SEATTLE (AP) – Nearly $30 million in grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be used to expand a national network of early college high schools, intended to provide a fast track to college for underserved young people, the foundation said Tuesday.

The schools, working with a university or college, stress rigorous curricula in seeking to increase high-school graduation rates and college readiness for minority youth. Students can earn a high school diploma and two years of college credit or an associate’s degree. More than $22 million will be used to support establishment of 42 new schools throughout the country. About $7 million goes to Boston-based Jobs for the Future, which leads implementation of the network.

The Seattle-based Gates Foundation and other contributors have contributed more than $124 million to the network since 2001.

Nearly 50 early college high schools have been established in 19 states, and about 120 more schools are planned.

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On the Internet:

Gates Foundation, www.gatesfoundation.org

Jobs for the Future, www.jobsforthefuture.com