CHAPTER 49
INDIVIDUAL CAREER AND ACADEMIC PLAN
281—49.1(279) Purpose. For the school year beginning July 1, 2016, and each succeeding school year, the board of directors of each school district shall ensure each student in grade 8 develops and, in each succeeding year until graduation, reviews and revises an individualized career and academic plan.
[ARC 2620C, IAB 7/20/16, effective 6/21/16; ARC 2749C, IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16]
281—49.2(279) Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
“Approved system” means a vendor-provided career information and decision-making system which meets the requirements of rule 281—49.6(279).
“Board” means the board of directors of a public school district.
“Career cluster” means a nationally recognized framework for organizing and classifying career and technical education programs.
“Comprehensive school improvement plan” means the plan required of a school or school district pursuant to Iowa Code section 256.7(21)“a.”
“Department” means the Iowa department of education.
“Director” means the director of the Iowa department of education.
“District plan” means the career guidance plan developed by each school district detailing the delivery of career guidance in compliance with this chapter.
“Educational program” means the educational program as defined in rule 281—12.2(256).
“Plan” means the individualized career and academic plan established under this chapter which is created by each student of the school district in eighth grade and which, at a minimum, meets the requirements of rule 281—49.3(279).
“Postsecondary education and training options” means postsecondary programs and pathways related to career interests, including apprenticeships and on-the-job training; military training; and industry-based certification, licensure, and diploma and degree programs offered by accredited professional colleges, technical and community colleges, and public and private baccalaureate colleges and universities.
“School counseling program” means the school counseling program established by Iowa Code section 256.11(9A).
“Student” means an enrolled student as defined in rule 281—12.2(256).
[ARC 2620C, IAB 7/20/16, effective 6/21/16; ARC 2749C, IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16]
281—49.3(279) Individualized career and academic plan.
	49.3(1) Requirements.  The plan shall, at a minimum, achieve all of the following:
	a. 	Prepare the student for successful completion of the core curriculum developed by the state board of education pursuant to 281—Chapter 12 by the time the student graduates from high school.
	b. 	Identify the student’s postsecondary education and career options and goals.
	c. 	Identify the coursework needed in grades 9 through 12 to support the student’s postsecondary education and career options and goals.
	d. 	Prepare the student to successfully complete, prior to graduation and following a timeline included in the plan, the essential components prescribed in rule 281—49.4(279).
	49.3(2) Progress report. The school district shall report annually to each student enrolled in grades 9 through 12, and, if the student is under the age of 18, to each student’s parent or guardian, the student’s progress toward meeting the goal of successfully completing the core curriculum and high school graduation requirements adopted by the state board of education pursuant to 281—Chapter 12 and toward achieving the goals of the student’s career and academic plan.
[ARC 2620C, IAB 7/20/16, effective 6/21/16; ARC 2749C, IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16]
281—49.4(279) Essential components. The district shall engage each student in activities which support the following essential components of the plan:
	49.4(1) Self-understanding. Students shall engage in developmentally appropriate inventories and assessments that promote self-understanding, the connection to work, and engage in meaningful reflective activities about the results. Inventories and assessments may include, but are not limited to, interest inventories; work values assessments; personal values inventories; abilities, strengths, and skills assessments; career cluster assessments; learning styles inventories; and noncognitive skills assessments.
	49.4(2) Career information. Students shall research careers based on self-understanding results and engage in meaningful reflection about the findings. Career information shall include, but is not limited to, state and national wage, earning, and employment outlook data for a given occupation; job descriptions, including such information as essential duties, aptitudes, work conditions, and physical demands; and training and education requirements.
	49.4(3) Career exploration. Students shall engage in activities that reveal connections among school-based instruction, career clusters, and the world of work and engage in meaningful reflection. Career exploration experiences may be face-to-face or virtual and may include, but are not limited to, job tours, career days or career fairs, and other work-based learning activities.
	49.4(4) Postsecondary exploration. Students shall engage in activities to explore relevant postsecondary education and training options related to career interests and engage in meaningful reflection on the exploration experience. Postsecondary exploration activities may be face-to-face or virtual and may include, but are not limited to, site or campus visits; career, employment, or college fairs; and visits with recruiters and representatives of postsecondary education and training options.
	49.4(5) Career and postsecondary decision. Students shall complete relevant activities to meet their postsecondary goals consistent with the plan and stated postsecondary intention. Relevant career and postsecondary decision activities may include, but are not limited to, completion of required college or university admission or placement examinations; completion of relevant entrance applications and documents or job applications, résumés, and cover letters; completion of financial aid and scholarship applications; and review and comparison of award letters and completion requirements for different postsecondary options, such as annual financial aid requirements, the role of remedial courses, course-of-study requirements, and the role of the academic advisory.
[ARC 2620C, IAB 7/20/16, effective 6/21/16; ARC 2749C, IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16]
281—49.5(279) District plan.
	49.5(1) Components of district plan. The school district shall develop a written career guidance plan. The district plan shall include the following components:
	a. 	The district shall, at a minimum, describe the following aspects of the district plan.
	(1)	The activities to be undertaken in each grade level to achieve the requirements of rule 281—49.3(279).
	(2)	Integration of the career guidance plan with the district’s comprehensive school improvement plan and school guidance counseling program.
	(3)	At the district’s discretion, any additional outcomes to be integrated into the career guidance system.
	b. 	Designation of team. The superintendent of each school district shall designate a team of education practitioners to carry out the duties assigned to the school district under this rule. The district plan shall include a list, by job position, of the designated district team.
	(1)	Team composition. The team shall include, but not be limited to, a school administrator, a school counselor, teachers, including career and technical education teachers, and individuals responsible for coordinating work-based learning activities.
