C.R.S.
Section 22-35-108
Accelerating students through concurrent enrollment program
- objectives
- non-tuition expenses
- rules
(1)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
There is established the accelerating students through concurrent enrollment program, which is available to all qualified students who are designated by their enrolling local education providers pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section. The objectives of the ASCENT program are to:(I)
Increase the percentage of students who participate in postsecondary education, especially among low-income and traditionally underserved populations;(II)
Decrease the number of students who do not complete high school;(III)
Decrease the amount of time that is required for a student to complete a postsecondary degree or certificate;(IV)
Reduce state expenditures for public education; and(V)
Increase the number of educational pathways available to students.(b)
Notwithstanding any provision of this article 35 to the contrary, a qualified student who is designated by a local education provider to be an ASCENT program participant pursuant to subsection (2) of this section may concurrently enroll in postsecondary courses, including academic courses and career and technical education courses, in the year directly following the year in which the qualified student was enrolled in the twelfth grade of the local education provider.(2)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
A local education provider may designate a qualified student as an ASCENT program participant if the qualified student:(I)
Has completed or is on schedule to complete at least nine credit hours of postsecondary course work prior to the completion of the qualified student’s twelfth-grade year;(II)
Is not in need of a developmental education course;(III)
Has been accepted into a postsecondary degree program at an institution of higher education; and(IV)
Has not been designated as an ASCENT program participant in a prior year.(b)
Each local education provider that designates qualified students to participate in the ASCENT program shall, as provided by state board rule, report to the department the estimated number of ASCENT program participants that the local education provider will enroll for the following school year. The department, as part of its annual budget request to the general assembly, shall report the estimated total number of ASCENT program participants for the following school year.(3)
A local education provider may include each qualified student whom the local education provider designates to participate in the ASCENT program pursuant to this section in the district’s funded pupil count, or, in the case of a qualified student enrolled in an institute charter school, in the funded pupil count of the school’s accounting district, as provided in section 22-54-103 (7).(4)
The board shall establish guidelines as necessary for the administration of the ASCENT program.(5)
For the purposes of part 5 of article 11 of this title 22 concerning school accountability reports, the department shall include ASCENT program participants in the reporting requirements, regardless of whether an ASCENT program participant has completed the participant’s graduation requirements.(6)
For purposes of applying the provisions of article 11 of this title 22 concerning school accountability and reporting graduation rates, a qualified student who is an ASCENT program participant must be counted in the enrolling school district’s or institute charter school’s graduation rate in the school year in which the student completes the school district’s or institute charter school’s minimum high school graduation requirements. The state board shall promulgate rules for schools and school districts to follow in satisfying state and federal reporting requirements concerning the enrollment status of ASCENT program participants. To the extent practicable, the rules must ensure that schools and school districts are not adversely affected in calculating and reporting the completion of high school graduation requirements by qualified students who have been designated by local education providers as ASCENT program participants. The rules must include, at a minimum, reporting requirements relating to:(a)
The provisions of article 7 of this title 22 concerning educational accountability; and(b)
The provisions of article 11 of this title 22 concerning educational accreditation.
Source:
Section 22-35-108 — Accelerating students through concurrent enrollment program - objectives - non-tuition expenses - rules, https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2023-title-22.pdf (accessed Oct. 20, 2023).
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