Dual and Concurrent Enrollment in Rhode Island: the law behind it

The statute

R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-100-3

Dual Enrollment Equal Opportunity Act, policy implemented . Subsections (a), (c), and (d).

The working section of the act. Subsection (a) directs the board of education to prescribe by regulation a statewide dual enrollment policy that lets students earn credit at both levels at once, and tells it to address the postsecondary institution’s graduation requirements, its ability to award degrees in Rhode Island, and the minimum course grade needed for high school credit. Subsection (c) is the ceiling: payments to the public institutions for dual and concurrent enrollment are limited to no greater than the appropriation in the appropriations act. Subsection (d) exempts a grade twelve student enrolled full time on a college campus from the instructional requirement in section 16-22-4(a).

R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-100-4

Dual enrollment adoption .

The section that answers a school saying it does not do this. School districts and schools had to adopt the statewide policy by June 30, 2015, and the requirement reaches school districts, charter schools, career and technical schools, approved private day or residential schools, and collaborative schools. A Rhode Island public school is inside the policy whether or not it markets the program, so the question to put to a principal is which courses are available rather than whether the school takes part.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-100-5

Reporting .

The paper trail a parent can use. Districts with participating students report annually to the Department of Education on how many students took part, how many credits they enrolled in, at which institution, and the dollar amount the district was allocated. The department then reports to the governor, the senate president, and the house speaker by October 31 each year, district by district and in aggregate. That makes participation and spending a matter of public record rather than something a single school controls.

The administrative rule

200-RICR-10-00-1

Regulations for Dual Enrollment, Rhode Island Board of Education . Effective January 4, 2022.

The statewide policy the act demanded, and the document that decides most arguments. It defines concurrent enrollment as a dual enrollment course offered at the secondary school and taught by a secondary school teacher the postsecondary institution has approved. It puts approval with the principal, director, or head of school, and it states that student age will not be a determiner of enrollment. Grades and credits earned go on a postsecondary transcript, and for the high school side it sets a general conversion of one high school credit for a three or four credit college course. For a full-time student, the local education agency supports the cost up to fifty percent of the core instructional per pupil amount of state and local education aid.

Who pays, and under what authority

PrepareRI Dual Enrollment Fund

Rhode Island Department of Education, Early College Opportunities .

The reason a public school family sees no tuition bill. The fund pays for qualified public high school students to take courses from the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the University of Rhode Island as part of their high school requirements, at no cost to the student or family. Books and associated course materials are covered by the school or district when the course is taken for high school credit, which is a district obligation worth getting in writing. The department also publishes the expectations campuses apply, a recommended 3.0 grade point average for early college coursework, junior or senior standing at URI and RIC with exceptions on a counselor recommendation, and a 2.7 for the full-time programs at CCRI.

Agency guidance

Earning College Credit in High School

RIDE memo to local education agencies .

The department explaining the whole landscape to districts in one document: Advanced Placement, concurrent enrollment taught by an approved high school teacher, and dual enrollment taught by a professor, with the All Course Network sitting alongside the PrepareRI fund as the second way into a course. It is written for school staff rather than for families, which makes it useful for checking whether a school is describing its own obligations correctly.

How it got here

The Dual Enrollment Equal Opportunity Act passed in 2013, enacted twice over in chapters 168 and 199 of that year’s public laws. Section 16-100-3 has been amended since, in 2017 and again in 2019, and the current text carries both the cap tying payments to the appropriations act and the exemption for a grade twelve student enrolled full time on a college campus. The regulation that implements the act took effect January 4, 2022.

Who administers it

These are the offices that answer a question about Rhode Island law rather than about one school or one campus. A district and a college can both be wrong about a state rule, and these pages are where the state's own position is published.

• Rhode Island Department of Education · Runs the PrepareRI fund, publishes the early college guidance, and collects the annual district reports.
• Rhode Island Department of State, rules and regulations · Where 200-RICR-10-00-1 is published in force, with its effective date.
• Rhode Island General Assembly, chapter 16-100 · Where the act and its amendment history are published section by section.

Frequently asked

Does the statute make dual enrollment free?

No. The act requires a statewide policy and then limits payments to the public institutions to no greater than the appropriation in the appropriations act. Courses are free to public school families because the budget funds the PrepareRI Dual Enrollment Fund each year.

Can a school refuse because a student is too young?

The regulation states that student age will not be a determiner of enrollment. Approval still sits with the principal, director, or head of school, applying local criteria on academics, behavior, and attendance, so the case has to be made rather than won on the calendar.

Which schools have to follow the statewide policy?

Section 16-100-4 reaches school districts, charter schools, career and technical schools, approved private day or residential schools, and collaborative schools, all of which had to adopt the policy by June 30, 2015.

How much high school credit does a college course earn?

The regulation’s general conversion is one high school credit for a three or four credit college course. Which graduation requirement that credit satisfies is a district decision, so confirm it with the counselor before registering.

Who tracks how much the state spends on this?

Districts report participation, credits, institutions, and their allocation to the Department of Education every year under section 16-100-5, and the department reports to the governor and legislative leaders by October 31, both by district and in aggregate.