State of illinois dual credit quality act

Public Act 1077 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 Public Act 102-1077  
HB5506 Enrolled
LRB102 22403 CMG 31543 b
  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 16 and 20 and by adding Section 16.5 as follows:  (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. A school district may offer any course identified in the Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum package under the Illinois Articulation Initiative Act 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.
 
(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.
 
(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.
 
(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, 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. 
 
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. 
(Source: P.A. 102-516, eff. 8-20-21.) 
 
 
(110 ILCS 27/16.5 new)
 
Sec. 16.5. High school and community college partnership 
agreements; student enrollment eligibility.
 
(a) A partnership agreement under Section 16 that is 
entered into, amended, renewed, or extended after the 
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General 
Assembly shall allow a high school student who does not 
otherwise meet the community college district's academic 
eligibility requirements to enroll in a dual credit course 
taught at the high school, but only for high school credit. 
Instructors, in coordination with their higher learning 
partner, may differentiate instruction by credit section. 
 
(b) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to allow 
the award of dual credit to a student who does not meet the 
requirements of the partnership agreement. 
 
(c) High schools shall establish procedures, prior to the 
first day of class, to notify all individual high school 
students enrolled in a mixed enrollment dual credit course 
that includes students who have and have not met the criteria 
for dual credit coursework of whether or not they are eligible 
to earn college credit for the course. 
 
(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. 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 , within 4 
 
 
years of January 1, 2019 (the effective date of Public 
 
Act 100-1049), 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 its 
 
Internet website the following: 
 
(i) the number of teachers presently enrolled 
 
in an who have approved professional development 
 
plan plans 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 A 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, 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. 
 
(3) An instructor in career and technical education 
 
courses must possess the credentials and demonstrated 
 
teaching competencies appropriate to the field of 
 
instruction.
 
(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 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.)