -time teaching positions within the 8
home school district to students who com plete an eligible registered 9
teacher apprenticeship program and obtain Kentucky teacher 10
certification whenever a vacancy permits; 11
2. Establish partnerships with postsecondary institutions for providing 12
dual credit coursework and matriculation into teacher education 13
programs upon high school graduation to participating students; 14
3. Ensure that dual credit courses taken by students participating in the 15
program will be transferable for purposes of completing the teacher 16
education program at the partner postsec ondary institution upon high 17
school graduation; and 18
4. Execute an agreement with the authority for participation as an 19
eligible registered teacher apprenticeship program under the terms 20
and conditions required by the authority. 21
(6) Each participating insti tution shall submit information each academic term to the 22
authority required for the administration of the scholarship as determined by the 23
authority. 24
(7)[(6)] The authority shall provide an annual report to the secretary of the Education 25
and Labor Cabinet, the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education and 26
the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education to include: 27
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(a) The number of students, b y local school district and in total, served by the 1
Dual Credit Scholarship Program; and 2
(b) The number of general education and career and technical education dual 3
credits earned by students by high school and in total. 4
(8)[(7)] By May 31 of each year, th e Kentucky Center for Statistics, in collaboration 5
with the authority, shall publish data on the Dual Credit Scholarship Program's 6
academic and workforce outcomes. The center shall annually provide a report on 7
the data to the Interim Joint Committee on Education. 8
(9)[(8)] (a) The Dual Credit Scholarship Program trust fund is hereby created as a 9
trust fund in the State Treasury to be administered by the Kentucky Higher 10
Education Assistance Authority for the purpose of providing scholarships 11
described in this section. 12
(b) The trust fund shall consist of state general fund appropriations, gifts and 13
grants from public and private sources, and federal funds. 14
(c) Any unallotted or unencumbered balances in the trust fund shall be invested 15
as provided in KRS 42.500( 9). Income earned from the investments shall be 16
credited to the trust fund. 17
(d) Notwithstanding KRS 45.229, any fund balance at the close of the fiscal year 18
shall not lapse but shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year. 19