House File 2019 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2019 BY WILLS A BILL FOR An Act relating to the establishment of an advanced 1 opportunities program for certain students enrolled in 2 public schools to take overload and dual credit courses, 3 postsecondary credit-bearing and career and technical 4 education certificate examinations, and career and technical 5 education workforce training courses, and the award of a 6 scholarship for early graduation. 7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 8 TLSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh

H.F. 2019 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 261E.14 Advanced opportunities 1 program. 2 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, unless the 3 context otherwise requires: 4 a. “Credit” means middle or secondary school credit. 5 b. “Dual credit” means the secondary and public 6 postsecondary credit a student receives for the completion of a 7 postsecondary-level education course in accordance with this 8 section. 9 c. “Full credit load” means at least twelve school credits 10 per school year for grades seven through twelve. 11 d. “Overload course” means a course taken that is in excess 12 of a full credit load and outside of the regular school day, 13 including summer courses and online courses. 14 e. “Parent” means a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of 15 a minor. 16 f. “Public postsecondary educational institution” means 17 a community college established under chapter 260C or an 18 institution of higher learning under the control of the state 19 board of regents. 20 2. Program established. Subject to an appropriation of 21 funds by the general assembly for this purpose, an advanced 22 opportunities program is established within the department 23 of education to provide public school students in Iowa with 24 funding to support implementation of individualized career and 25 academic plans developed pursuant to section 279.61. 26 3. Funds eligible for student use. 27 a. Each student enrolled in and attending a public school 28 in Iowa shall be eligible for four thousand one hundred 29 twenty-five dollars to use toward overload courses, dual 30 credits, postsecondary credit-bearing examinations, career and 31 technical education certificate examinations, and career and 32 technical education workforce training courses. 33 b. A student may access funds authorized to the student in 34 accordance with paragraph “a” in grades seven through twelve for 35 -1- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 1/ 10

H.F. 2019 any of the following: 1 (1) Overload courses, the distribution of which shall not 2 exceed two hundred twenty-five dollars per overload course. 3 A student must take and successfully complete a full credit 4 load within a given school year to be eligible for funding of 5 an overload course. To be eligible for funding, an overload 6 course must be taken for secondary school credit and the course 7 must at minimum meet all of the following requirements: 8 (a) Be offered by a school district. 9 (b) Be taught by a teacher appropriately licensed under 10 chapter 272 to teach in the subject area and the grade level. 11 (2) Eligible dual credits, the distribution of which shall 12 not exceed seventy-five dollars per one dual credit hour. The 13 dual credit course must be offered by a public postsecondary 14 educational institution. To qualify as an eligible dual credit 15 course, the course must be a credit-bearing one-hundred-level 16 course or higher. 17 (3) Eligible postsecondary credit-bearing or career 18 technical certificate examinations. The department shall 19 maintain a list of eligible exams and costs. Eligible 20 examinations include but are not limited to any of the 21 following: 22 (a) Advanced placement. 23 (b) International baccalaureate. 24 (c) College-level examination program. 25 (d) Career and technical education examinations that lead 26 to an industry-recognized certificate, license, or degree. 27 (4) Career and technical education workforce training 28 courses, such as federally registered apprenticeships, the 29 distribution of which shall not exceed five hundred dollars 30 per course or one thousand dollars per year. The department 31 shall maintain a list of eligible training courses and costs. 32 Eligible training courses must at a minimum meet all of the 33 following requirements: 34 (a) Be provided by a community college established under 35 -2- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 2/ 10

H.F. 2019 chapter 260C. 1 (b) Lead to an industry-recognized certificate, license, 2 or degree. 3 (c) Be required training for an occupation deemed, pursuant 4 to section 84A.1B, subsection 14, a high-demand job in the 5 community college region. 6 (d) Be otherwise unavailable at the student’s secondary 7 school. 8 (e) Allow secondary school-aged students to participate. 9 4. Counseling requirement. A student who has earned 10 fifteen postsecondary credits prior to secondary school 11 graduation using the advanced opportunities program and who 12 wishes to earn additional postsecondary credits must first 13 identify postsecondary goals under the individualized career 14 and academic plan developed pursuant to section 279.61. A 15 school counselor shall advise any student who wishes to take 16 dual credit courses that the student should ascertain whether 17 the particular eligible public postsecondary educational 18 institution that the student desires to attend will accept the 19 transfer of coursework credits under this section. 20 5. Use of funds. Moneys allocated for student use under 21 this program may be used to pay an amount not to exceed the 22 price to the student of such courses and examinations pursuant 23 to the limitations stated in this section. Such moneys shall 24 not supplant existing program funds. Payments made under 25 this section shall be made from the moneys appropriated to 26 the department by the general assembly for purposes of this 27 program. 28 6. Course challenge —— funding. The board of directors of 29 each school district may set forth criteria by which a student 30 may challenge a course for credit, including by taking an 31 exam. If a student successfully meets the criteria set forth 32 by the school board, the student shall be counted as having 33 completed all required coursework for that course. The school 34 district shall be funded for such students based upon either 35 -3- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 3/ 10

