HOUSE BILL No. 5534 March 21, 2000, Introduced by Reps. Hager, Allen, Voorhees, Bradstreet, Van Woerkom, Rick Johnson, Sheltrown, Garcia, Kowall, Gilbert, Ehardt, Tabor, Richardville, DeRossett, Patterson, Hart, Rocca, Ruth Johnson, Pumford, Sanborn, Godchaux, Julian, Faunce, Switalski, Shulman and Middaugh and referred to the Committee on Education. A bill to establish career and technical preparation enroll- ment options for certain students enrolled in Michigan schools; to prescribe certain duties of public schools and certain post- secondary institutions; to prescribe certain powers and duties of certain state departments, officials, and agencies; and to repeal acts and parts of acts. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 2 "career and technical preparation act". 3 Sec. 2. The purpose of this act is to provide a wider vari- 4 ety of options to high school pupils by encouraging and enabling 5 interested pupils to enroll in courses or programs in eligible 6 postsecondary career and technical preparation programs at 7 approved postsecondary educational institutions. H01271'99 * TAV 2 1 Sec. 3. As used in this act: 2 (a) "Approved postsecondary educational institution" means 3 any of the following: 4 (i) A degree or certificate granting public or private col- 5 lege or university, junior college, or community college located 6 in this state. 7 (ii) An educational institution, other than an educational 8 institution described in subparagraph (i), granting degrees, cer- 9 tificates, or other recognized credentials and designated by the 10 department of career development as an approved postsecondary 11 educational institution. 12 (iii) A program of an educational institution, other than an 13 educational institution described in subparagraph (i), that 14 grants degrees, certificates, or other recognized credentials and 15 is designated by the department of career development as an 16 approved postsecondary educational institution. 17 (b) "Career and technical preparation program" means a pro- 18 gram that teaches a trade, occupation, or vocation and that is 19 operated by an approved postsecondary educational institution. 20 (c) "Department" means the department of career 21 development. 22 (d) "Eligible charges" means tuition and mandatory course 23 fees, material fees, and registration fees required by a career 24 and technical preparation program for enrollment in an eligible 25 course. Eligible charges also include any late fees charged by a 26 career and technical preparation program due to the school 27 district's failure to make a required payment according to the H01271'99 * 3 1 timetable prescribed under this act. Eligible charges do not 2 include transportation or parking costs or activity fees. 3 (e) "Eligible course" means a course offered by a career and 4 technical preparation program that is not offered through the 5 school district in which the eligible student is enrolled, or 6 that is offered through the school district but is determined by 7 the board of the school district to not be available to the eli- 8 gible student because of a scheduling conflict beyond the eligi- 9 ble student's control; that is a career and technical preparation 10 course not ordinarily taken as an activity course; that is a 11 course that the career and technical preparation program normally 12 applies toward satisfaction of certificate, degree, or program 13 completion requirements; and that is not a hobby craft or recrea- 14 tional course. 15 (f) "Eligible student" means a student enrolled in at least 16 1 high school class in at least grade 11 in a school district in 17 this state, except a foreign exchange pupil enrolled in a school 18 district under a cultural exchange program, who is making satis- 19 factory progress in meeting local attendance and graduation 20 requirements. 21 (g) "Intermediate school district" means that term as 22 defined in section 4 of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 23 380.4. 24 (h) "School district" means that term as defined in section 25 6 of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.6, a local act 26 school district as defined in section 5 of the revised school 27 code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.5, or a public school academy H01271'99 * 4 1 organized under the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1 2 to 380.1852. 3 Sec. 4. (1) Upon request by the eligible student, the 4 school district in which an eligible student is enrolled shall 5 provide to the eligible student a letter signed by the student's 6 principal indicating the student's eligibility under this act. 7 (2) An eligible student may apply to a career and technical 8 preparation program to enroll in 1 or more eligible courses 9 offered by that career and technical preparation program and, if 10 accepted, may enroll in 1 or more of those courses. 