School/College Dual Enrollment – 2024 Refinements During Blueprint Rollout

This article is part of MACo’s Policy Deep Dive series, where expert policy analysts explore and explain the top county policy issues of the day. A new article is added each week – read all of MACo’s Policy Deep Dives. 

Programs to enable, and encourage, public high school students to dually enroll with their community college to gain momentum toward a college pathway were part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. Amidst the Blueprint roll-out, the details for these offerings have been realigned, including legislation passed during the 2024 session.

Dual enrollment has been a cornerstone of the Maryland public education system for over a decade and is now free for high school students through provisions of the Blueprint that took effect in 2021. Since dual enrollment began in 2010, and was then bolstered by the College and Career Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013, program utilization has increased every year since. With dual enrollment now being offered free to all eligible students, numbers are expected to increase significantly. The last count, published in 2022, showed just shy of 20,000 students were dually enrolled in 2020-2021, which was 7.28 percent of high school students that year.

This program at its core allows students to take credit-bearing college courses for an institution of higher education while simultaneously taking their high school classes. This allows them to earn high school and college credit for completing a single course. This model has the potential to reduce some of the financial burden of college costs, which is particularly impactful for first generation students and other underserved populations who historically have lacked access to higher education.

Free tuition and fee coverage for dually enrolled students is a requirement set forth by the Blueprint that each county school system must provide to all students who meet the Career and College Readiness (CCR) standards. This opportunity is part of the post-CCR pathway that includes:

  • a competitive entry college preparatory program chosen by the county board
  • a program that allows a student to earn an associate degree or at least sixty credits toward a bachelor’s degree i.e. dual enrollment
  • a robust set of career and technical education programs

State regulations include a short segment specifying that school systems bear costs for any of the three post-CCR pathways:

(g)    (1)    Beginning in the 2023–2024 school year, each county board shall provide all students who meet the CCR standard required under subsection (c) of this section with access to the following post college and career readiness (post–CCR) pathways, at no cost to the student or the student’s parents, including the cost of any fees.COM

How is Dual Enrollment Funded?

Funding for dual enrollment is calculated as part of the Post College and Career Readiness Pathways Aid, which is one of the eight categories under the weighted amounts that are calculated as part of the Blueprint funding formula. CCR program funding, the total of state and local portions (determined, as most Blueprint components, through a local wealth calculation), specifically must be at least 75 percent of the program amount calculated according to the CCR formula. This program amount is arrived at by multiplying the current per pupil amount, adjusted for inflation, by the number of eligible CCR students currently in a given jurisdiction.

The formula for CCR aid can also be found in §5–217 of the Education Article. For enrollment calculations, any student taking at least four courses, with at least one of those being taken in a high school, is considered one full-time equivalent student.

How Did Dual Enrollment Change During the 2024 Legislative Session?

Since implementation began, following the initial passage of the Blueprint in 2021, superintendents have expressed concern that they are struggling to afford the dual enrollment tuition for community colleges and other higher education options. In an effort to lighten the financial burden on the schools, lawmakers changed the Blueprint during the 2024 legislative session to allow the Blueprint Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) and Maryland State Board of Education (MSBE), in consultation with local school systems, to limit the number and types of courses high school students can take in dual enrollment classes.

From House Bill 1426:

TO PHASE IN EXPANSION OF DUAL ENROLLMENT TO MAXIMIZE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO CAN EARN THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF DUAL ENROLLMENT CREDITS CONSISTENT WITH THE PHASED INCREASES IN SCHOOL FUNDING, FOR FISCAL YEARS 2025 THROUGH 2027, THE STATE BOARD AND THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION BOARD, IN CONSULTATION WITH EACH LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEM, MAY LIMIT THE NUMBER AND TYPES OF COURSES THAT A STUDENT DUALLY ENROLLED AT THE STUDENT’S PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL AND AT AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION MAY ENROLL IN DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR AT THE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION AS PART OF THE POST–CCR PATHWAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION AND § 15–127 OF THIS ARTICLE.

MSBE voted on new provisions in late April and the AIB has since adopted those as well in their May 16 meeting. After the State agencies exercised this new authority, students can now take only two classes at community colleges each semester, for a total of four courses per school year. Exam fees were also required to be covered in this resolution for a first attempt exam on a dual credit course. These initial changes will be in effect starting fiscal year 2025 through fiscal year 2026. The changes are intended to be reviewed again in the Fall of 2025 for potential extension through fiscal year 2027.