H.F. 2649 Section 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act shall be known and may be 1 cited as the “Removing Education Access Challenges in Higher 2 Education (REACH) Act”. 3 Sec. 2. Section 260C.1, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 4 following new subsection: 5 NEW SUBSECTION . 13. Degree programs that lead to 6 baccalaureate degrees, as authorized in this chapter. 7 Sec. 3. Section 260C.2, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended 8 to read as follows: 9 3. “Community college” means a publicly supported school 10 which may offer that does one or more of the following: 11 a. Offers programs of adult and continuing education, 12 lifelong learning, community education, and up to two years 13 of liberal arts, preprofessional, or occupational instruction 14 partially fulfilling the requirements for a baccalaureate 15 degree but confers no more than an associate degree ; or which 16 offers , except as provided in paragraph “c” . 17 b. Offers as the whole or as part of the curriculum up 18 to two years of career and technical education, training, or 19 retraining to persons who are preparing to enter the labor 20 market. 21 c. Offers a degree program that leads to a baccalaureate 22 degree, subject to the requirements established in section 23 260C.25. 24 Sec. 4. Section 260C.14, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended 25 to read as follows: 26 2. Have authority to determine tuition rates for 27 instruction. 28 a. Tuition for residents of Iowa shall not exceed the 29 lowest tuition rate per semester, or the equivalent, charged 30 by an institution of higher education under the state board 31 of regents for a full-time resident student. However, except 32 for students enrolled under section 261E.6 , if a local school 33 district pays tuition for a resident pupil of high school age, 34 the limitation on tuition for residents of Iowa shall not 35 -1- LSB 5229HV (3) 91 jda/jh 1/ 6

H.F. 2649 apply, the amount of tuition shall be determined by the board 1 of directors of the community college with the consent of the 2 local school board, and the pupil shall not be included in the 3 full-time equivalent enrollment of the community college for 4 the purpose of computing general aid to the community college. 5 b. Tuition for nonresidents of Iowa shall not be less than 6 the marginal cost of instruction of a student attending the 7 college. A lower tuition for nonresidents may be permitted 8 under a reciprocal tuition agreement between a merged area and 9 an educational institution in another state, if the agreement 10 is approved by the director. 11 c. Tuition for residents of Iowa, for upper-level courses 12 offered as part of a baccalaureate program, shall not exceed 13 one hundred fifty percent of the tuition charged to such 14 students under paragraph “a” . 15 d. The board may designate that a portion of the tuition 16 moneys collected from students be used for student aid 17 purposes. 18 Sec. 5. Section 260C.14, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 19 following new subsection: 20 NEW SUBSECTION . 27. If the community college will offer a 21 degree program that leads to a baccalaureate degree, establish 22 or modify any policies, seek any accreditation, and employ any 23 staff necessary to offer such a degree program. 24 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 260C.25 Pilot program for community 25 college baccalaureate degrees in geographically isolated regions. 26 1. The department of education shall administer a pilot 27 program that authorizes eligible community colleges to offer 28 baccalaureate degrees subject to the requirements established 29 in this section. 30 2. The state board of education shall adopt rules under 31 chapter 17A prescribing standards and procedures for the 32 authorization and oversight of the pilot program as well as an 33 application and approval process. 34 3. a. The rules adopted pursuant to subsection 2 must 35 -2- LSB 5229HV (3) 91 jda/jh 2/ 6

H.F. 2649 provide that a community college shall not offer a degree 1 program that leads to a baccalaureate degree unless the 2 community college’s main campus is located at least fifty miles 3 from the main campus of an institution of higher education 4 governed by the state board of regents or the main campus 5 of a private institution of higher education that is already 6 offering the degree program that the community college proposes 7 to offer. 8 b. For purposes of this paragraph, distance shall be 9 measured as the shortest practical driving distance using 10 publicly available mapping software, as determined by the 11 department of education. 12 4. The rules adopted pursuant to subsection 2 must provide 13 that a community college shall not offer a degree program that 14 leads to a baccalaureate degree unless the degree program 15 satisfies all of the following requirements: 16 a. Consists of accredited programs of study or academic 17 majors that lead to jobs that address a high-demand, sustained, 18 and unmet workforce need within the community college 19 region, as demonstrated by multiple workforce indicators, 20 including current and projected job openings, wage data, 21 workforce shortages, credential attainment gaps, labor market 22 projections, and documented employer support for such programs 23 of study or academic majors, as shown by the community college. 24 b. Is in any one of the following fields: 25 (1) Education. 26 (2) Nursing. 27 (3) Information technology. 28 (4) Public safety. 29 (5) Business. 30 (6) Health care management. 31 (7) Agriculture. 32 (8) Dental hygiene. 33 c. The instruction provided in courses within the degree 34 program is not delivered entirely over the internet. 35 -3- LSB 5229HV (3) 91 jda/jh 3/ 6