11 (3) Within a reasonable time after registration, the career 12 and technical preparation program shall send written notice to 13 the eligible student and his or her school district. The notice 14 shall indicate the course or courses and hours of enrollment of 15 that eligible student. The career and technical preparation pro- 16 gram shall notify the eligible student about tuition, fees, 17 books, materials, and other related charges, as determined by the 18 career and technical preparation program, in the customary manner 19 used by the career and technical preparation program, and shall 20 notify the eligible student of the estimated amount of the eligi- 21 ble charges that will be billed to the school district under 22 subsection (4). 23 (4) Unless otherwise agreed between the career and technical 24 preparation program and the school district, after the expiration 25 of the career and technical preparation program's drop/add period 26 for the course, the career and technical preparation program 27 shall send a bill to the eligible student's school district H01271'99 * 5 1 detailing the eligible charges for each eligible course in which 2 the student is enrolled under this act. 3 (5) Upon receiving the bill under subsection (4), the school 4 district shall cause to be paid to the career and technical prep- 5 aration program on behalf of the eligible student an amount equal 6 to the lesser of the amount of the eligible charges or the pro- 7 rated percentage of the state portion of the foundation allowance 8 paid on behalf of that particular eligible student under 9 section 20 of the state school aid act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL 10 388.1620, with the proration based on the proportion of the 11 school year that the eligible student attends the career and 12 technical preparation program. A school district may pay more 13 money to a career and technical preparation program on behalf of 14 an eligible student than is required under this act, and may use 15 local school operating revenue for that purpose. The eligible 16 student is responsible for payment of the remainder of the costs 17 associated with his or her enrollment in the career and technical 18 preparation program that exceed the amount the school district is 19 required to pay under this act and that are not paid by the 20 school district. As used in this subsection, "local school oper- 21 ating revenue" means that term as defined in section 20 of the 22 state school aid act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL 388.1620. 23 (6) A career and technical preparation program shall not 24 charge a late fee to an eligible student or a school district for 25 a payment that is made in compliance with the timetable pre- 26 scribed under this act even if the payment would otherwise be 27 considered late by the career and technical preparation program. H01271'99 * 6 1 (7) A school district may require an eligible student to 2 provide, on a form supplied by the school district, reasonable 3 verification that the eligible student is regularly attending a 4 career and technical preparation course under this act. 5 (8) If an eligible student enrolled in an eligible course 6 under this act does not complete the eligible course, and if the 7 school district has paid money for the course on behalf of the 8 student, the career and technical preparation program shall for- 9 ward to the school district any funds that are refundable due to 10 noncompletion of the course. The school district shall then for- 11 ward to the student any refunded money in excess of the amount 12 paid by the school district for the course on behalf of the 13 student. 14 (9) A school district shall make available to an eligible 15 student enrolled in the school district copies of all correspond- 16 ence in the possession of the school district regarding the eli- 17 gible student's participation in a career and technical prepara- 18 tion course under this act. Correspondence described in this 19 subsection shall be kept by the school district for at least 1 20 year. 21 (10) If a school district pays for books for an eligible 22 student for a career and technical preparation course under this 23 section, the books are the property of the school district and 24 shall be turned over to the school district after the eligible 25 student completes the course. 26 (11) This section does not apply to any career and technical 27 preparation courses in which an eligible student is enrolled in H01271'99 * 7 1 addition to being enrolled full-time in that eligible student's 2 school district; to a career and technical preparation course an 3 eligible student is retaking after failing to achieve a satisfac- 4 tory grade; or to a course contrary to the eligibility provisions 5 of this act. In determining full-time enrollment in a school 6 district under this act or full-time equated membership under the 7 state school aid act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL 388.1601 to 8 388.1772, for pupils enrolled in a career and technical prepara- 9 tion program under this act, the pupil's enrollment in both the 10 school district and the career and technical preparation program 11 shall be counted as enrollment in the school district and a pupil 12 shall not be considered to be enrolled in a school district less 13 than full-time solely because of the effect of the pupil's 14 enrollment in 1 or more career and technical preparation courses 15 under this act, including necessary travel time, on the number of 16 class hours provided by the school district to the pupil. 