§18B-1-1e. Public education and higher education collaboration for the preparation of students for college and other post-secondary education.

(a) Purpose. — The purpose of this section is as follows:

(1) To assist students in the planning and preparation for success in college and other post-secondary education if their education major interests require such formal education after high school;

(2) To establish the minimum expected level of knowledge, skill and competency a student must possess to be prepared fully for college and other post-secondary education at state institutions of higher education;

(3) To implement a method for communicating the minimum level of knowledge, skill and competency to students, parents, educators and counselors in the public schools, and admissions officers, advisors and faculty in the higher education institutions; and

(4) To assure that the teacher preparation programs in state institutions of higher education prepare educators to, at a minimum, deliver instruction necessary to prepare students fully for college and other post-secondary education or gainful employment consistent with the provisions of section eight, article two-e, chapter eighteen of this code.

(b) Joint rule. — On or before October 1, 1996, the higher education governing boards shall promulgate a joint rule to achieve the purposes of subsection (a) of this section. In the development of such rule, the governing boards shall consult with the state board and the jobs through education employer panel, established pursuant to section eight, article two-e, chapter eighteen of this code, and shall collaborate with the state board in the establishment of compatible practices within their separate systems.

(c) Assessment of student readiness. — To provide continuous assessment and program improvement in the preparation of high school students for success in college or other post-secondary education, the higher education governing boards shall communicate to the state board and the Legislative Oversight commission on education accountability by December 1, in each year, beginning in December, 1997, the number of graduates from the public schools in the state by high schools who were accepted in the last calendar year for enrollment at each of the state institutions of higher education within one year of graduation, and whose knowledge, skill and competency were below the minimum expected levels for full preparation as defined by the governing boards. The governing boards also shall report the areas in which the knowledge, skill and competency of the students were below the minimum expected level. The state board shall provide information to each of the high schools of the state for graduates from the high school.

(d) Nondiscrimination in admission process. —

(1) State institutions of higher education may not require a person who has obtained a diploma or other appropriate credentialing from private, nonpublic, or home schooling, and who has acceptable test results on ACT, SAT or other tests recognized by the institution of higher education which would qualify the person for admission, to submit to alternate testing as a condition of admission.

(2) A person who has obtained a diploma or other appropriate credentialing may not be rejected for admission to an institution of higher education solely because their secondary education was not accredited by the state Board of Education or any accrediting agency approved by the board.