SSB 3143 (LSB 5175XL (14) 90)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED GOVERNOR BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to work-based learning, including by repealing provisions related to regional industry sector partnerships and the statewide work-based learning intermediary network, establishing the workforce opportunity fund within the department of workforce development, modifying provisions related to career and technical education, student teacher requirements for students with substitute teaching or para-educator experience, and the future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship program, and making appropriations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

DIVISION I
REGIONAL INDUSTRY SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS AND STATEWIDE WORK-BASED LEARNING INTERMEDIARY NETWORK

    Section 1.  Section 84A.5, subsection 5, paragraph f, Code 2024, is amended by striking the paragraph.
    Sec. 2.  Section 85.61, subsection 3, paragraph c, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  An eligible postsecondary institution as defined in section 261E.2, a school district, or an accredited nonpublic school if a student enrolled in the eligible postsecondary institution, school district, or accredited nonpublic school is providing unpaid services under a work-based learning opportunity offered in accordance with section 84A.16. However, if the student participating in a work-based learning opportunity is participating in open enrollment under section 282.18, “employer” means the receiving district.
    Sec. 3.  Section 85.61, subsection 12, paragraph a, subparagraphs (4) and (5), Code 2024, are amended by striking the subparagraphs.
    Sec. 4.  Section 256.125, subsections 6 and 9, Code 2024, are amended by striking the subsections.
    Sec. 5.  Section 256.133, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2024, are amended by striking the subsections.
    Sec. 6.  Section 256.136, subsection 1, paragraph e, Code 2024, is amended by striking the paragraph.
    Sec. 7.  Section 256.136, subsection 4, paragraph d, Code 2024, is amended by striking the paragraph.
    Sec. 8.  Section 256.136, subsection 4, paragraph f, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   f.  Representatives of business and industry, including representatives of regional industry sector partnerships established pursuant to section 84A.15.
    Sec. 9.  REPEAL.  Sections 84A.15 and 84A.16, Code 2024, are repealed.
    Sec. 10.  STATEWIDE WORK-BASED LEARNING INTERMEDIARY NETWORK FUND.  Any moneys appropriated to the department of workforce development for purposes of the statewide work-based learning intermediary network fund established pursuant to section 84A.16 that remain unencumbered or unobligated as of July 1, 2024, shall be deposited in the general fund of the state.
DIVISION II
CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND WORK-BASED LEARNING

    Sec. 11.  Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph h, subparagraph (2), Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   (2)  Instructional programs provided under subparagraph (1) shall comply with the provisions of subchapter VII, part 2, relating to career and technical education, and shall be articulated with postsecondary programs of study and include field, laboratory, or on-the-job training, or work-based learning, as defined in section 256.125. Each sequential unit shall contain a portion of a career and technical education program approved by the department. Standards for instructional programs shall include but not be limited to new and emerging technologies; job-seeking, job-adaptability, and other employment, self-employment and entrepreneurial skills that reflect current industry standards and labor-market needs; and reinforcement of basic academic skills. Instructional programs that include work-based learning may be provided when school is not in session, including but not limited to during the summer months.
DIVISION III
STUDENT TEACHING