17 (12) This act does not require a school district to pay or 18 otherwise provide financial support for transportation or parking 19 costs necessary for an eligible student to participate in a 20 career and technical preparation program under this act. A 21 school district is not liable for any injury incurred by an eli- 22 gible student that is related to transportation necessary for the 23 eligible student to participate in a career and technical prepa- 24 ration program under this act. 25 Sec. 5. An eligible student enrolled in a career and tech- 26 nical preparation program under this act shall not participate in 27 intercollegiate athletics while he or she is enrolled in the H01271'99 * 8 1 career and technical preparation program under this act. An 2 eligible student who violates this section forfeits his or her 3 eligibility under this act. 4 Sec. 6. A career and technical preparation program may give 5 priority to its postsecondary students when enrolling eligible 6 students in career and technical preparation courses under this 7 act for high school credit only. Once an eligible student has 8 been enrolled in a career and technical preparation course under 9 this act, the career and technical preparation program shall not 10 displace the eligible student with another student. 11 Sec. 7. (1) An eligible student may enroll in, and receive 12 payment by the school district under section 4 of all or part of 13 eligible charges for, an eligible course under this act for high 14 school credit or postsecondary credit, or both. At the time an 15 eligible student enrolls in a career and technical preparation 16 course under this act, he or she shall designate whether the 17 course is for high school or postsecondary credit, or both, and 18 shall notify both his or her high school and the career and tech- 19 nical preparation program of that designation. An eligible stu- 20 dent taking more than 1 eligible course under this act may make 21 different credit designations under this subsection for different 22 courses. An eligible student shall not audit a course in which 23 he or she is enrolled under this act. 24 (2) A school district shall grant academic credit to an eli- 25 gible student enrolled in an eligible course for high school 26 credit under this act if he or she successfully completes the 27 course, as determined by the career and technical preparation H01271'99 * 9 1 program. The amount of high school credit granted by a school 2 district for a course completed under this act shall be deter- 3 mined by the school district. 4 (3) The high school credits granted to an eligible student 5 under this act shall be counted toward the graduation require- 6 ments and subject area requirements of the school district. 7 Evidence of successful completion of each course and high school 8 credits granted shall be included in the eligible student's high 9 school record. Subject to section 444 of subpart 4 of part C of 10 the general education provisions act, title IV of Public Law 11 90-247, 20 U.S.C. 1232g, commonly referred to as the family edu- 12 cational rights and privacy act of 1974, a career and technical 13 preparation program shall provide the school district with a copy 14 of the eligible student's grade in each course taken for high 15 school credit under this act. Upon the request of an eligible 16 student, his or her high school record and transcript shall also 17 include evidence of successful completion and postsecondary cred- 18 its granted for a course taken for postsecondary credit under 19 this act. In either case, the eligible student's high school 20 record and transcript shall indicate that the credits were earned 21 at a career and technical preparation program and identify the 22 career and technical preparation program. 23 (4) If a student enrolls in a career and technical prepara- 24 tion program after leaving high school, the career and technical 25 preparation program, in accordance with institutional policy, 26 shall award postsecondary credit for postsecondary courses 27 successfully completed by that student for high school credit H01271'99 * 10 1 under this act at that career and technical preparation program. 2 A career and technical preparation program shall not charge a 3 student for credit awarded under this subsection. 