Senator Hassan Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Help High School Students Earn College Credit

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, Senator Maggie Hassan introduced bipartisan legislation last week with Senator Todd Young (R-IN) to create a grant program aimed at helping more students earn college credits while still in high school. New Hampshire has extensive dual-enrollment programs in place, with almost 100 high schools in the state offering the Running Start program in partnership with the Community College System of New Hampshire. These types of early college programs provide academically-prepared high school students the opportunity to receive college credit while they are still in high school.

The bill is backed by the Community College System of New Hampshire, and for a list of high schools in your area with Running Start programs, email press@hassan.senate.gov.

See below for highlights of the coverage on Senator Hassan’s bipartisan bill:

AP: NH Sen. Hassan introduces bill on college credit for high schoolers

New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan is leading a bipartisan effort to help more students earn college credit while still in high school.

Hassan, a Democrat, recently introduced a bill co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana to create a federal grant program to support early college programs. The Fast Track To and Through College Act would allow high students to take up to a full year of college courses, require public colleges and universities to accept credit from such programs and would expand access to the programs.

Hassan says New Hampshire has been a leader in enabling high schoolers to earn college credit, with nearly 100 high schools offering the Running Start program in partnership with the state’s community college system.

Keene Sentinel: Hassan introduces Fast Track To and Through College Act

By Jake Lahut

U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan introduced a new education bill Wednesday, seeking to build off of New Hampshire’s dual-enrollment programs to better codify ways at the federal level for high-schoolers to get college credit.

Hassan, a Democrat, is the lead cosponsor of the Fast Track To and Through College Act, along with Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind.

The bill would allow high-schoolers enrolled in early-college programs to stockpile as much as a full year of college credits to use once they arrive on campus, according to a news release from Hassan’s office.

Taking a two-birds-with-one-stone approach, the legislation would seek to bolster workforce development and mitigate the burden of costly tuition nationwide.

[…] Under Hassan and Young’s proposal, public colleges and universities would be required to accept credit from the early-start programs.

Hassan’s bill earned praise from Ross Gittell, chancellor of the state’s community college system.

“The Community College System of New Hampshire was an early leader in dual and concurrent enrollment opportunities for high school students, and these programs have supported student achievement and success across the Granite State, Gittell said in a statement. “We appreciate and support the bipartisan efforts of Sen. Hassan and her colleagues to build an even stronger continuum of learning between secondary and postsecondary education in the United States.”

Another major component of the bill would expand access to early-college programs by allowing Pell grants — government tuition assistance that does not need to be paid back like a loan — to cover the remaining credits for students moving onto college from dual-enrollment programs.

In a statement to The Sentinel, Hassan credited Granite Staters for leading the way in education reform.

“New Hampshire high schools are leading the country in enabling high schoolers to earn college credits — which challenges them academically, better prepares them for college, and can even save them on future tuition costs,” Hassan said.

“I’m glad to work across the aisle to help expand and support high-quality early college programs, so that even more high school students can have access to them and ensure that their hard work will count for credit once they start college.”

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