If my local Mississippi community college does not offer a CTE class my child wants, can a neighboring community college (or its curriculum at a neighboring school district's vo-tech) provide it for dual credit?

Plain-English summary

Representative Beth Waldo asked about a high school student in her district who wanted to take a drafting class for dual credit. The local community college did not offer it; a neighboring community college did. A neighboring school district had certified an instructor at its vo-tech center to teach the neighboring community college's drafting curriculum for that district's own dual enrollment program. Three questions: (1) can a local community college block its district students from taking a CTE course at a neighboring community college that the local college does not offer; (2) can the student take the course at the neighboring school district's vo-tech center using the neighboring community college's curriculum; and (3) how does a student get into a dual credit CTE course at "another participating community college within the state" under Section 37-73-5?

The AG answers: (1) No, the local community college cannot block the student. Section 37-73-5 specifically authorizes eligible high school students to enroll in CTE courses at the campus of another participating community college when their local college either does not participate in the dual credit program or does not offer the specific course. Nothing in the statute permits a local college to override that authorization. (2) Generally no for the neighboring school district's vo-tech center. The statute requires the course to be on "the campus of another participating community college within the state." A school district vo-tech center is not a community college campus. The AG noted there might be a separate path under Section 37-7-301(dd) (district-to-district memoranda of understanding), but that is outside the scope of an AG opinion and the answer would be Mississippi Department of Education's. (3) The general path requires alignment with Section 37-15-38, including the memorandum-of-understanding requirement at Section 37-15-38(10) between each postsecondary institution and the school district running the dual credit program.

What this means for you

For high school students and parents

The opinion holds that if a CTE course is not offered at the local community college (or the local college does not participate in the dual credit program), Section 37-73-5 lets eligible high school students enroll in and attend that course at the campus of another participating community college within the state, and nothing in the statute lets the local community college prohibit it.

On the neighboring vo-tech center, the opinion holds that, generally, a student may not take the course there for dual credit, because a school district's vo-tech center is not "at the campus of another participating community college" even if it teaches the neighboring college's curriculum. The AG used the dictionary meaning of "campus" (the grounds and buildings of a college or school). The AG flagged that whether a district-to-district memorandum of understanding under Section 37-7-301(dd) could allow it is outside the scope of the opinion and recommended asking the Mississippi Department of Education.

For high school counselors

The opinion holds that enrolling at a neighboring participating community college for a CTE course the local college does not offer requires alignment with Section 37-15-38, including the memorandum-of-understanding requirement at Section 37-15-38(10) between each postsecondary institution and the school district running the dual credit program.

For community college administrators

The opinion holds that Section 37-73-5 does not allow a local community college to prohibit an eligible high school student from taking, at a neighboring participating community college, a CTE dual credit course the local college does not offer.

For school district superintendents and vo-tech directors

The opinion holds that Section 37-73-5 keys on the "campus of another participating community college," not on where the curriculum is taught, so a neighboring district's vo-tech center generally does not qualify as a dual credit site under that statute. The AG declined to opine on whether a Section 37-7-301(dd) district-to-district agreement could change that and referred the question to the Mississippi Department of Education.

For state legislators

The opinion holds that, under the current text, Section 37-73-5's "campus of another participating community college within the state" language is the constraint that keeps a neighboring vo-tech center from qualifying as a CTE dual credit site.

Common questions

Can my local community college tell me I cannot take a CTE class at another community college that mine does not offer?
No. Section 37-73-5 explicitly authorizes you to enroll on the campus of another participating community college when your local college does not participate in dual credit or does not offer the course.

What about taking the same class at a neighboring school district's vo-tech center?
Not under the AG's reading of Section 37-73-5. The statute requires the course be at the campus of another participating community college. A vo-tech inside a school district is not a community college campus, even if it teaches a neighboring community college's curriculum.

Is there any way to take the course at a neighboring district's vo-tech for dual credit?
Possibly through a district-to-district memorandum of understanding under Section 37-7-301(dd), but the AG declined to opine on whether that path is legally sufficient. Ask the Mississippi Department of Education.