H.F. 2019 actual hours of attendance or the course that the student has 1 successfully passed, whichever is more advantageous to the 2 school district, up to the weighting assigned to one pupil. 3 7. Early graduation incentives. Any student enrolled in 4 a school district who successfully completes the educational 5 program for grades one through twelve, established pursuant to 6 section 256.11, and graduates at least one year early shall 7 be eligible for an advanced opportunities scholarship under 8 this subsection. The scholarship may be used for tuition 9 and fees at any public postsecondary educational institution 10 located in this state. The amount of the scholarship shall 11 equal thirty-five percent of the regular program state cost per 12 pupil for each year of grades one through twelve curriculum 13 avoided by the student’s early graduation. Subject to an 14 appropriation by the general assembly for such purpose, each 15 school district shall receive an amount equal to each such 16 awarded scholarship for each student that graduates early from 17 that school district. Students must apply for the scholarship 18 within two years of graduating from a public secondary school. 19 For school funding purposes, actual enrollment shall be counted 20 as normal for students participating in dual credit courses 21 pursuant to this section. 22 8. Reimbursements —— data —— student performance. 23 a. The department shall reimburse a school district or 24 public postsecondary educational institution, as applicable, 25 for such costs, up to the stated limits, within one hundred 26 twenty-five days of receiving the necessary data upon which 27 reimbursements shall be paid. The submission method and 28 timelines of reimbursement data shall be determined by the 29 department. Payments will be made only for activity occurring 30 and reported within each fiscal year. 31 b. If a student fails to earn credit or successfully 32 complete a course for which the department has paid a 33 reimbursement, the student must pay for and successfully earn 34 credit or complete a comparable course before the department 35 -4- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 4/ 10

H.F. 2019 shall pay any further reimbursements for the student. If a 1 student performs inadequately on an examination for which the 2 department has paid a reimbursement, the school district shall 3 determine whether the student must pay for and successfully 4 pass such examination to continue receiving state funding under 5 the program. 6 9. Ineligible courses. Repeated and remedial courses 7 or examinations are not eligible for advanced opportunities 8 program funding. 9 10. Participation timelines. Each school district shall 10 establish timelines and requirements for participation in the 11 program, including implementing procedures for the appropriate 12 transcription of credits, reporting of program participation, 13 and financial transaction requirements. Each school district 14 shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that any student who 15 considers participating in the program also considers the 16 challenges and time necessary to succeed in the program, and 17 shall make reasonable efforts to include guidance on how 18 the student’s participation in the program contributes to 19 prospective college and career pathways. Such efforts by the 20 district shall be performed prior to a student participating 21 in the program and throughout the student’s involvement in the 22 program. 23 11. Policies and procedures. The department and the board 24 of directors of each school district shall establish policies 25 and procedures for participating in the program. Each school 26 district shall ensure that students have an opportunity to 27 participate in the program and meet district-established 28 timelines and requirements for financial transactions, 29 transcribing credits, and department reporting requirements. 30 Participation in the program requires parent, if the student 31 is a minor, and student agreement to program requirements and 32 completion of any forms prescribed by the department. 33 12. School district assistance —— parent. School district 34 personnel shall assist parents in the process of enrolling 35 -5- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 5/ 10

H.F. 2019 students in such courses. The parent of a participating 1 student may enroll such parent’s child in any eligible course, 2 with or without the permission of the school district in 3 which the student is enrolled. Each participating student’s 4 secondary school transcript at the school district of 5 enrollment shall include the credits earned and grades received 6 by the student for any overload or dual credit courses taken 7 pursuant to this section. For an eligible course to be 8 transcribed as meeting the requirements of a core subject as 9 identified in rule, the course must meet the approved content 10 standards for the applicable subject and grade level. 11 13. District and institution participation. Participating 12 school districts shall collaborate with public postsecondary 13 educational institutions to assist students who seek 14 to participate in dual credit courses or graduate from 15 secondary school early by enrolling in postsecondary courses. 16 Participating school districts and public postsecondary 17 educational institutions shall report to the state board any 18 difficulties or obstacles the school districts and institutions 19 experience in providing assistance to participating students. 20 14. Rules. The state board may promulgate rules under 21 chapter 17A to implement the provisions of this section. 22 15. Report. Not later than January 15 annually, the 23 department shall submit a report to the general assembly 24 detailing, at a minimum, the number of students benefiting 25 from assistance with the cost of overload courses, dual credit 26 courses, examinations, and workforce training courses, and the 27 number of credits awarded and amounts paid pursuant to this 28 section during the previous school year. 29 EXPLANATION 30 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 31 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 32 This bill provides for the establishment within the 33 department of education, subject to an appropriation of funds 34 by the general assembly, of an advanced opportunities program 35 -6- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 6/ 10

