Chapter 14. Early College High Schools And Middle College High Schools of California Education Code >> Division 1. >> Title 1. >> Part 7. >> Chapter 14.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that middle college high schools have proven to be a highly effective collaborative effort between local school districts and community colleges. The goal of the middle college high school is to select at-risk high school students who are performing below their academic potential and place them in an alternative high school located on a community college campus in order to reduce the likelihood that they will drop out of school before graduation.
  (b) Each middle college high school shall be structured as a broad-based, comprehensive instructional program focusing on college preparatory and school-to-work curricula, career education, work experience, community service, and support and motivational activities.
  (c) The specific design of a middle college high school may vary depending on the circumstances of the community college or school district. The basic elements of the middle college high school shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
  (1) A curriculum that focuses on college and career preparation.
  (2) A reduced adult-student ratio.
  (3) Flexible scheduling to allow for work internships, community service experience, and interaction with community college student role models.
  (4) Opportunities for experiential internships, work apprenticeships, and community service.

(a) The California Community Colleges and the State Department of Education shall collaborate with each other and with their respective local community colleges and local school districts to ensure the continued success of existing middle college high schools and to promote the establishment of new middle college high schools.
  (b) The responsibilities of the California Community Colleges and the State Department of Education pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
  (1) With respect to existing middle college high schools, monitor the ongoing viability of the programs, assist with the resolution of policy or financial issues that may arise, and track specific outcomes for students and schools, including attendance rates, graduation rates, college entrance and attendance rates, and employment rates for those students who do not attend college.
  (2) With respect to the promotion of new middle college high schools, respond to inquiries from school districts and community colleges about the establishment of middle college high schools, advise local entities on startup costs and ongoing funding mechanisms for the program, consult with local entities on the organizational structure of, and curriculum development for, the middle college high schools, facilitate the completion of any necessary facilities improvements, communicate with local entities at least biannually about the existence of middle college high schools and the availability of State Department of Education and California Community Colleges resources, if any, to assist with the establishment of middle college high schools.

The Legislature finds and declares that early college high schools are innovative partnerships between charter or noncharter public secondary schools and a local community college, the California State University, or the University of California that allow pupils to earn a high school diploma and up to two years of college credit in four years or less. Early college high schools are small, autonomous schools that blend high school and college into a coherent educational program. In early college high schools, pupils begin taking college courses as soon as they demonstrate readiness and the college credit earned may be applied toward completing an associate or bachelor's degree, transfer to a four-year university, or obtaining a skills certificate.