    Sec. 12.  Section 256.16, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  (1)  Require that each student admitted to an approved practitioner preparation program participate in pre-student teaching field experiences that include both observation and participation in teaching activities in a variety of school settings. Pre-student teaching field experiences for students participating in an initial teacher preparation program shall comprise a total of at least eighty hours in duration, at least ten hours of which shall occur prior to a student’s acceptance in an approved practitioner preparation program. Pre-student teaching field experiences for students participating in a teacher intern preparation program shall comprise a total of at least fifty hours in duration.
   (2)  (a)  The student teaching experience shall be a minimum of fourteen weeks in duration during the student’s final year of the practitioner preparation program. The program shall make every reasonable effort to offer the student teaching experience prior to a student’s last semester, or equivalent, in the program, and to expand the student’s student teaching opportunities beyond one semester or the equivalent.
   (b)  Notwithstanding subparagraph division (a), the student teaching experience shall be four weeks in duration during the student’s final year of the practitioner preparation program if all of the following requirements are met:
   (i)  The student bears the primary responsibility for planning, instruction, and assessment within the classroom for a minimum of four weeks during the student teaching experience.
   (ii)  The board of educational examiners has issued a substitute license, substitute authorization, or para-educator certificate to the student, and the student has prior experience working as a substitute teacher or a para-educator, including prior experience under the teacher and para-educator registered apprenticeship grant program.
   (iii)  The student teaching experience takes place in the classroom of a cooperating teacher who is appropriately licensed in the subject area and grade level endorsement for which the student is being prepared.
   (c)  A student may satisfy requirements related to the student teaching experience if all of the following requirements are met:
   (i)  The student teaching experience takes place in the classroom of a cooperating teacher who is appropriately licensed in the subject area and grade level endorsement for which the student is being prepared, and lasts for at least one-half of each school day.
   (ii)  Under the supervision of the cooperating teacher, and for at least one-half of each school day, the student bears the primary responsibility for planning, instruction, and assessment within the classroom for a minimum of four weeks during the student teaching experience.
   (iii)  The board of educational examiners has issued a para-educator certificate to the student, and the student works as a para-educator for at least one-half of each school day during the fourteen-week student teaching experience.
DIVISION IV
CHANGES TO DEFINED TERMS

    Sec. 13.  Section 84D.2, subsections 18, 24, and 25, Code 2024, are amended by striking the subsections and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   18.  “Quality pre-apprenticeship program” means a program or set of strategies, registered by and for purposes of the Iowa office of apprenticeship, including basic skills training, academic skills remediation, or introduction to the industry, designed to prepare individuals for entry into a registered apprenticeship program.
   24.  “Work-based learning” means opportunities and experiences that include but are not limited to sustained project-based learning in partnership with an employer, simulated work experiences aligned with industry-recognized credentials, high-quality pre-apprenticeships aligned to an apprenticeship, student learner programs, internships, and apprenticeships.
   25.  “Youth apprenticeship”, for purposes of the Iowa office of apprenticeship, means a program that is designed specifically for an apprentice eighteen years of age or under.
    Sec. 14.  Section 256.125, subsection 8, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   8.  “Work-based learning” means opportunities and experiences that include but are not limited to tours, job shadowing, rotations, mentoring, entrepreneurship, service learning, sustained project-based learning in partnership with an employer, simulated work experiences aligned with industry-recognized credentials, high-quality pre-apprenticeships aligned to an apprenticeship, student learner programs, internships, and apprenticeships.
DIVISION V
DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT —— WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY FUND

    Sec. 15.  NEW SECTION.  84A.20  Workforce opportunity fund.
   1.  A workforce opportunity fund is created in the state treasury as a separate fund under the control of the department of workforce development. The fund shall consist of appropriations made to the fund, any other moneys available to and obtained or accepted by the department from the federal government or private sources for placement in the fund, and transfers of interest, earnings, and moneys from other funds as provided by law. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department of workforce development for the purposes of training and infrastructure related to the growth and maintenance of the state’s workforce programs. Permitted uses of the moneys in the fund include but are not limited to equipment, instructional materials, stipends, and other training-related costs. The department of workforce development shall only distribute moneys in the fund to workforce programs located within this state.
   2.  Annually, on or before December 31 of each year, the department of workforce development shall submit a report to the general assembly and the legislative services agency that contains a list of all expenditures from the workforce opportunity fund made in the previous fiscal year. The legislative services agency shall provide a copy of the report to the co-chairpersons and ranking members of the joint appropriations subcommittee on economic development.
   3.  Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the workforce opportunity fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated for subsequent fiscal years. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
    Sec. 16.  UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION RESERVE FUND —— TRANSFER TO WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY FUND.  Any moneys appropriated to the department of workforce development for purposes of the unemployment compensation reserve fund established pursuant to section 96.9 that remain unencumbered or unobligated as of July 1, 2024, but not more than thirty million dollars, shall be deposited in the workforce opportunity fund created in section 84A.20, if enacted by this division of this Act.
DIVISION VI
FUTURE READY IOWA SKILLED WORKFORCE LAST-DOLLAR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

