Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, speaks as the bill is signed Thursday on the benefits of double enrollment legislation that will further expand school choices.
Florida students who are home-schooled or attending private high schools will have more opportunities to earn college course points this fall due to a bill that Governor Ron DeSantis signed earlier today.
SB 52 is providing $ 15.5 million in government funds to cover the cost of home-schooled and private students participating in dual enrollment programs by taking courses at a partner college or university. It fixes a bug in state law that has left the state for the past eight years with no funding mechanism to cover tuition and fees for dual-enrolled students who have not attended public schools.
As a result, the number of private schools with dual courses of study decreased steadily, as more and more private schools could not bear the costs for their students.
“We need to make sure students have all the choices that are best for them,” said DeSantis, who signed SB 52 as part of a human resource development initiative. “There are decisions that are inferior to other decisions. There are many different ways to be successful. “
In addition, the draft law covers tuition fees and fees for students enrolling in dual study programs in the summer of 2022.
Issues related to funding dual enrollment arose in 2013 when a change in law shifted the cost of dual enrollment programs from colleges to school districts. Since the school districts are financed by the state, the state has borne the costs. However, private schools, which were not allowed to pass the costs on to their students, had no choice but to restrict their dual school offer. (The law already banned colleges from passing the costs directly on to homeschooling students.)
The number of students in private schools participating in dual courses has decreased by 60%, although the number of students in public schools has doubled over the same period.
The situation has had a dramatic impact on students with school choice scholarships. During the same enrollment period, the number of lower-income students attending private schools with Florida Tax Credit Scholarships has more than quadrupled, putting more low-income students at a disadvantage.
Legislators have tried to clear up the issue for the past few years, but despite bipartisan support, the proposed laws never made it onto the governor’s desk.
“We have seen over the years that dual enrollment is a big step in the right direction for students who are later aiming for a college or university degree. These programs not only reduce the cost of higher education, but also the time it takes to graduate, which has proven to be a huge benefit for low-income and first-generation college students, ”said Senator Kelli Stargel. R-Lakeland, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“With a historic expansion of school choices for low-income families that signed into law earlier this year, the time has certainly come to extend the tremendous benefits of dual enrollment to students in private, home, or virtual educational settings,” said Stargel.
Stakeholders praised the change and said it would restore justice to all students across the state. It particularly benefits economically disadvantaged students who rely on government school choice scholarship programs to attend private schools.
“Dual enrollment has significant academic benefits for students, and this bill gives students equal access to those benefits regardless of where they attend school,” said Michael Barrett, education officer for the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, who supported the bill while Session supported throughout the 2021 legislative period.
James Herzog, who represents the Florida Association of Academic Non-Public Schools, another group that officially supported the bill, said it would reverse the downtrend lines that reverse the number of students enrolled in dual enrollment programs over the past decade would.
“Florida has seen an alarming 60% decline in double enrollment rates for students from independent and religious schools over the past decade,” he said. “Secondary schools that could not bear the costs of dual enrollment had to stop access. Florida leaders have once again leveled the playing field by increasing dual enrollment options for all students, whether they are attending public or private schools or home-schooling programs. “
Steven Hicks, vice president of operations at Center Academy, which operates 10 campuses for students with learning disparities in Florida, praised lawmakers for passing the law, which he believes inspires more of its students to graduate by giving it to them enable college to be tried out and gain self-confidence during high school.
“Studies clearly show that students who have the opportunity to take dual courses are more likely to go to college after high school, ”he said. “The fact that so many families like the ones we looked after were unable to take advantage of this opportunity for financial or other reasons was extremely frustrating. Because of the courage of Governor DeSantis and key lawmakers, private students, especially those with disabilities or from low-income families, will now have the same opportunity as other students to use dual enrollment. We applaud you all for your great work. “
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/dual-enrollment-law-allows-more-private-school-students-to-get-head-start-on-college/
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