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.