H.F. 2019 and scholarship, to provide public school students with funding 1 to support implementation of individualized career and academic 2 plans and to provide scholarships as incentives for students to 3 graduate from secondary school at least one year early. The 4 scholarships may be used at public postsecondary educational 5 institutions located in this state. 6 Under the bill, each student enrolled and attending a 7 public school in Iowa, beginning in grade seven, is eligible 8 for $4,125 to use toward overload courses, dual credits, 9 postsecondary credit-bearing examinations, career and technical 10 education certificate examinations, and career and technical 11 education workforce training courses. 12 “Overload course” means a course taken that is in excess 13 of a full credit load and outside of the regular school day, 14 including summer courses and online courses. Moneys for 15 overload courses shall not exceed $225 per overload course. 16 Such courses must be offered by a school district and taught by 17 an appropriately licensed teacher. 18 “Dual credit” means the secondary and public postsecondary 19 credit a student receives for the completion of a 20 postsecondary-level education course under the program. Moneys 21 for dual credits shall not exceed $75 per one dual credit 22 hour and the course must be offered by a public postsecondary 23 educational institution. 24 The department shall maintain a list of eligible 25 postsecondary credit-bearing or career technical certificate 26 examinations and costs for such examinations. Eligible 27 examinations include but are not limited to advanced placement, 28 international baccalaureate, college-level examination program, 29 and career and technical education examinations that lead to an 30 industry-recognized certificate, license, or degree. 31 Career and technical education workforce training courses, 32 such as federally registered apprenticeships for which moneys 33 may be used, shall not exceed $500 per course or $1,000 per 34 year. The department of education must maintain a list of 35 -7- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 7/ 10

H.F. 2019 eligible training courses and costs. Such courses must be 1 provided by a community college; lead to an industry-recognized 2 certificate, license, or degree; be required training for 3 an occupation deemed a high-demand job in the community 4 college region; be otherwise unavailable at the student’s 5 secondary school; and allow secondary school-aged students to 6 participate. 7 A student who has earned 15 postsecondary credits prior 8 to secondary school graduation using the program must first 9 identify postsecondary goals under the student’s individualized 10 career and academic plan before the student may continue 11 to earn additional credits. The bill describes how school 12 counselors must advise such students. 13 Moneys allocated for student use shall not supplant 14 existing program funds. Payments shall be made from the moneys 15 appropriated to the department of education for purposes of the 16 program. 17 School boards may set forth criteria by which a student 18 may challenge a course and be counted as having completed all 19 required coursework for that course, including by examination. 20 The school district shall be funded for such students based 21 upon either actual hours of attendance or the course that the 22 student has successfully passed, whichever is more advantageous 23 to the school district, up to the weighting assigned to one 24 pupil. 25 Any student enrolled in a school district who successfully 26 completes the educational program for grades 1-12 and graduates 27 at least one year early shall be eligible for an advanced 28 opportunities scholarship, which may be used for tuition and 29 fees at any public postsecondary educational institution. 30 The scholarship amount shall equal 35 percent of the regular 31 program state cost pupil for each year of grades 1-12 32 curriculum avoided by the student’s early graduation. Subject 33 to an appropriation by the general assembly for such purpose, 34 each school district shall receive an amount equal to each such 35 -8- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 8/ 10

H.F. 2019 awarded scholarship for each student that graduates early from 1 that school district. Students must apply for the scholarship 2 within two years of graduating from a public secondary school. 3 For public funding purposes, actual enrollment shall be counted 4 as normal for students participating in dual credit courses 5 pursuant to the program. 6 The department shall reimburse a school district or public 7 postsecondary educational institution within 125 days of 8 receiving the necessary data. The submission method and 9 timelines of reimbursement data shall be determined by the 10 department. 11 If a student fails to earn credit or successfully complete a 12 course for which the department has paid a reimbursement, the 13 student must pay for and successfully earn credit or complete a 14 comparable course before any further reimbursements are made 15 to the student. If a student performs inadequately on an 16 examination for which the department has paid a reimbursement, 17 the school district shall determine whether the student must 18 pay for and successfully pass such examination to continue 19 receiving state funding under the program. 20 Repeated and remedial courses or examinations are not 21 eligible for advanced opportunities program funding. 22 Each school district must establish timelines and 23 requirements for participation in the program, must make timely 24 and reasonable efforts to provide guidance to students who are 25 considering participating in the program, and must ensure that 26 students have an opportunity to participate in the program 27 and meet all program-related timelines and requirements. 28 Participation in the program requires parent, if the student is 29 a minor, and student agreement to program requirements. 30 School district personnel must assist parents in the process 31 of enrolling students in such courses. A parent may enroll 32 the parent’s child in any eligible course, with or without the 33 permission of the school district. Student transcripts must 34 include the credits earned and grades received for overload and 35 -9- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 9/ 10

H.F. 2019 dual credit courses taken under the program. 1 Participating school districts shall collaborate with public 2 postsecondary educational institutions to assist students who 3 seek to participate in the program and must report to the 4 state board of education any difficulties or obstacles the 5 school districts and institutions experience in providing such 6 assistance. 7 The state board of education may promulgate rules to 8 implement the program and scholarship. 9 No later than January 15 annually, the department of 10 education shall submit a report to the general assembly 11 detailing the number of students benefiting from assistance 12 with the cost of overload courses, dual credit courses, 13 examinations, and workforce training courses, and the number 14 of credits awarded and amounts paid during the previous school 15 year. 16 -10- LSB 5128YH (2) 89 jda/jh 10/ 10