House Study Bill 675 - Introduced SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BILL) A BILL FOR An Act relating to education programs and systems, including 1 career and technical education expenditures and definitions, 2 statewide lower division general education framework and 3 common course numbering systems, and the implementation of a 4 statewide corequisite model in Iowa community colleges. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 5500XD (8) 91 mb/jh

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 256.9, subsection 70, paragraph a, Code 1 2026, is amended to read as follows: 2 a. Develop and make available on the department’s 3 internet site a list of industry-recognized credentials or 4 certifications that are attainable by students enrolled in 5 grades nine through twelve and that are aligned with career and 6 technical education service content areas. 7 Sec. 2. Section 256.11, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 8 2026, is amended to read as follows: 9 b. Computer science instruction incorporating the standards 10 established under section 256.7, subsection 26 , paragraph “a” , 11 subparagraph (4), shall be offered in at least one grade level 12 commencing with the school year beginning July 1, 2023. Career 13 exploration and development shall be designed so that students 14 are appropriately prepared to create an individual career 15 and academic plan pursuant to section 279.61 , incorporate 16 foundational career and technical education concepts aligned 17 with the six career and technical education service content 18 areas as defined in subsection 5 , paragraph “h” , incorporate 19 relevant twenty-first century skills to facilitate career 20 readiness, and introduce students to career opportunities 21 within the local community and across this state. 22 Sec. 3. Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph h, 23 subparagraph (1), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: 24 (1) A minimum of three sequential units in at least four 25 of the following six career and technical education service 26 content areas . The department shall ensure that the six career 27 and technical education content areas are aligned to a national 28 framework representative of all career pathways : 29 (a) Agriculture , food, and natural resources . 30 (b) Arts, communications, and information Information 31 systems. 32 (c) Applied sciences , technology, engineering, and 33 manufacturing, including transportation, distribution, 34 logistics, architecture, and construction . 35 -1- LSB 5500XD (8) 91 mb/jh 1/ 8

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ (d) Health sciences. 1 (e) Human services , including law, public safety, 2 corrections, security, government, public administration, and 3 education and training . 4 (f) Business , finance, marketing, and management . 5 Sec. 4. Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph h, 6 subparagraph (3), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: 7 (3) The department of education shall permit school 8 districts, in meeting the requirements of this section , to use 9 career and technical education core courses in more than one 10 career and technical education service content area and to use 11 multi-occupational courses to complete a sequence in more than 12 one career and technical education service content area. 13 Sec. 5. Section 256.125, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended 14 to read as follows: 15 5. “Career and technical education service content area” 16 means any one of the service content areas specified in section 17 256.11, subsection 5 , paragraph “h” . 18 Sec. 6. Section 256.125, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 19 following new subsections: 20 NEW SUBSECTION . 5A. “High-demand occupation” means an 21 occupation in which state, local, or regional labor market 22 forecasting shows occupational demand exceeds the overall 23 state, local, or regional employer demand metrics, including in 24 openings, numeric change, and growth. 25 NEW SUBSECTION . 5B. “High-skill occupation” means 26 an occupation with education or training requirements, 27 including the completion of an apprenticeship program, an 28 industry-recognized credential, a short-term college credential 29 such as a certificate or diploma, a noncredit college 30 credential or certification, an associate degree or higher, 31 on-the-job training, or on-the-job credential or certification. 32 NEW SUBSECTION . 5C. “High-wage occupation” means an 33 occupation for which at least three of five hourly wage or 34 annual salary measurements for that occupation exceed the 35 -2- LSB 5500XD (8) 91 mb/jh 2/ 8