H.F. 2649 5. The rules adopted pursuant to subsection 2 must prohibit 1 a community college from offering more than three baccalaureate 2 degrees. 3 6. a. On or before December 1 of each year following the 4 initial enrollment of students in a degree program that leads 5 to a baccalaureate degree, each community college participating 6 in the pilot program must submit a report to the department of 7 education and to the general assembly that includes information 8 related to all of the following: 9 (1) Enrollment and retention in the degree programs. 10 (2) The number of students who have completed the degree 11 programs. 12 (3) The workforce outcomes of students who have completed 13 the degree programs. 14 (4) Employer engagement with students in the degree 15 programs and the community college. 16 (5) The alignment of the degree programs with regional 17 workforce needs. 18 (6) Tuition levels within the degree programs. 19 (7) The financial sustainability of the degree programs. 20 (8) Challenges encountered during implementation of the 21 pilot program. 22 (9) Recommendations related to statutory or rules changes 23 needed to make the pilot program more effective. 24 b. The legislative services agency shall provide copies 25 of the reports submitted to the general assembly pursuant 26 to paragraph “a” to the chairpersons of the senate standing 27 committee on education and the house standing committee on 28 education. 29 c. The department of education shall compile the reports 30 submitted by the community colleges pursuant to paragraph “a” , 31 create a summary of the reports, and submit the summary to the 32 general assembly. 33 7. Upon the graduation of the first full cohort of students 34 from baccalaureate degree programs under this pilot program, 35 -4- LSB 5229HV (3) 91 jda/jh 4/ 6

H.F. 2649 the general assembly shall review the outcomes of the pilot 1 program and consider whether to modify or expand the pilot 2 program. 3 8. As used in this section: 4 a. “Main campus” means the primary campus designated by an 5 institution of higher education governed by the state board of 6 regents, or by a private institution of higher education, for 7 governance purposes. 8 b. “Private institution of higher education” means an 9 institution of higher learning located in this state that 10 satisfies all of the following requirements: 11 (1) Is accredited by any federally recognized accreditor of 12 postsecondary educational institutions. 13 (2) Is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the 14 Internal Revenue Code. 15 (3) Is authorized to award associate degrees or 16 baccalaureate degrees in this state. 17 EXPLANATION 18 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 19 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 20 This bill establishes a pilot program that authorizes 21 eligible community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees. 22 The pilot program is to be administered by the department of 23 education pursuant to rules adopted by the state board of 24 education. 25 The bill establishes requirements related to the rules 26 adopted by the state board of education, including requiring 27 that the rules provide that a community college shall not 28 offer a degree program that leads to a baccalaureate degree 29 unless the community college’s main campus is located at least 30 50 miles from the main campus of an institution of higher 31 education governed by the state board of regents or the main 32 campus of a private institution of higher education that is 33 already offering the degree program that the community college 34 proposes to offer. In addition, the rules must provide that 35 -5- LSB 5229HV (3) 91 jda/jh 5/ 6

H.F. 2649 a community college shall not offer a degree program that 1 leads to a baccalaureate degree unless: the degree program is 2 in certain specified fields; instruction provided in courses 3 within the degree program is not delivered entirely over 4 the internet; and the degree program consists of accredited 5 programs of study or academic majors that lead to jobs that 6 address a high-demand, sustained, and unmet workforce need 7 within the community college region. The bill establishes 8 reporting requirements related to the pilot program. 9 The bill defines “main campus” and “private institution of 10 higher education”. 11 -6- LSB 5229HV (3) 91 jda/jh 6/ 6