SB1717 - 561R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 15, chapter 2, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding sections 15-244.02, 15-244.03 and 15-244.04, to read:

START_STATUTE15-244.02. Dual enrollment incentive program; bonus monies; fund; annual report; definitions

A. The dual enrollment incentive program is established within the department of education to provide an incentive bonus to teachers, school districts and charter schools for students who obtain a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course.

B. Beginning in fiscal year 2023-2024, the department of education shall pay an incentive bonus to school districts and charter schools for each student who receives a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course. A student who receives a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course and who is enrolled in a school where fifty percent or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches shall generate for the school or charter school a bonus of $450 per passing grade on a qualifying dual enrollment course. A student who receives a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course and who is enrolled in a school where less than fifty percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches shall generate for the school or charter school a bonus of $300 per passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course. If the statewide sum of per student bonuses awarded pursuant to this subsection exceeds the amount of available monies appropriated for incentive bonuses, the bonus monies shall be reduced proportionally to cover all eligible bonus awards.

C. A school district or charter school that receives an incentive bonus pursuant to this section shall distribute at least fifty percent of the bonus monies to the associated classroom teacher for each student who receives a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course. Bonus monies awarded to a teacher pursuant to this subsection are in addition to any regular wage, compensation or other bonus the teacher receives or is scheduled to receive and shall be provided to the teacher not later than thirty days after the end of the school year. The remainder of any bonus monies received by a school district or charter school shall be allocated by the school principal on behalf of students who receive a passing grade and may be used for teacher professional development, student instructional support, reimbursement of tuition and mandatory fees or instructional materials. Any bonus monies received by a school district or charter school pursuant to this subsection shall be separately accounted for in the school district's or charter school's annual financial report.

D. Incentive bonuses distributed to and any bonus monies received by a school district or charter school pursuant to this section are not subject to collective bargaining. Incentive bonuses distributed to and any bonus monies received by a teacher pursuant to this section are not compensation as defined in section 38-711.

E. Payments of bonus monies made by the department of education pursuant to this section shall be distributed to schools not later than March 1 of each year. School districts and charter schools may appeal the allocation of bonus monies not later than August 1 of each year. The department may withhold up to $10,000 of the monies appropriated for the purposes of this section to address allocation appeals by school districts and charter schools.

F. The dual enrollment incentive fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations. The department of education shall administer the fund and shall use the monies in the fund for the purposes of this section. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.

G. On or before December 15, 2024, and on or before December 15 of each year thereafter, the department of education shall submit a report to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the governor, the secretary of state and the joint legislative budget committee on all of the following:

1. The number of students who enrolled in a qualifying dual enrollment course at each school.

2. The number of students who received a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course and the number of incentive bonus awards distributed.

3. The number and type of qualifying dual enrollment courses taken by students.

4. The amount of bonus monies received by each school.

H. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Passing grade" means a letter grade of A, B or C.

2. "Qualifying dual enrollment course" means a dual enrollment course that either:

(a) Fulfills a lower division general education credit at a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents or a community college as defined in section 15-1401.

(b) Is a career and technical education course that is required for a program that results in a certificate, credential or license. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE15-244.03. Dual enrollment development fund; incentive bonuses

A. The dual enrollment development fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations. The department shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated. The department shall distribute monies in the fund to schools to provide an incentive bonus of up to $1,000 per teacher who both:

1. Satisfies the requirements for teaching a dual enrollment course adopted by a higher learning commission that accredits degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the north central region, including this state.

2. Provides instruction in at least one dual enrollment course.

B. A teacher may not receive more than one incentive bonus pursuant to subsection A of this section. If the statewide sum of per teacher bonuses awarded pursuant to subsection A of this section exceeds the amount of available monies in the dual enrollment development fund, the bonus monies shall be reduced proportionally to cover all eligible bonus awards. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE15-244.04. Dual enrollment student fund; eligibility; definitions

A. The dual enrollment student fund is established within the state board of education to provide financial assistance to students who meet the criteria prescribed in this section. The department of education shall administer the fund and shall use the monies in the fund for the purposes of this section. The department shall prioritize distributions from the fund to students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.

B. A student who obtains a passing grade in a qualifying dual enrollment course may receive a reimbursement of up to $50 per credit hour for the qualifying dual enrollment course, subject to the following:

1. A student who is enrolled in grade nine or ten may not receive more than $300 per school year.

2. A student who is enrolled in grade eleven or twelve may not receive more than $600 per school year.

3. To be eligible to receive monies pursuant to this subsection, a student must have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

C. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Passing grade" means a letter grade of A, B or C.

2. "Qualifying dual enrollment course" means a dual enrollment course that either:

(a) Fulfills a lower division general education credit at a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents or a community college as defined in section 15-1401.

(b) Is a career and technical education course that is required for a program that results in a certificate, credential or license.END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Appropriations; dual enrollment; incentive fund; development fund; student fund; exemption

A. The sum of $5,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2023-2024 to the dual enrollment incentive fund established by section 15-244.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act.

B. The sum of $500,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2023-2024 to the dual enrollment development fund established by section 15-244.03, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act.

C. The sum of $15,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2023-2024 to the dual enrollment student fund established by section 15-244.04, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act.

D. The appropriation made in subsection B of this section is exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations, except that all monies remaining unencumbered or unexpended on July 1, 2029, revert to the state general fund.