    Sec. 17.  Section 256.228, subsection 1, paragraph f, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   f.  “Eligible program” means a any of the following: 
   (1)  A program of study or an academic major jointly approved by the commission and the department of workforce development, in consultation with an eligible institution, that leads to a credential aligned with a high-demand job designated by the workforce development board or a community college pursuant to section 84A.1B, subsection 14. If the board or a community college removes a high-demand job from a list created under section 84A.1B, subsection 14, an eligible student who received a scholarship for a program based on that high-demand job shall continue to receive the scholarship until achieving a postsecondary credential, up to an associate degree, as long as the student continues to meet all other eligibility requirements.
   (2)  A program of study or an academic major jointly approved by the commission and the department of workforce development that leads to a credential aligned with at least one of ten priority in-demand fields designated by rule adopted by the workforce development board. If the board discontinues the designation of a previously designated priority in-demand field, an eligible student who received a scholarship for a program based on the designation of that priority in-demand field shall continue to receive the scholarship until achieving a postsecondary credential, up to an associate degree, as long as the student continues to meet all other eligibility requirements.
    Sec. 18.  Section 256.228, subsection 1, paragraph g, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
   NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (5)  Has an expected family contribution of less than or equal to twenty thousand dollars, as determined by the free application for federal student aid.
    Sec. 19.  Section 256.228, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  Adopt rules under chapter 17A, in collaboration with the department of workforce development, for administration of this section, including but not limited to establishing rules that do all of the following: 
   (1)  Establish the duties and responsibilities of eligible institutions under the program; defining.
   (2)  Define residence and satisfactory academic progress for purposes of the program; and establishing. 
   (3)  Establish procedures for scholarship application, processing, and approval. The rules shall provide for determining 
   (4)  Determine the priority awarding of scholarships if funds available for purposes of this section are insufficient to pay all eligible students. Priority shall be given to fully awarding each eligible student approved for a scholarship rather than to prorating scholarship awards among all eligible students.
   (5)  Determine the annual amount of a future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship, within the limitations established in subsection 3, based on the type of eligible program in which the eligible student is participating.
    Sec. 20.  Section 256.228, subsection 4, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  e.  Annually establish a two-year budget that shows amounts the commission expects to expend on Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship awards under this section for all eligible students.
    Sec. 21.  Section 256.228, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4A.  Scholarship awards —— reductions.  The commission may ratably reduce scholarship awards to more closely align with the funds the general assembly has appropriated for purposes of this section.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to work-based learning, including by repealing provisions related to regional industry sector partnerships and the statewide work-based learning intermediary network, establishing the workforce opportunity fund within the department of workforce development, and modifying provisions related to career and technical education, student teacher requirements for students with substitute teaching or para-educator experience, and the future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship program.
   DIVISION I —— REGIONAL INDUSTRY SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS AND STATEWIDE WORK-BASED LEARNING INTERMEDIARY NETWORK. Code section 84A.15 authorizes community colleges and the department of workforce development (IWD) to use moneys for the pathways for academic career and employment program to provide staff and support for the development and implementation of a regional industry sector partnership within each region served by each community college. The bill repeals Code section 84A.15 and makes conforming changes.
   Code section 84A.16 establishes the statewide work-based learning intermediary network program within IWD for the purpose of preparing students for the workforce by facilitating cooperation and collaboration between businesses and entities within the state system of education and offering relevant, work-based learning activities to students and teachers. The bill repeals Code section 84A.16 and makes conforming changes.
   DIVISION II —— CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND WORK-BASED LEARNING. Current law requires school districts and accredited nonpublic schools to offer and teach, in grades 9 through 12, a minimum of three sequential units in at least four career and technical education service areas. The bill provides that the instructional programs provided under this provision may include work-based learning, as defined in Code section 256.125 (community colleges and post-secondary readiness bureau), as modified by the bill. The bill also provides that instructional programs that include work-based learning may be provided when school is not in session, including during the summer months.