	(2)	Duties. The team shall be responsible for the following:
	1.	Implementation of the district plan.
	2.	Annually reviewing and, as necessary, proposing to the board of directors of the school district revisions to the district plan.
	3.	Coordination of activities which integrate essential components into classroom instruction and other facets of the school district’s educational program.
	4.	Regularly consulting with representatives of employers, state and local workforce systems and centers, higher education institutions, and postsecondary training programs to ensure activities are relevant and align with the labor and workforce needs of the region and state.
	49.5(2) Maintenance of district plan. The district plan shall regularly be reviewed and revised by the team and the board.
[ARC 2620C, IAB 7/20/16, effective 6/21/16; ARC 2749C, IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16]
281—49.6(279) Career information and decision-making systems. Each district shall use a career information and decision-making system that meets the minimum requirements established in subrule 49.6(3).
	49.6(1) Review process. The department shall establish a process for the review of vendor-provided career information and decision-making systems to determine which career information and decision-making systems meet the minimum requirements established in subrule 49.6(3).
	49.6(2) State-designated system. The department shall establish a process for the review and approval of a single state-designated career information and decision-making system from among the systems approved through the process established in subrule 49.6(1) which districts may use in compliance with this chapter.
	49.6(3) Minimum functions of approved systems. An approved system shall, at a minimum, support the requirements of rule 281—49.3(279) and meet the following minimum requirements:
	a. 	Allow for the creation of student accounts, which allow a student to store and access the results and information gathered from the inventories, searches, and associated activities outlined in paragraphs “b” through “d” of this subrule.
	b. 	Include developmentally appropriate inventories and assessments that promote self-understanding and the connection to work. Inventories and assessments shall include, but not be limited to, an interest inventory; a work values assessment; and an abilities, strengths, or skills assessment.
	c. 	Include a search platform for career information. The platform shall allow a student to access and review career information related to the results of the inventories listed in paragraph “b” of this subrule. Career information shall include, but not be limited to, current and accurate state and national wage, earning, and employment outlook data for a given occupation; job descriptions, including such information as essential duties and aptitudes; and training and education requirements. The career information search platform shall, at a minimum, allow a student to sort information by wage and earning, career cluster, and training and education requirements.
	d. 	Include a search platform for postsecondary information. Postsecondary information shall include, but not be limited to, a current, accurate, and comprehensive database of accredited professional colleges, technical and community colleges, and public and private baccalaureate colleges and universities; and include or provide links to apprenticeship and military opportunities. The postsecondary information search platform shall, at a minimum, allow a student to sort information by program and degree type, institution type, location, size of enrollment, and affiliation and appropriate institutional characteristics, such as designation as a historically black college and university or Hispanic-serving institution, and religious affiliation.
	e. 	Track basic utilization for the functions outlined in paragraphs “a” through “d” of this subrule. Districts shall have the ability to generate and export a report on the utilization statistics.
	f. 	Ensure compliance with applicable federal and state civil rights laws.
	g. 	Disclose the source and age of, as well as frequency of updates to, all information and data.
	h. 	Provide auxiliary services including, but not limited to:
	(1)	A process for districts to submit comments, feedback, and modification requests to the vendor.
	(2)	Technical assistance during regular school district operating hours.
	(3)	Appropriate training for users.
	49.6(4) Supplemental systems. The department shall maintain a list of supplemental systems which districts may use to satisfy components of rule 281—49.3(279).
	a. 	The department shall establish a process for the review of supplemental systems. The review shall, at a minimum, identify the components of rule 281—49.3(279) and paragraphs 49.6(3)“b,”“c,” and “d” which are satisfied through the supplemental system. All supplemental systems shall comply with paragraphs 49.6(3)“f” and “g.”
	b. 	A district which chooses to utilize a supplemental system shall specify which components of rule 281—49.3(279) are satisfied through the use of the supplemental system in the district plan required under rule 281—49.5(279). A district which chooses to utilize a supplemental tool must continue to utilize and make available to students an approved system.
[ARC 2620C, IAB 7/20/16, effective 6/21/16; ARC 2749C, IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16; ARC 4164C, IAB 12/5/18, effective 1/9/19]
281—49.7(279) Compliance. The director shall monitor school districts for compliance with the provisions of this chapter through the accreditation process established for school districts under 281—Chapter 12.
	49.7(1) Maintenance of student records. Each school district shall maintain evidence of student completion of the requirements of the plan established in rule 281—49.3(279) in the student’s cumulative record as required by 281—subrule 12.3(4). Evidence shall consist of a copy of the student’s plan developed in eighth grade which is signed by the student’s parent or guardian.
	49.7(2) Reporting. For the school year beginning July 1, 2016, and each succeeding school year, the board of directors of each school district shall submit to the local community, and to the department as a component of the school district’s comprehensive school improvement plan required by 281—Chapter 12, an annual report on student utilization of the district’s career information and decision-making system.
	49.7(3) Department report. The department shall include in its annual condition of education report a review of school district and student performance required under this chapter.
	49.7(4) Corrective action. If a school district is not in substantial compliance with the provisions of this chapter, the school district shall submit an action plan to the director for approval. The plan must outline the steps to be taken to ensure substantial compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
[ARC 2620C, IAB 7/20/16, effective 6/21/16; ARC 2749C, IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16]
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code section 279.61 as amended by 2016 Iowa Acts, House File 2392.
[Filed Emergency ARC 2620C, IAB 7/20/16, effective 6/21/16]
[Filed ARC 2749C (Notice ARC 2627C, IAB 7/20/16), IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16]
[Filed ARC 4164C (Notice ARC 4049C, IAB 10/10/18), IAB 12/5/18, effective 1/9/19]