Text: SF00347 Text: SF00349 Text: SF00300 - SF00399 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 256.39, Code 1999, is amended by
1 2 striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the
1 3 following:
1 4 256.39 CAREER PATHWAYS PROGRAM – GRANT – ACTIVITIES –
1 5 REPORTING.
1 6 1. The department shall develop and establish a career
1 7 pathways grant program, criteria for the formation of ongoing
1 8 career pathways consortia in each merged area, and guidelines
1 9 and a process to be used in selecting career pathways
1 10 consortium grant recipients, including a requirement that
1 11 grant recipients provide matching funds or match grant funds
1 12 with in-kind resources on a dollar-for-dollar basis. The
1 13 grant program developed and established by the department
1 14 shall also include the following components:
1 15 a. An existing partnership or organization, including a
1 16 regional school-to-work partnership, that meets the
1 17 established criteria, may be considered a consortium for grant
1 18 application purposes. One or more school districts may be
1 19 considered a consortium for grant application purposes,
1 20 provided a district can demonstrate the manner in which a
1 21 community college, area education agency, representatives from
1 22 business and labor organizations, and others as determined
1 23 within the region will be involved. Existing school-to-work
1 24 partnerships are encouraged to assist the local consortia in
1 25 developing a plan and budget. The department shall provide
1 26 assistance to consortia in planning and implementing career
1 27 pathways program efforts in assessment, and career guidance
1 28 and exploration for students.
1 29 b. A career pathways program may include, but is not
1 30 limited to, the following:
1 31 (1) Career guidance and exploration for students.
1 32 (2) Involvement and recognition of business, labor, and
1 33 community organizations as partners in the career pathways
1 34 program.
1 35 (3) Provision for program accountability.
2 1 (4) Encouragement of team teaching within the school or in
2 2 partnership with postsecondary schools, and business, labor,
2 3 community, and nonprofit organizations.
2 4 (5) Service learning opportunities for students.
2 5 c. Business, labor, and community organizations are
2 6 encouraged to market the career pathways program established
2 7 in accordance with this subsection to the local community and
2 8 provide students with mentors, shadow professionals, speakers,
2 9 field trip sites, summer jobs, internships, and job offers for
2 10 students who graduate with high performance records. Students
2 11 are encouraged to volunteer their time to community
2 12 organizations in exchange for workplace learning opportunities
2 13 that do not displace current employees.
2 14 d. In developing career pathways program efforts, each
2 15 consortium shall make every effort to cooperate with the
2 16 juvenile courts, the department of economic development, the
2 17 department of workforce development, the department of human
2 18 services, and the new Iowa schools development corporation.
2 19 e. The department shall direct and monitor the progress of
2 20 each career pathways consortium in developing career pathways
2 21 programs established in accordance with this subsection.
2 22 f. A career pathways program is a comprehensive school
2 23 transformation program under section 294A.14.
2 24 2. The department shall provide technical and professional
2 25 advice upon request to school districts and accredited
2 26 nonpublic schools that wish to implement career pathways
2 27 activities and measures to improve the employability skills of
2 28 their students. The activities and measures shall include,
2 29 but are not limited to, the following:
2 30 a. Measurement of the employability skills of students in
2 31 grades nine or ten and twelve. Employability skills shall
2 32 include, but are not limited to, reading for information,
2 33 applied mathematics, listening, and writing. Employability
2 34 skills assessments shall be considered an assessment measure
2 35 for purposes of section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph "c".
3 1 b. Curricula designed to integrate academic and work-based
3 2 learning to achieve high employability skills by all students
3 3 related to career pathways. The curricula shall be designed
3 4 through the cooperative efforts of secondary and postsecondary
3 5 education professionals, business professionals, and community
3 6 services professionals.
3 7 c. Staff development to implement a high-standard
3 8 curriculum. These efforts may include team teaching
3 9 techniques that utilize expertise from partnership businesses
3 10 and postsecondary institutions.
