The U.S. Department of Education recently released its priorities for discretionary grant programs and, in an encouraging move, included an expansive definition of educational choice that includes early college high schools.

Early college high schools (early colleges) provide students the opportunity to earn transferable college credits up to an associate’s degree, free of charge, alongside a high school diploma, and they have a strong evidence base demonstrating their impact on participants’ college enrollment and degree completion. Because they are free for students, early college programs have costs above those of traditional high schools, including the expense of college courses, books, and materials.

Public funding is needed to sustain early colleges, to allow early colleges to expand to meet the high demand, and to enable more students to complete college, rather than walk away with limited credits and significant debt, which is too often the reality, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Early colleges rethink American public secondary education and provide tailored educational opportunities that contribute directly to students’ success in their next step – postsecondary education or the workforce.

Read the full article about educational opportunity from America Forward.