Atascadero Unified School District trustees on Tuesday formally recognized an Early College Program at Atascadero High School that the district says will address scheduling and compliance problems created by new interpretations of dual-enrollment rules.

District staff told the board the program, to begin in the 2025–26 school year, will allow cohorts of students to take up to 11 community-college credits per semester while meeting a reduced minimum of high-school instructional minutes under the early college program rules, avoiding the need to rework large numbers of students’ schedules.

The change follows a statewide reexamination of CCAP (College and Career Access Pathways) agreements and audit guidance. "Most of our teachers have actually started registration for Cuesta, the second week of school," said Mr. Weatherly, who spoke during public comment. "This has sent our families, our students, and our teachers into turmoil over the last week, week and a half, trying to figure out how they're going to roll around this dual enrollment issue."

District staff said the CCAP rules under current interpretation require a high-school student taking community-college courses to maintain a minimum of 240 daily minutes of high-school instruction and not exceed 11 community-college credits per semester; exceeding 11 credits or falling below the required minutes can change a student's classification for funding and audit purposes. "Under our CCAP agreement, Tuscarora High School students who are enrolled in community college courses have to maintain a minimum of 240 daily minutes of high school instruction and not exceed 11 credits of community college per semester," said Mr. Rossi, a district staff member who briefed the board. "When reviewing schedules we identified approximately 150 student schedules that would not meet that 240-minute minimum."

Rossi told trustees the district vetted options with the California Department of Education, the California Commission on Early and Middle College High Schools and its auditor and concluded the Early College Program pathway applies to Atascadero High School. "Early college programs allow cohorts of students to take 11 college credits per semester while maintaining a minimum of 180 minutes of daily high-school instruction," Rossi said. By adopting the early college program structure, staff estimate the number of at-risk schedules would fall from about 150 to roughly 50.

Trustees asked about the financial impact of lost average-daily-attendance (ADA) revenue if students were reclassified. District staff said annual ADA revenue per student is "just over $12,000," and that a 25% reduction would be about $3,000 per affected student; staff said counselors are meeting with students to confirm actual choices and that the district is planning for the largest possible impact while expecting the real impact to be smaller.

The board heard that the early college recognition does not change the district’s day-length or require teachers to change classroom practices. "This doesn't change the amount of time kids are on campus," Rossi said. Under the district’s seven-period day, the typical early-college cohort schedule would be four high-school courses and three Cuesta College courses.

District staff described next steps: counselors will complete enrollment verification and work with Cuesta College to identify cohort students; staff will develop associate-degree and certificate pathways in partnership with Cuesta; and the district will continue to work with statewide groups, including the California Teachers Association, on teacher compensation and workload questions related to dual enrollment.

Trustees voted to recognize the program. The board and staff said they will follow up with parents, counselors and teachers to reduce disruption and to set clearer earlier communication for future scheduling decisions.