3 11 3. A school district or accredited nonpublic school that
3 12 adopts and administers employability skills assessment tools
3 13 as provided in this section or section 256.39A, shall develop
3 14 and integrate specific career pathways goals and activities
3 15 into the comprehensive school improvement plan required under
3 16 section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph "a".
3 17 4. Biennially, on or about January 15, the department
3 18 shall submit to the general assembly a summary of the
3 19 activities and results of the implementation of career
3 20 pathways efforts, especially school district and accredited
3 21 nonpublic school progress on the use of employability skills
3 22 assessments.
3 23 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 256.39A CAREER PATHWAYS
3 24 EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS ASSESSMENTS – PAYMENT OF SCHOOL DISTRICT
3 25 CLAIMS – APPROPRIATIONS.
3 26 1. The director of the department of education shall
3 27 identify appropriate employability skills assessment tools
3 28 that school districts shall use to meet the requirements of
3 29 section 256.39, subsection 3, and the claim reimbursement
3 30 requirements of this section.
3 31 2. A school district may submit a claim on forms provided
3 32 by the department for reimbursement. A claim submitted to the
3 33 department shall state the actual costs incurred and shall be
3 34 accompanied by an affidavit of an officer of the public school
3 35 district affirming the accuracy of the claim.
4 1 3. Employability skills assessment tools adopted and
4 2 purchased by a school district may, and shall to the extent
4 3 funds are appropriated to the department by the general
4 4 assembly for the payment of claims under this section, be made
4 5 available to students attending accredited nonpublic schools
4 6 upon request of the student or the student's parent under
4 7 comparable terms available to students attending public
4 8 schools. However, the assessment tools must be comparable to
4 9 the assessment tools of the district of attendance and cannot
4 10 exceed the per pupil cost of the assessment tools of the
4 11 district of attendance. A claim submitted under this section
4 12 that includes costs for providing accredited nonpublic school
4 13 pupils with employability skills assessment tools shall state
4 14 the actual number of nonpublic students requesting the
4 15 provision of employability skills assessment tools.
4 16 4. For each year in which an appropriation is made for the
4 17 purposes described in this section, the department of
4 18 education shall certify to the department of revenue and
4 19 finance, by February 1 and on or about June 15, the amounts of
4 20 approved claims to be paid, and the department of revenue and
4 21 finance shall draw warrants payable to school districts with
4 22 approved claims, taking into consideration the relative budget
4 23 and cash position of the state resources.
4 24 5. Moneys received under this section shall not be
4 25 commingled with state aid payments made under section 257.16
4 26 to a school district and shall be accounted for by the school
4 27 district separately from state aid payments. Payments made to
4 28 a school district under this section are miscellaneous income
4 29 for purposes of chapter 257.
4 30 6. There is appropriated from the general fund of the
4 31 state to the department of education, for purposes of
4 32 reimbursing school districts for the costs of acquiring,
4 33 using, and making available to nonpublic schools employability
4 34 skills assessment tools in accordance with this section, the
4 35 following amounts for the following fiscal years:
5 1 a. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999, and ending
5 2 June 30, 2000, the amount of seven hundred fifty thousand
5 3 dollars.
5 4 b. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2000, and ending
5 5 June 30, 2001, the amount of one million six hundred thousand
5 6 dollars.
5 7 7. If the director of the department of education
5 8 determines that the moneys appropriated by the general
5 9 assembly for payment of claims to reimburse school districts
5 10 for the costs of acquiring and administering employability
5 11 skills assessment tools in grades nine or ten and twelve are
5 12 insufficient to pay in full all claims submitted and approved
5 13 in accordance with this section, the amounts of approved
5 14 claims to be paid shall be prorated among all school districts
5 15 with approved claims. If a school district is providing
5 16 employability skills assessments to accredited nonpublic
5 17 school pupils as provided in subsection 2, any difference
5 18 between the amount of the claim of a school district for the
5 19 cost of providing employability skills assessments to
5 20 accredited nonpublic school pupils and the amount of payment
5 21 received from the department of education, shall be paid by
5 22 the parent or guardian of the nonpublic school pupil served.