   DIVISION III —— STUDENT TEACHING. Current law provides that the student teaching experience provided during a practitioner preparation program shall be a minimum of 14 weeks in duration during the student’s final year of the program. The bill provides that the student teaching experience may be reduced to four weeks in duration if the student bears the primary responsibility for planning, instruction, and assessment within the classroom during the student teaching experience; the board of educational examiners (BOEE) has issued a substitute license, substitute authorization, or para-educator certificate to the student, and the student has prior experience working as a substitute teacher or a para-educator; and the student teaching experience takes place in the classroom of a cooperating teacher who is appropriately licensed in the subject area and grade level endorsement for which the student is being prepared. Additionally, the bill provides that requirements related to the student teacher experience may be satisfied if the student teaching experience takes place in the classroom of a cooperating teacher who is appropriately licensed in the subject area and grade level endorsement for which the student is being prepared, and lasts for at least one-half of each school day; under the supervision of the cooperating teacher, and for at least one-half of each school day, the student bears the primary responsibility for planning, instruction, and assessment within the classroom for a minimum of four weeks during the student teaching experience; and the BOEE has issued a para-educator certificate to the student, and the student works as a para-educator for at least one-half of each school day during the student teaching experience.
   DIVISION IV —— CHANGES TO DEFINED TERMS. The bill modifies the definition of “work-based learning” for purposes of the Iowa registered apprenticeship Act, and for purposes of the community colleges and post-secondary readiness bureau within the higher education division of the department of education, to mean opportunities and experiences that include but are not limited to sustained project-based learning in partnership with an employer, simulated work experiences aligned with industry-recognized credentials, high-quality pre-apprenticeships aligned to an apprenticeship, student learner programs, internships, and apprenticeships.
   The bill also modifies the definitions of “quality pre-apprenticeship program” and “youth apprenticeship” for purposes of the Iowa registered apprenticeship Act. 
   DIVISION V —— DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT —— WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY FUND. The bill establishes a workforce opportunity fund in the state treasury as a separate fund under the control of the department of workforce development. The bill provides that the fund shall consist of appropriations made to the fund, any other moneys available to and obtained or accepted by the department from the federal government or private sources for placement in the fund, and transfers of interest, earnings, and moneys from other funds as provided by law. Additionally, the bill appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for the purposes of training and infrastructure related to the growth and maintenance of the state’s workforce programs. The bill establishes that permitted uses of the moneys in the fund include equipment, instructional materials, stipends, and other training-related costs. The bill requires that, on or before December 31 of each year, the department shall submit a report to the general assembly and the legislative services agency that contains a list of all expenditures from the fund made in the previous fiscal year. The bill provides that the legislative services agency is to provide a copy of the report to the co-chairpersons and ranking members of the joint appropriations subcommittee on economic development.
   The bill provides that any moneys appropriated to IWD for purposes of the unemployment compensation reserve fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated as of July 1, 2024, but not more than $30 million, shall be deposited in the workforce opportunity fund.
   DIVISION VI —— FUTURE READY IOWA SKILLED WORKFORCE LAST-DOLLAR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. Current law provides that eligible students may receive a future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship from the future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship fund. The scholarship is intended to cover any remaining gap between federal and state grants or scholarships and tuition and certain fees. Under current law, only an “eligible student” participating in an “eligible program”, defined as a program of study or an academic major jointly approved by the college student aid commission and the department of workforce development, in consultation with an eligible institution, that leads to a credential aligned with a high-demand job designated by the workforce development board or a community college, may receive a future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship. The bill provides that “eligible program” shall also include a program of study or an academic major jointly approved by the college student aid commission and the department of workforce development that leads to a credential aligned with at least 1 of 10 priority in-demand fields designated by rule adopted by the workforce development board.
   The bill establishes that, among other additional requirements, an “eligible student” may only receive a future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship if the student has an expected family contribution of less than or equal to $20,000, as determined by the free application for federal student aid.
   Current law authorizes the college student aid commission to adopt rules, in collaboration with the department of workforce development, for administration of the future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship program. The bill establishes that these rules are required to authorize the commission to determine the annual amount of a future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship based on the type of eligible program in which the eligible student is participating.
   The bill requires the college student aid commission to determine the annual amount of a future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship based on the type of eligible program in which the eligible student is participating.
   The bill authorizes the college student aid commission to ratably reduce scholarship awards to more closely align with the funds the general assembly has appropriated for purposes of the scholarship program.