A House committee Thursday approved a Democratic proposal to fund a limited statewide “dual enrollment” program for high school students who also want to take college classes, but Republicans promise a fight over the bill.
The bill is modeled after the dual-enrollment program at Sheridan High School, said its sponsor, Denver Democrat Rep. Fran Coleman. The state education board in September ruled that programs at Sheridan and at Denver’s Abraham Lincoln High School violated existing rules and shouldn’t receive further state funding.
Coleman’s House Bill 1358 would change things by offering state funding for dual enrollment for 500 students across the state.
“I want to reduce the dropout rate,” Coleman said. “I want to increase the graduation rate. And I want people to go on to college.”
Though one Republican critic, Colorado Springs Rep. Keith King, said he supports the program, he believes Coleman’s bill would allow illegal immigrants to benefit from in-state tuition rates, despite a Colorado Commission on Higher Education prohibition.
He also believes the bill fails to keep schools from “double dipping” in different funding sources, he said.
King tried to address those issues through amendments Thursday in the House Education Committee but failed.
House Republican Minority Leader Mike May said other Republicans also are concerned.
“We are disappointed it is out (of committee) in its current form,” May said. “We’ll continue to fight the bill.”
Coleman said neither problem exists, and her fellow Democrats say they support the bill, which now heads for the House Appropriations Committee.
Students would still have to disclose their residency statuses to qualify for state higher- education stipends, she said.
The program has worked at Sheridan and Lincoln, school officials and students told Education Committee on Thursday.
The opportunity to see college as a real goal helps keep students who are struggling from dropping out early in high school, Sheridan principal Greg Gotchey said.
“This brings hope,” he said. “I can see it. It happens at our school currently.”
Sheridan counselor Marsha Caldwell said Coleman’s bill comes just as the program there is about to run out of finances.
“If this bill does not pass, it will be done, because we cannot afford it,” she said.
Rep. Angie Paccione, D-Fort Collins, said she will fight for Coleman’s bill in the coming debate.
“There are some students who might drop out if this were not otherwise available,” she said.
Staff writer Jim Hughes can be reached at 303-820-1244 or jhughes@denverpost.com.
