A 5450: Establishes the advanced coursework expansion incentive grant program to school districts who offer advanced courses to economically disadvantaged students.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5450 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the advanced coursework expansion incentive grant program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3641-c 2 to read as follows: 3 § 3641-c. Advanced coursework expansion incentive grant program. 1. 4 (a) The commissioner shall establish the advanced coursework expansion 5 incentive grant program for high schools in the state. Any school 6 district which currently offers less than five advanced courses may 7 apply to receive a grant under such program; provided such school 8 district expands college credit earning courses with a nationally normed 9 college credit earning program including, but not limited to, Advanced 10 Placement and International Baccalaureate coursework and enrolls econom- 11 ically disadvantaged students who complete a course and sit for the exam 12 that provides college credit upon completion of such course. A school 13 district shall receive a three hundred fifty dollar grant for each such 14 student in the school year following a student's course and exam 15 completion. A school district shall only receive one grant per student. 16 (b) For the purposes of this section, "economically disadvantaged 17 students" shall mean those who participate in, or whose family partic- 18 ipates in, economic assistance programs, such as the free or reduced- 19 price lunch programs, social security insurance (SSI), food stamps, 20 foster care, refugee assistance (monetary or medical assistance), earned 21 income tax credit (EITC), home energy assistance program (HEAP), safety 22 net assistance (SNA), Bureau of Indian Affairs assistance programs 23 (BIA), or temporary assistance for needy families (TANF). If one student 24 in a family is identified as economically disadvantaged, all students 25 from that household may be identified as economically disadvantaged. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06621-01-5 
 A. 5450 2 1 2. Grants awarded under the advanced coursework expansion incentive 2 grant program shall be used to continue the expansion of advanced course 3 offerings. In creating a new college credit earning course or courses, 4 the school district may expend funding from the grant program to pay for 5 teacher training and ongoing professional development, course materials 6 necessary for the coursework including, but not limited to textbooks, 7 online resources, lab equipment, student support services to help 8 students achieve college credit, and other such materials and services 9 as deemed necessary to create the new course or courses by the commis- 10 sioner. Funding shall be used for in classroom courses unless it is 11 determined by the school district and approved by the commissioner that 12 an online or blended learning course is the only option. No funds from 13 this grant program may be used to establish new dual enrollment courses 14 with nonprofit colleges or universities. 15 3. Subject to appropriation, grants shall be awarded by the commis- 16 sioner to any school district described in subdivision one of this 17 section that requests such funding and has at least ten economically 18 disadvantaged students complete the required coursework and exam in the 19 prior year. 20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 21 the date on which it shall have become a law.