4 Sec. 8. This act does not restrict the ability of an eligi- 5 ble student or any other pupil to enroll in any career and tech- 6 nical preparation program without tuition and fee support under 7 this act. 8 Sec. 9. (1) Each school district shall provide information 9 to all high school students on the career and technical prepara- 10 tion enrollment options under this act, including enrollment eli- 11 gibility; the programs and types of courses that are eligible for 12 participation; the decision-making process for granting academic 13 credits; an explanation of eligible charges that will be paid by 14 the school district and of financial arrangements for eligible 15 charges and for paying costs not paid for by the school district; 16 eligibility for payment of all or part of eligible charges by the 17 school district under this act; an explanation that, if the stu- 18 dent qualifies for payment of all or part of eligible charges by 19 the school district under this act, the school district will pay 20 that support directly to the career and technical preparation 21 program upon being billed by the career and technical preparation 22 program and that the student is not responsible for that payment 23 but is responsible for payment of costs not paid for under this 24 act; available support services; the need to arrange an appropri- 25 ate schedule; consequences of failing or not completing a voca- 26 tional education course in which the eligible student enrolls; 27 the effect of enrolling in a career and technical preparation H01271'99 * 11 1 course on the eligible student's ability to complete the required 2 high school graduation requirements; and the academic and social 3 responsibilities that must be assumed by the eligible student and 4 his or her parent or guardian. 5 (2) To the extent possible, a school district shall provide 6 counseling services to an eligible student and his or her parent 7 or guardian before the eligible student enrolls in a career and 8 technical preparation course under this act to ensure that the 9 eligible student and his or her parent or guardian are fully 10 aware of the benefits, risks, and possible consequences of 11 enrolling in the course. The person providing the counseling 12 shall encourage the eligible student and his or her parent or 13 guardian to also use available counseling services at the career 14 and technical preparation program before the quarter or semester 15 of enrollment to ensure that anticipated plans are appropriate. 16 A school district may provide the counseling required under this 17 section in a group meeting if additional personalized counseling 18 is also made available. 19 (3) Before enrolling in an eligible course at a career and 20 technical preparation program under this act, an eligible student 21 and his or her parent or guardian shall file with the career and 22 technical preparation program a signed form provided by the eli- 23 gible student's school district stating that the student is an 24 eligible student and has received the information and counseling 25 specified in subsections (1) and (2) and that the student under- 26 stands the responsibilities that must be assumed in enrolling in 27 the course. Upon request, the department shall provide technical H01271'99 * 12 1 assistance to a school district and to a career and technical 2 preparation program in developing appropriate forms and counsel- 3 ing guidelines for purposes of this section. 4 Sec. 10. By May 1, 2001, and by March 1 of each school year 5 thereafter, a school district shall provide general information 6 about the career and technical preparation enrollment options 7 under this act to all pupils in grade 8 or higher. 8 Sec. 11. (1) Each intermediate school district annually 9 shall collect from each of its constituent school districts and 10 provide to the department of education at the same time that it 11 submits the annual comprehensive financial report required under 12 section 18 of the state school aid act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL 13 388.1618, information for the immediately preceding school year 14 on all of the following: 15 (a) The amount of money expended by the school district for 16 payments required under this act. 17 (b) The number of eligible students who were enrolled in the 18 school district and the number of those eligible students who 19 enrolled in 1 or more eligible courses under this act and 20 received payment of all or part of eligible charges under this 21 act, both in the aggregate and by grade level. 22 (c) The percentage of the school district's enrollment rep- 23 resented by the eligible students described in subdivision (b), 24 both in the aggregate and by grade level. 25 (d) The total number of courses for which the school dis- 26 trict made payment under this act, the number of those courses 27 for which postsecondary credit was granted, the number of those H01271'99 * 13 1 courses for which high school credit was granted, and the number 2 of those courses that were not completed by the eligible 3 student. 4 (2) Not later than March 1 of each year, the department 5 shall prepare and submit to the house and senate fiscal agencies 6 and the department of management and budget a summary annual 7 report on the information received under subsection (1). The 8 department of education shall work cooperatively with the depart- 9 ment in the preparation of this report. 10 Sec. 12. The department may promulgate rules it considers 11 necessary to implement this act. Rules shall be promulgated 12 under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 13 24.201 to 24.328. 14 Sec. 13. (1) This act takes effect April 1, 2001. Payment 15 of all or part of eligible charges under this act for eligible 16 courses shall begin in the state fiscal year beginning on October 17 1, 2001. 18 (2) This act is repealed effective June 30, 2006. H01271'99 * Final page. TAV