What is the dual credit memorandum of understanding?
Section 37-15-38(10) requires every postsecondary institution and school district running a dual credit program to have a memorandum of understanding. No MOU between your district and the neighboring community college, no enrollment in the neighboring college's dual credit course.

Who decides if I am eligible for dual credit?
The dual enrollment system is set up jointly by your local school board, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, and the Mississippi Community College Board, under Section 37-15-38(2). The MOU between the postsecondary institution and the school district sets the eligibility specifics.

Background and statutory framework

Section 37-73-5 governs CTE alignment between public schools and the community college system:

The Mississippi Department of Education shall work in conjunction with the Mississippi Community College Board to ensure alignment of career technical education courses across the public school system and community college system. If a community college chooses not to participate in the dual credit program or does not have certain courses available for participating students, eligible high school students may enroll in dual credit courses and attend such courses at the campus of another participating community college within the state.

Section 37-15-38 is the broader dual enrollment statute. Subsection (2) sets up the dual enrollment system jointly between the local school board, IHL, and the Mississippi Community College Board. Subsection (10) requires a memorandum of understanding between each postsecondary institution and the school district running the dual credit program. Subsection (16) addresses students taking dual enrollment courses at their own high school in conjunction with their local community college.

Section 37-7-301(dd) authorizes school boards to "[e]nter into contracts or agreements with other school districts . . . to carry out one or more of the powers or duties of the school board, or to allow more efficient utilization of limited resources for providing services to the public." That is the potential alternate path the AG mentioned for the vo-tech question, while declining to opine on it.

The AG's reading turns on the word "campus." Without a statutory definition, the AG used the Merriam-Webster definition: "the grounds and buildings of a university, college, or school." A school district vo-tech center is on the school district's grounds, not the community college's. So under the plain text, it does not qualify.

Citations

• Miss. Code Ann. § 37-73-5 (CTE alignment; eligible high school students may enroll at another participating community college's campus)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-38 (dual enrollment statute)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-38(2) (joint setup of dual enrollment system)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-38(10) (MOU requirement)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-38(16) (dual enrollment course at student's own high school)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-301(dd) (school district contracting with other school districts)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-25 (scope of AG opinions; AG does not opine on contracts, agreements, or factual determinations)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/B.-Waldo-April-22-2025-Dual-Credit-Courses-Not-Offered-at-Local-Community-College.pdf

Original opinion text

April 22, 2025
The Honorable Beth Waldo
Mississippi House of Representatives
Post Office Box 1018
Jackson, Mississippi 39215
Re:

Dual Credit Courses Not Offered at Local Community College

Dear Representative Waldo:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Background
According to your request, a high school student in your district wants to take a drafting class,
which is a career technical education ("CTE") course, at the local community college through the
dual enrollment program. However, the local community college does not offer this class, nor does
it offer a drafting degree option. A neighboring community college offers both the drafting class
and a drafting degree option towards which the class credit could be applied. A neighboring school
district has certified an instructor at its vo-tech center to teach the neighboring community
college's drafting curriculum for the neighboring school district's dual enrollment program.
Questions Presented

1. May a local community college prohibit a high school student within its district from taking
   a CTE dual credit course, that it does not offer, at a neighboring community college?
2. May a high school student take a CTE course taught with a neighboring community
   college's curriculum at a neighboring school district's vo-tech center?
3. How can a high school student take dual credit CTE courses from "another participating
   community college within the state" as stated in Mississippi Code Annotated Section 37-73-5?