5 23 8. A school district and, an accredited nonpublic school
5 24 if its pupils are provided with employability skills
5 25 assessment tools under the provisions of this section, shall
5 26 meet the requirements in section 256.39, subsection 2.
5 27 Sec. 3. FISCAL YEAR 1999-2000 EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
5 28 ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS. Notwithstanding section 256.39A, for
5 29 the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999, and ending June 30,
5 30 2000, the department of education shall reimburse only the
5 31 claims submitted for reimbursement of a school district's
5 32 costs of acquiring, using, and making available to accredited
5 33 nonpublic schools employability skills assessment tools for
5 34 students enrolled in grade twelve. If moneys appropriated for
5 35 purposes of claims reimbursement for fiscal year 1999-2000 are
6 1 insufficient to pay the claims received in full, the
6 2 provisions of section 256.39A, subsection 6, shall apply.
6 3 EXPLANATION
6 4 This bill strikes the current Code section creating the
6 5 career pathways program, and replaces it with a section that
6 6 retains much of the current language, but adds provisions
6 7 relating to employability skills assessments.
6 8 The bill also establishes a procedure by which school
6 9 districts may submit a claim to the department of education
6 10 for reimbursement of the costs of acquiring and using
6 11 employability skills assessment tools for grades nine or 10
6 12 and 12, and appropriates $750,000 for FY 1999-2000, and $1.6
6 13 million for FY 2000-2001 for that purpose.
6 14 Under the bill, a school district that adopts and purchases
6 15 employability skills assessment tools may, and shall to the
6 16 extent funds are appropriated to the department of education
6 17 by the general assembly for the payment of claims, be made
6 18 available to pupils attending accredited nonpublic schools
6 19 upon request of the pupil or the pupil's parent under
6 20 comparable terms available to pupils attending public schools.
6 21 The bill requires the department to provide technical and
6 22 professional advice upon request to school districts and
6 23 accredited nonpublic schools that wish to implement career
6 24 pathways activities and measures to improve the employability
6 25 skills of their students. The activities and measures include
6 26 measurement of the employability skills of students in grades
6 27 nine or 10 and 12, curricula designed to integrate academic
6 28 and work-based learning to achieve high employability skills
6 29 by all students related to career pathways, and staff
6 30 development to implement a high-standard curriculum.
6 31 The bill requires a school district or accredited nonpublic
6 32 school that adopts and administers employability skills
6 33 assessment tools to develop and integrate specific career
6 34 pathways goals and activities into the comprehensive school
6 35 improvement plan that the district or school is required under
7 1 Code section 256.7 to submit annually to the department.
7 2 The department is directed to biennially submit to the
7 3 general assembly a summary of the activities and results of
7 4 the implementation of career pathways efforts, especially
7 5 school district and accredited nonpublic school progress on
7 6 the use of employability skills assessments.
7 7 The department is also required under the bill to identify
7 8 appropriate employability skills assessment tools that school
7 9 districts must use in order to qualify for a reimbursement.
7 10 If the appropriation is insufficient to pay in full the claims
7 11 submitted, the bill provides that school districts will
7 12 receive a prorated reimbursement amount. If a district is
7 13 providing employability skills assessment tools to accredited
7 14 nonpublic school pupils, parents, or guardians of those pupils
7 15 are required to pay the difference between the cost of
7 16 providing the employability skills assessment tools to their
7 17 children and the amount reimbursed to the district by the
7 18 department of education.
7 19 For fiscal year 1999-2000 only, the bill provides that only
7 20 the claims for the costs of acquiring and using employability
7 21 skills assessment tools at the 12th grade level will be
7 22 reimbursed, and the reimbursement amount will be prorated if
7 23 the appropriation made by the general assembly is insufficient
7 24 to pay in full the claims received.
7 25 LSB 2274XS 78
7 26 kh/cf/24.3
Text: SF00347 Text: SF00349 Text: SF00300 - SF00399 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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