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ hourly wage or annual salary for all occupations in the state 1 or region. 2 Sec. 7. Section 256.129, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 2. Adopt rules prescribing standards for teachers in the six 5 career and technical education service content areas specified 6 in section 256.11, subsection 5 , paragraph “h” , in approved 7 programs. 8 Sec. 8. Section 256.130, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended 9 to read as follows: 10 5. Make recommendations to the board of educational 11 examiners relating to the enforcement of rules prescribing 12 standards for teachers of career and technical education 13 service content areas. 14 Sec. 9. Section 256.136, subsection 6, Code 2026, is amended 15 to read as follows: 16 6. A regional career and technical education partnership 17 may use funds received from state and federal sources on behalf 18 of school districts and community colleges participating in the 19 regional career and technical education planning partnership 20 to convene, lead, and staff the regional career and technical 21 education planning partnership; to offer regional career and 22 technical education professional development opportunities; 23 to coordinate and maintain a career guidance system pursuant 24 to section 279.61 ; to purchase career and technical education 25 equipment; and to purchase standard classroom consumable 26 supplies other than consumable supplies that will be made into 27 products to be sold or used personally by students, teachers, 28 and other persons. The regional career and technical education 29 partnership shall demonstrate that all expenditures are aligned 30 with high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand occupations as 31 defined in section 256.125. 32 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 256.139 Statewide lower division 33 general education and common course numbering systems. 34 1. To support student transfer and academic transparency, 35 -3- LSB 5500XD (8) 91 mb/jh 3/ 8

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ statewide lower division general education framework and common 1 course numbering systems shall be implemented by the department 2 of education, in coordination with the Iowa community colleges 3 and in consultation with the state board of regents, for 4 coursework offered by Iowa community colleges. 5 2. The common course numbering system must do all of the 6 following: 7 a. Assign each course an alphanumeric prefix and number 8 reflecting subject area and level. 9 b. Identify equivalent courses across institutions. Each 10 course shall have a common description and common course 11 outcomes developed by faculty from community colleges, with 12 consultation from the board of regents. 13 c. Be used in all course catalogs, registration systems, and 14 transcripts. 15 3. The department shall maintain a statewide course 16 numbering directory and shall establish a faculty-led process 17 for determining course equivalency. 18 4. For the school year beginning July 1, 2027, and each 19 succeeding school year, the lower division general education 20 framework shall apply to all community college general 21 education coursework, inclusive of a common set of general 22 education learning requirements, and shall be built upon 23 the existing statewide transfer pathways used by public 24 institutions of higher education in the state. This process 25 shall preserve institutional autonomy over course delivery and 26 content while ensuring transfer consistency. 27 5. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 28 to administer this section. 29 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 256.140 Statewide corequisite model. 30 1. By the 2028-2029 school year, all Iowa community colleges 31 shall replace traditional, prerequisite remedial coursework in 32 mathematics and English with corequisite models. 33 2. The department of education, in consultation with 34 Iowa community colleges, shall by rule establish a statewide 35 -4- LSB 5500XD (8) 91 mb/jh 4/ 8

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ framework for corequisite developmental education. 1 Sec. 12. NEW SECTION . 256.141 Statewide occupation 2 definitions. 3 The department of education, in consultation with the 4 Iowa workforce development board, shall adopt rules pursuant 5 to chapter 17A to administer the process of selecting the 6 occupations that qualify as a high-demand occupation, 7 high-skill occupation, or high-wage occupation, each as defined 8 in section 256.125, for purposes of use by government agencies 9 and statewide programs. 10 Sec. 13. Section 257.11, subsection 3, paragraph c, 11 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as 12 follows: 13 Notwithstanding paragraph “b” , subparagraph (1), a school 14 district that otherwise meets the requirements of this 15 subsection may enter into a sharing agreement with a community 16 college under which the community college may offer, or provide 17 a community college-employed instructor to teach, one of the 18 science or one of the mathematics units in accordance with 19 section 256.11, subsection 5 , and one or more units in only one 20 of the six career and technical education service content areas 21 in accordance with section 256.11, subsection 5 , paragraph “h” . 22 Pupils enrolled in a unit in accordance with this paragraph 23 shall be assigned additional weighting in accordance with 24 this subsection if the number of pupils enrolled in such a 25 unit exceeds five and the school district’s total enrollment 26 does not exceed six hundred pupils. A school district that 27 enters into a sharing agreement with a community college under 28 this paragraph to provide a unit of science or mathematics 29 in accordance with section 256.11, subsection 5 , paragraph 30 “a” , “d” , or “e” , shall be deemed to have met the requirement 31 that the school district offer and teach such a unit under 32 the educational standards of section 256.11, subsection 5 , 33 paragraph “a” , “d” , or “e” . However, the provisions of this 34 paragraph “c” relating to a sharing agreement for a unit of 35 -5- LSB 5500XD (8) 91 mb/jh 5/ 8

