Early College High School Blueprint

Overview of Early College High School Model

Early College High Schools (ECHS) are open-enrollment programs that allow students least likely to attend college or who wish to accelerate completion of high school, to combine high school courses and college-level courses while participating in rigorous and accelerated instruction.

Early College High School Blueprint

• The Blueprint identifies five benchmarks which serve as the foundational elements of the model and describes essential design elements for each benchmark. 
• The Blueprint outlines the required design element artifacts to be published publicly and made available to TEA upon request. 
• The Blueprint defines outcomes-based measures (OBMs) for required data indicators related to access, achievement, and attainment.

ECHS programs are required to adopt the design elements in each benchmark and meet OBMs to receive the Texas Education Agency (TEA) ECHS designation.

Early College High School Designation Process

The TEA designed a designation process for ECHS under the authority of Texas Education Code (TEC) §29.908(b) (2019) and Title 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §102.1091 (effective 2007). 

• Designation is the process by which the TEA determines whether a school can fully implement the design elements of each benchmark and meet the OBMs. 
• Designation, through the Program Application Cycle (PAC), is an annual requirement for ECHS programs.