As part of the 2021 Appropriations Act, the General Assembly appropriated $250,000 to support one-time pilot programs for school divisions to redesign their dual enrollment course offerings to align/link with the Passport and Uniform Certificate of General Studies Pilot offered by Virginia's community colleges.

The Appropriation language outlining the requirements for the Passport and Uniform Certificate of General Studies offered by Virginia's community colleges states:

Item 144 Paragraph VV.

Out of this appropriation, $250,000 the second year from the general fund is provided for grants to support one-time pilot programs to school divisions to redesign dual enrollment course offerings to align/link to the Passport and Uniform Certificate of General Studies offered by Virginia's community colleges. Divisions awarded such grants shall collaborate with the local community college to effectively redesign the local school division's dual enrollment course offerings. Divisions applying shall include: (i) an explanation of why such dual enrollment pilot program is warranted; (ii) the dual enrollment courses currently offered by the division; (iii) the projected student enrollment in dual enrollment courses; and (iv) the number of the division's employed staff qualified to teach dual enrollment and the number currently teaching a dual enrollment course. The Department of Education may consider in the awarding of a grant: (i) the division's local composite index; (ii) the level of misalignment in the division's dual enrollment course offerings to the Passport and Uniform Certificate of General Studies; and (iii) the division's level of dual enrollment course availability and current student enrollment in those courses. The Department of Education shall report, along with the divisions and community colleges, the components of the redesign and efforts to increase availability and participation in dual enrollment courses to the General Assembly by November 1, 2022. The Department of Education and the Virginia Community College System shall use these pilot programs to provide a comprehensive guide to every school division and community college to assist with aligning high school dual enrollment course offerings to the Passport and Uniform Certificate of General Studies.

The appropriations language supports the development of greater access to early college and dual enrollment opportunities for students across the Commonwealth. Currently, there is varied opportunity for such access to students due to, for example, geographical and logistical access to institutions of higher education, student and family awareness of these opportunities, and an inability to provide coursework in a K-12 setting because of a lack of access to teachers with appropriate content credentials.

Providing greater access to the Passport and Uniform Certificate of General Studies supports access to more rigorous and differentiated learning opportunities within the public K-12 setting.