Brief Response

1. No, Section 37-73-5 explicitly allows eligible high school students to enroll in and attend
   CTE courses at the campus of another participating community college within the state
   when their local community college does not offer a particular course, and nothing within
   Section 37-73-5 allows a local community college to prohibit such action.
2. Generally, a high school student may not take a CTE course taught at the neighboring
   school district's vo-tech center because it is not "at the campus of another participating
   community college within the state" as authorized in Section 37-73-5.
3. Please see response to question one. Further, dual credit courses must align with the
   requirements set forth in Section 37-15-38, including but not limited to Section 37-15-38(10), which states that "[d]ual credit memorandum of understandings must be
   established between each postsecondary institution and the school district implementing a
   dual credit program."
   Applicable Law and Discussion
   As an initial matter, opinions of this office are issued on prospective questions of state law pursuant
   to Section 7-5-25. We do not opine on or interpret contracts, agreements or regulations, and we do
   not make factual determinations by official opinion. This opinion should not be interpreted to
   suggest that a particular student is entitled to enroll, or prohibited from enrolling, in specific dual
   enrollment classes.
   Section 37-15-38(2) provides, "[a] local school board, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions
   of Higher Learning and the Mississippi Community College Board shall establish a dual
   enrollment system under which students in the school district who meet the prescribed criteria of
   this section may be enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Mississippi while they are still in
   school." The particulars of that dual enrollment system and what courses are offered to students in
   that district depend on the agreement between these parties and exceed the scope of an official
   opinion. See Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-38(10) ("Dual credit memorandum of understandings must
   be established between each postsecondary institution and the school district implementing a dual
   credit program.").
   You first ask if a local community college may prohibit a high school student within its district
   from taking a CTE dual credit course, that it does not offer, at a neighboring community college.
   It may not. Section 37-73-5, which applies to CTE courses specifically, states:

The Mississippi Department of Education shall work in conjunction with the
Mississippi Community College Board to ensure alignment of career technical
education courses across the public school system and community college system.
If a community college chooses not to participate in the dual credit program or
does not have certain courses available for participating students, eligible high
school students may enroll in dual credit courses and attend such courses at the
campus of another participating community college within the state.

(emphasis added).
As shown, Section 37-73-5 explicitly allows eligible high school students to enroll in and attend
CTE courses at the campus of another participating community college within the state when their
local community college does not offer a particular course, and nothing within Section 37-73-5
allows a local community college to prohibit such action.
Next, you ask if a high school student may take a CTE course taught with the neighboring
community college's curriculum at the neighboring public school district's vo-tech center.
Although Section 37-15-38(16) would typically allow a student to take a dual enrollment course
at his or her own high school in conjunction with the local community college, Section 37-73-5,
which is the statute that permits high school students to take CTE courses through neighboring
rather than local community colleges, states that "[i]f a community college . . . does not have
certain courses available for participating students, eligible high school students may enroll in dual
credit courses and attend such courses at the campus of another participating community college
within the state." While campus is not defined in the subject chapter, Merriam-Webster defines
"campus" as "the grounds and buildings of a university, college, or school." MERRIAM-WEBSTER
DICTIONARY, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/campus (last visited April 21, 2025).
Accordingly, a neighboring school district's vo-tech center would not be "at the campus of another
participating community college within the state." However, whether a district-to-district
memorandum of understanding entered into under Section 37-7-301(dd) (authorizing the school
board to "[e]nter into contracts or agreements with other school districts . . . to carry out one or
more of the powers or duties of the school board, or to allow more efficient utilization of limited
resources for providing services to the public;") would allow the student to take the drafting class
at the neighboring public school district's vo-tech center is a question that is outside the scope of
this opinion, and we recommend you speak with the Mississippi Department of Education about
that or any other possible avenues.
Finally, you ask how a high school student can take dual credit CTE courses from another
participating community college within the state as stated in Section 37-73-5. As noted above, a
high school student may take a dual credit CTE course from another participating community
college within the state when he or she is eligible and the local community college "chooses not
to participate in the dual credit program or does not have certain courses available for participating
students." Miss. Code Ann. § 37-73-5. In this scenario, dual credit courses must align with the
requirements set forth in Section 37-15-38, including but not limited to Section 37-15-38(10),
which states that "[d]ual credit memorandum of understandings must be established between each
postsecondary institution and the school district implementing a dual credit program."
For further guidance on these questions, we refer you to the Mississippi Department of Education.
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By:

/s/ Maggie Kate Bobo
Maggie Kate Bobo
Special Assistant Attorney General