Fast Track To and Through College Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2736 To increase rates of college completion and reduce college costs by accelerating time to degree, aligning secondary and postsecondary education, and improving postsecondary credit transfer. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 30, 2019 Ms. HASSAN (for herself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To increase rates of college completion and reduce college costs by accelerating time to degree, aligning secondary and postsecondary education, and improving postsec- ondary credit transfer. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fast Track To and 4 Through College Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ACCELERATING TIME TO DEGREE. 6 Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2736 IS (1) by redesignating subparts 5, 6, and 7, as 1 subparts 6, 7, and 8, respectively; and 2 (2) by inserting after subpart 4 the following: 3 ‘‘Subpart 5—Accelerating Time to Degree 4 ‘‘SEC. 416A. PURPOSE. 5 ‘‘The purpose of this subpart is to increase rates of 6 college completion and reduce college costs by accelerating 7 time to degree, aligning secondary and postsecondary edu- 8 cation, and improving postsecondary credit transfer. 9 ‘‘SEC. 416B. DEFINITIONS. 10 ‘‘In this subpart: 11 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED COURSEWORK.—The term ‘ad- 12 vanced coursework’ means coursework designed for 13 students to earn postsecondary credit upon its suc- 14 cessful completion while still in high school, such as 15 that associated with Advanced Placement, Inter- 16 national Baccalaureate, a dual or concurrent enroll- 17 ment program, and early college high school pro- 18 grams. 19 ‘‘(2) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.— 20 The term ‘career and technical education’ has the 21 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Carl D. 22 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 23 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2736 IS ‘‘(3) DUAL OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 1 PROGRAM.—The term ‘dual or concurrent enrollment 2 program’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 4 Act of 1965. 5 ‘‘(4) EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL.—The 6 term ‘early college high school’ has the meaning 7 given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary 8 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 9 ‘‘(5) EARLY COLLEGE FAST TRACK PATHWAY.— 10 The term ‘early college fast track pathway’ means a 11 sequence of dual or concurrent enrollment program 12 courses, Advanced Placement courses, International 13 Baccalaureate courses, or other advanced 14 coursework or assessments approved by the eligible 15 entity taken at any point during high school that— 16 ‘‘(A) when taken together, constitute a 17 typical first year of study toward an associate 18 degree or baccalaureate degree, or, in the case 19 of postsecondary credit in career and technical 20 education earned through dual or concurrent 21 enrollment program course sequences, the first 22 year of study toward a recognized postsec- 23 ondary credential for a high-skill, high-wage, or 24 in-demand industry sector or occupation; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2736 IS ‘‘(B) if completed successfully, results in 1 credit that— 2 ‘‘(i) is equivalent to the academic 3 workload of not less than 2 semesters of 4 full-time postsecondary enrollment; 5 ‘‘(ii) satisfies requirements for the 6 State’s regular high school diploma; and 7 ‘‘(iii) is a part of the statewide articu- 8 lation agreements described in clauses (iv) 9 and (v) of section 416C(f)(2)(C), except 10 that a pathway designed for earning post- 11 secondary credit in career and technical 12 education through a dual or concurrent en- 13 rollment program leading to a recognized 14 postsecondary credential may be part of an 15 articulation agreement that includes some, 16 but not all, public institutions of higher 17 education in the State. 18 ‘‘(6) EARLY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION FAST 19 TRACK PATHWAY.—The term ‘early high school 20 graduation fast track pathway’ means a scholarship 21 provided to a student who— 22 ‘‘(A) graduates high school early consistent 23 with a State’s early high school graduation pol- 24 icy; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2736 IS ‘‘(B) does not require remedial coursework 1 in postsecondary education consistent with a 2 State’s postsecondary course placement stand- 3 ards described in section 416C(f)(2)(C)(iii); and 4 ‘‘(C) attends any public 2-year or 4-year 5 institution of higher education that is a part of 6 the eligible entity. 7 ‘‘(7) EARLY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION POL- 8 ICY.—The term ‘early high school graduation policy’ 9 means a statewide policy adopted by all local edu- 10 cational agencies in the State that— 11 ‘‘(A) allows students the opportunity to 12 earn a regular high school diploma in not more 13 than 3 years; 14 ‘‘(B) is based in whole or in part on stu- 15 dent performance on valid and reliable assess- 16 ments aligned with the challenging State aca- 17 demic standards required under section 18 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary 19 Education Act of 1965, which may include a 20 nationally recognized high school academic as- 21 sessment; and 22 ‘‘(C) may permit students to earn required 23 credit hours for a regular high school diploma 24 through a demonstration of competency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2736 IS ‘‘(8) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 1 tity’ means a partnership that, with respect to a 2 State— 3 ‘‘(A) shall include— 4 ‘‘(i) the State educational agency; 5 ‘‘(ii) either— 6 ‘‘(I) the State public higher edu- 7 cation system inclusive of all 2-year 8 and 4-year public institutions of high- 9 er education in the State; or 10 ‘‘(II) a consortium of the State’s 11 public higher education institutions or 12 systems that, together, is inclusive of 13 all 2-year and 4-year public institu- 14 tions of higher education in the State; 15 and 16 ‘‘(iii) 1 or more local educational 17 agencies, including at least 1 high-need 18 local educational agency located in the 19 State; and 20 ‘‘(B) may include— 21 ‘‘(i) a consortium of entities described 22 in subparagraph (A) from different States; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2736 IS ‘‘(ii) 1 or more public or nonprofit 1 private institutions of higher education; 2 and 3 ‘‘(iii) 1 or more businesses, nonprofit 4 organizations, a State workforce agency, or 5 a State workforce development board es- 6 tablished under section 101 of the Work- 7 force Innovation and Opportunity Act. 8 ‘‘(9) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence- 9 based’ has the meaning given the term in section 10 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 11 Act of 1965. 12 ‘‘(10) FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STU- 13 DENT.