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ science or mathematics are applicable only if all of the 1 following conditions are met: 2 Sec. 14. Section 260C.14, Code 2026, is amended by adding 3 the following new subsection: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 27. Comply with the requirements of section 5 256.140, including by replacing traditional, prerequisite 6 remedial coursework in mathematics and English with corequisite 7 models, and by assisting the department of education in 8 the implementation of a statewide framework for corequisite 9 developmental education. 10 Sec. 15. IMPLEMENTATION OF A COMMON COURSE NUMBERING SYSTEM 11 STUDY. By December 31, 2026, the department of education, in 12 consultation with the state board of regents, shall submit to 13 the general assembly a study on the systemic implementation 14 considerations of statewide lower division general education 15 framework and common course numbering systems across public 16 institutions of higher education, including Iowa community 17 colleges and the institutions governed by the state board of 18 regents. 19 EXPLANATION 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 21 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 22 This bill relates to career and technical education 23 expenditures and definitions, statewide lower division general 24 education framework and common course numbering systems, and 25 the implementation of a statewide corequisite model in Iowa 26 community colleges. 27 The bill renames the career and technical education service 28 areas as content areas and requires the department of education 29 to ensure that the six career and technical education content 30 areas in the high school career and technical education program 31 are aligned to a national framework representative of all 32 career pathways. The bill modifies what is included in five of 33 the six career and technical education content areas. 34 The bill further requires that regional career and technical 35 -6- LSB 5500XD (8) 91 mb/jh 6/ 8

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ education partnerships demonstrate that all expenditures 1 are aligned with high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand 2 occupations. 3 The bill defines “high-demand occupation” as an occupation 4 in which state, local, or regional labor market forecasting 5 shows occupational demand exceeds the overall state, local, 6 or regional employer demand metrics, including in openings, 7 numeric change, and growth. The bill defines “high-skill 8 occupation” as an occupation with education or training 9 requirements, including the completion of an apprenticeship 10 program, an industry-recognized credential, a short-term 11 college credential such as a certificate or diploma, a 12 noncredit college credential or certification, an associate 13 degree or higher, on-the-job training, or on-the-job credential 14 or certification. The bill defines “high-wage occupation” as 15 an occupation for which at least three of five hourly wage 16 or annual salary measurements for that occupation exceed the 17 hourly wage or annual salary for all occupations in the state 18 or region. The bill requires the department of education, in 19 consultation with the Iowa workforce development board, to 20 adopt rules pursuant to Code chapter 17A to administer the 21 process of selecting the resulting occupations using these 22 statewide definitions. The bill also requires the selected 23 occupations to be applied across all government agencies and 24 statewide programs. 25 The bill requires the department, in coordination with the 26 Iowa community colleges and consultation with the state board 27 of regents, to implement statewide lower division general 28 education framework and common course numbering systems for all 29 coursework offered by the Iowa community colleges. The common 30 course numbering system must assign each course an alphanumeric 31 prefix and number reflecting subject area and level, identify 32 equivalent courses across institutions, ensure each equivalent 33 course has a common description and common course outcomes, 34 and be used in all course catalogs, registration systems, and 35 -7- LSB 5500XD (8) 91 mb/jh 7/ 8

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ transcripts. The bill requires the department to maintain 1 a statewide course numbering directory, to establish a 2 faculty-led process for determining course equivalency, and to 3 adopt rules to administer the statewide common course numbering 4 system. For the school year beginning July 1, 2027, and each 5 succeeding school year, the bill requires the lower division 6 general education framework to apply to all community college 7 general education coursework and be built upon the existing 8 statewide transfer pathways. 9 The bill requires that by the 2028-2029 school year, all 10 Iowa community colleges must replace traditional, prerequisite 11 remedial coursework in mathematics and English with corequisite 12 models. The bill requires the department to establish a 13 statewide framework for corequisite developmental education. 14 The bill also requires the board of directors of each community 15 college to implement the corequisite models and to assist the 16 department of education in implementing a statewide framework 17 for corequisite developmental education. 18 The bill also requires the department of education, in 19 consultation with the state board of regents, to submit to 20 the general assembly a study on the systemic implementation 21 considerations of statewide lower division general education 22 framework and common course numbering systems in institutions 23 of higher education. 24 -8- LSB 5500XD (8) 91 mb/jh 8/ 8