SB0446sam001 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Pat McGuire

Filed: 3/20/2019

10100SB0446sam001 LRB101 04207 AXK 57800 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 446

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 446 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Alternative Remedial Coursework Act.

Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:

"Accelerated model of developmental education" means a model of developmental education in which a student enrolls and completes a developmental and credit-bearing, college-level course in the same subject area within the same semester, but not concurrently.

"College-level coursework" means a course that bears credit and fulfills any credit requirements for mathematics or the English language for a baccalaureate degree, a certificate, or an associate degree from a postsecondary institution.

"Community college" means a public community college governed by the Public Community College Act.

"Co-requisite support" means a developmental education delivery approach in which students enroll in credit-bearing, college-level coursework concurrently with required individual, group, or class support services in the same subject area.

"Developmental course" or "developmental coursework" means a course or a category of courses in which students are placed based on an institution's finding that a student does not have the proficiencies necessary to succeed in a college-level mathematics or English language course.

"Dual credit" means a college course taken by a high school student for credit at both the college and high school level.

"IBHE" means the Board of Higher Education.

"ICCB" means the Illinois Community College Board.

"Multiple measures for placement" means a community college or university that provides multiple options by which students may demonstrate proficiency for college-level English language or mathematics coursework.

"Non-degree seeking student" or "non-certificate seeking student" means a student who takes courses for the purpose of personal or professional enrichment without the intent of accumulating credits toward a degree or certificate.

"Placement exam" means an exam administered by a postsecondary institution to assess a student's level of literacy and numeracy with the aim of placing him or her in appropriate courses, including, but not limited to, the ASSET test, the ACCUPLACER test, the ALEKS placement exam, or any other proprietary placement exam.

"Postsecondary institution" or "institution" means a public community college or university in this State.

"Remedial coursework" means a developmental education delivery approach in which students enroll in non-credit-bearing courses that must be completed before a student may enroll in college-level coursework for an applicable subject.

"University" means a public university in this State.

Section 10. Placement framework.

(a) Each postsecondary institution must maximize the probability that a student will enter and successfully pass college-level coursework in both the English language and mathematics within the student's first 2 semesters at the institution, which need not be consecutive. To achieve this goal, a postsecondary institution must offer a student multiple measures for placement in college-level English language and mathematics courses; however, the institution is not prevented from offering additional placement options or lower cut-off scores. At a minimum, the measures must include all of the following:

(1) A student's cumulative high school grade point average that is consistent with the grade point average adopted by ICCB and IBHE, in consultation with colleges and universities, under Section 20.

(2) A student's successful completion of a transitional mathematics or English language course, consistent with the requirements of the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act.

(3) A student who has earned college credit in mathematics or the English language through mechanisms provided for in the College and Career Success for All Students Act, dual credit courses, or other methods for earning college credit.

(4) A student's successful completion of an appropriate developmental course in mathematics or the English language at another regionally accredited postsecondary institution.

(5) A student's cumulative or subject-area standardized test score on the ACT or SAT college admissions test.

(6) Other measures as determined by ICCB and IBHE, in consultation with colleges and universities.

A postsecondary institution must apply each measure to each student enrolled in the institution, and a student who meets the performance standards of one or more of the measures must be allowed to bypass any remediation.

(b) Except for a student who does not qualify for college-level coursework, a postsecondary institution may not administer a placement exam to assess a student's developmental course placement using any measure other than those under subsection (a).

(c) A student who is eligible to enroll in college-level coursework under a postsecondary institution's policy established before the effective date of this Act, with the exception of placement exam scores for institutions that no longer require them, may not be placed in developmental coursework after the establishment of measures under this Section.

(d) If a postsecondary institution requires a student to enroll in non-credit bearing remedial coursework, the institution must inform the student of all available support and afford the student an opportunity to meet with an advisor to develop an individualized plan for taking college-level coursework.

(e) If a student's high school transcript data is difficult to obtain, logistically problematic to use, or not available, a postsecondary institution must use a student's self-reported high school grade point average.

(f) A postsecondary institution may not use the measures required under this Section or the results of any measures as a condition of admission to the institution.

Section 15. Co-requisite support framework.

(a) Each postsecondary institution must develop and implement co-requisite support as an alternative to remedial coursework in the timeframe established under subsection (c) for degree programs that require completion of a college-level mathematics or English language course. The support must be established in a way that supports a student's learning outcomes in the targeted college-level course and that best fits the conditions and culture of the institution, the respective academic department, and the degree program or course of study.

(b) A postsecondary institution may exempt from the requirements of subsection (a) (i) non-degree-seeking students, (ii) non-certificate-seeking students, and (iii) students enrolled in one-semester accelerated models of developmental education.

(c) IBHE and ICCB must ensure each institution complies with the requirements of this Section according to the following schedule:

(1) For the 2021-2022 academic year, at least 25% of the institution's students who are enrolled in developmental coursework must be enrolled in co-requisite support.

(2) For the 2022-2023 academic year, at least 50% of the institution's students who are enrolled in developmental coursework must be enrolled in co-requisite support.

(3) For the 2023-2024 academic year and each academic year thereafter, at least 75% of the institution's students who are enrolled in developmental coursework must be enrolled in co-requisite support.

Section 20. Implementation of Act; rules; report.

(a) IBHE and ICCB must co-manage the implementation, oversight, and evaluation of this Act and must adopt rules to implement this Act.

(b) Once every 3 years, IBHE and ICCB may review and revise grade point average or standardized test score standards or any other measure adopted under Section 10.

(c) Beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year and each academic year thereafter, IBHE and ICCB shall jointly prepare a report on the implementation and outcomes of this Act during the previous academic year. IBHE and ICCB must submit the report no later January 1 of each year to the Governor, General Assembly, and Illinois P-20 Council, which must include, at a minimum, all of the following, disaggregated by each student's race, ethnicity, age, and federal Pell grant status:

(1) A description of the co-requisite models employed at each institution.

(2) The number and percentage of students who received co-requisite support and the number and percentage of students who completed those courses.

(3) The number and percentage of students who were placed in traditional models of developmental education and the number and percentage of students who completed those courses.

The report may not disaggregate data to a level that may disclose personally identifying information of individual students. The sharing and reporting of student data under this subsection must be in accordance with the requirements under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Illinois School Student Records Act. All parties must preserve the confidentiality of the information as required by law.

(d) IBHE and ICCB may, in consultation with postsecondary institutions, ensure the development and delivery of professional development to assist with the implementation of this Act.

(e) IBHE and ICCB shall, subject to a separate appropriation made for such purposes, provide funding to postsecondary institutions to assist with implementation of this Act. Beginning with Fiscal Year 2021, IBHE and ICCB shall create a budget line item for such purposes.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2020.".