Ritter signs bill promoting associate's degrees in high school

DENVER - Colorado is making it easier for schools to offer teens a chance to earn an associate's degree while still in high school, a move backers say could help lower the dropout rate and help the state win millions in extra federal stimulus money.

Gov. Bill Ritter signed House Bill 1319 into law along with eight other education bills on Thursday at a high school called the Middle College of Denver.

It's one of a half dozen high schools around the state where students take career classes and earn college credit at nearby community colleges.

Ritter urged the students, packed into the school cafeteria along with lawmakers and education officials, to tell their siblings and friends about the program, which he said would help keep more students in school.

State education officials believe it's the first statewide program of its kind in the nation.

"None of this is really about us. This is about you," Ritter said before sitting down to sign the bills.

The other bills aimed at winning an estimated $400 million in stimulus money for school reform include one to set up a statewide system to track the performance of teachers and principals to help close the so-called "teacher gap," where less experienced teachers tend to work in low-income schools. Another provides more options for overhauling low-performing schools.

The program allowing students to take college courses, called concurrent enrollment, will make it easier for students at traditional high schools to earn an associate's degree before they graduate, mainly by clarifying who pays what.

Some school districts already make such programs available, but others have been reluctant because of confusion over whether school districts can pay for college tuition and what happens when a student needs to remain in high school for a fifth year to complete an associate's degree.

Under the new law, students in grades 9 through 12 can take an unlimited number of college courses a community college with school districts picking up the tab. Parents and guardians must agree to reimburse the district if the student doesn't complete a class.

Students who stay for a fifth year of high school can use a state subsidy set aside for all Colorado high school graduates to pay their tuition. That subsidy - the College Opportunity Fund stipend - has a lifetime limit of 145 credits and those fifth year courses would be deducted from that amount.

Bill co-sponsor Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, said it gives students a clear pathway to earning a college degree, which can help them get a job or continue their education.

Before the bill signing, Ritter toured the Middle College of Denver, where students take classes in fields including business management and architectural technology their first two years before taking classes at the Community College of Denver.

He stopped by a coffee cart opened by management students who raised capital by selling stock at $2 a share earlier this year. They gave him a free cup - one they could easily afford because of the operation's success.

Nick Arosemena, a freshman who served as the operation's vice president for finance, told the governor those shares were now worth $4.44 each. With the school year ending, the students were liquidating the operation and paying back investors at a nearby table in the cafeteria.