Building State Infrastructure for High-Quality Dual Enrollment

A new resource from Jobs for the Future (JFF) and College in High School Alliance (CHSA) proposes a federal grant framework to help states modernize their dual enrollment infrastructure and expand access to high-quality, transferable, and accessible dual enrollment.

Eighty-two percent of high schools nationally offer dual enrollment, but some statewide systems face persistent infrastructure challenges, including fragmented data systems, uneven credit transfer policies, inconsistent educator capacity, and limited coordination across K–12 and higher education. Local program expansion alone cannot solve these structural barriers.

A stronger federal role would help states address these challenges at the systems level. Informed by state leaders, experts, and CHSA Steering Committee members, our federal proposal focuses on helping states develop, improve, or modernize statewide infrastructure supporting high-quality dual enrollment and early college high school offerings, increase participation and success for students, and promote the quality, transferability, and applicability of postsecondary credit.