—The term ‘first-generation college student’ 14 means— 15 ‘‘(A) an individual both of whose parents 16 did not complete a baccalaureate degree; or 17 ‘‘(B) in the case of any individual who reg- 18 ularly resided with and received support from 19 only 1 parent, an individual whose only such 20 parent did not complete a baccalaureate degree. 21 ‘‘(11) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘Governor’ means 22 the chief executive officer of a State. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2736 IS ‘‘(12) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN- 1 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 2 means a local educational agency— 3 ‘‘(A) that serves not fewer than 10,000 4 children from families with incomes below the 5 poverty line; 6 ‘‘(B) for which not less than 20 percent of 7 the children served by the agency are from fam- 8 ilies with incomes below the poverty line; 9 ‘‘(C) that is in the highest quartile of local 10 educational agencies in the State, based on stu- 11 dent poverty; or 12 ‘‘(D) for which not less than 75 percent of 13 the children served by the agency are histori- 14 cally underrepresented students. 15 ‘‘(13) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘high school’ 16 has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of 17 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 18 1965. 19 ‘‘(14) HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED 20 STUDENT.—The term ‘historically underrepresented 21 student’ means— 22 ‘‘(A) a student, or prospective student, at 23 an institution of higher education who is at risk 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2736 IS of educational failure or otherwise in need of 1 special assistance and support; and 2 ‘‘(B) may include an adult learner, work- 3 ing student, part-time student, student from a 4 low-income background, student of color, Native 5 youth, single parent (including a single preg- 6 nant woman), student who is a homeless child 7 or youth, youth who is in, or has aged out of, 8 the foster care system, first-generation college 9 student, and student with a disability. 10 ‘‘(15) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR OR OCCU- 11 PATION.—The term ‘in-demand industry sector or 12 occupation’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 13 tion 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 14 Act. 15 ‘‘(16) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 16 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 101(a). 18 ‘‘(17) MIDDLE GRADES.—The term ‘middle 19 grades’ has the meaning given the term in section 20 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 21 Act of 1965. 22 ‘‘(18) NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HIGH SCHOOL 23 ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT.—The term ‘nationally rec- 24 ognized high school academic assessment’ means an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2736 IS assessment of high school students’ knowledge and 1 skills that is administered in multiple States and is 2 recognized by institutions of higher education in 3 those or other States for the purposes of entrance or 4 placement into courses in postsecondary education 5 or training programs. 6 ‘‘(19) PARENT.—The term ‘parent’ has the 7 meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Ele- 8 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 9 ‘‘(20) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN- 10 TIAL.—The term ‘recognized postsecondary creden- 11 tial’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 12 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 13 ‘‘(21) REGULAR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.—The 14 term ‘regular high school diploma’ has the meaning 15 given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary 16 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 17 ‘‘(22) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 18 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 19 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 20 ‘‘(23) SUBGROUP OF STUDENTS.—The term 21 ‘subgroup of students’ means— 22 ‘‘(A) economically disadvantaged students; 23 ‘‘(B) students from each major racial and 24 ethnic group; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2736 IS ‘‘(C) children with disabilities, as defined 1 in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil- 2 ities Education Act; 3 ‘‘(D) English learners, as defined in sec- 4 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 5 Education Act of 1965; 6 ‘‘(E) students disaggregated by gender; 7 ‘‘(F) migratory children, as described in 8 section 1309(3) of the Elementary and Sec- 9 ondary Education Act of 1965; 10 ‘‘(G) homeless children and youths, as de- 11 fined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento 12 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a); 13 ‘‘(H) students who are in foster care or are 14 aging out of the foster care system; and 15 ‘‘(I) students with a parent who is a mem- 16 ber of the Armed Forces (as defined in section 17 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code) on 18 active duty (as defined in section 101(d) of 19 such title). 20 ‘‘(24) WORK-BASED LEARNING.—The term 21 ‘work-based learning’ has the meaning given the 22 term in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 23 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2736 IS ‘‘SEC. 416C. COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO STATES. 1 ‘‘(a) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount appro- 2 priated under section 416I for a fiscal year, the Secretary 3 shall reserve— 4 ‘‘(1) 2 percent to conduct the evaluation de- 5 scribed under section 416F; and 6 ‘‘(2) 2 percent for technical assistance and dis- 7 semination, which may include— 8 ‘‘(A) providing, directly or through grants, 9 contracts, or cooperative agreements, technical 10 assistance on using evidence-based practices to 11 improve the outcomes of activities funded under 12 this subpart; and 13 ‘‘(B) disseminating information on evi- 14 dence-based practices that are successful in im- 15 proving the quality of activities funded under 16 this subpart. 17 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 18 ‘‘(1) AWARDS.—From the total amount of 19 funds available under section 416I for a fiscal year 20 and not reserved under subsection (a), the Secretary 21 shall award grants on a competitive basis to eligible 22 entities to implement activities described under sec- 23 tion 416D. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:50 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2736.IS S2736 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2736 IS ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A State may not receive 1 (whether individually or as part of a consortium) a 2 grant under this subpart more than once. 3 ‘‘(c) GRANT DURATION.—Grants awarded under this 4 subpart shall be for a period of 5 years. 5 ‘‘(d) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.—In awarding grants 6 [Text truncated for display. 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