SF 2411 (LSB 5175SZ (5) 90)

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, THE UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION  RESERVE FUND, AND THE FUTURE READY IOWA SKILLED WORKFORCE  LAST-DOLLAR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, MAKING APPROPRIATIONS, AND  INCLUDING EFFECTIVE DATE PROVISIONS. 

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 to read as follows:
   (4)  A student enrolled in a school district or accredited nonpublic school who is participating in a work-based learning opportunity offered in accordance with section 84A.16.
   (5)  A student enrolled in a community college as defined in section 260C.2, who is participating in a work-based learning opportunity offered in accordance with section 84A.16 that is offered by the community college.
    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.
    Sec. 12.  Section 256.146, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  25.  By September 1, 2024, adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A establishing endorsements for instruction related to career and technical fields in schools providing instruction to students enrolled in prekindergarten through grade twelve, including but not limited to business, agriculture, industrial technology, consumer science, and information technology.
    Sec. 13.  EMERGENCY RULES.  The board of educational examiners may adopt emergency rules under section 17A.4, subsection 3, and section 17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, to implement the provisions of this division of this Act and the rules shall be effective immediately upon filing unless a later date is specified in the rules. Any rules adopted in accordance with this section shall also be published as a notice of intended action as provided in section 17A.4.
    Sec. 14.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This division of this Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
DIVISION III
STUDENT TEACHING

    Sec. 15.  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.
   (a)  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.
   (b)  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. The 
   (2)  Require that the student teaching experience shall be a minimum of fourteen weeks in duration during the student’s final year of the practitioner preparation program.
   (a)  A student shall be credited a minimum of one week, but not more than ten weeks, of prior work experience as a substitute teacher or a para-educator, including prior experience under the teacher and para-educator registered apprenticeship grant program, toward the requirements associated with the fourteen-week student teaching experience, if all of the following requirements are satisfied:
   (i)  The board of educational examiners has issued a substitute license, substitute authorization, or a para-educator certificate to the student.
   (ii)  The student’s prior work experience took 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.
   (iii)  The student bears the primary responsibility for planning, instruction, and assessment within the classroom during the student teaching experience.
   (b)  A student shall be credited a minimum of one week, but not more than fourteen weeks, of work experience as a para-educator toward the requirements associated with the fourteen-week student teaching experience, if all of the following requirements are satisfied:
   (i)  The board of educational examiners has issued a para-educator certificate to the student.
   (ii)  The student works as a para-educator for at least one-half of each school day during the student teaching experience.
   (iii)  The student’s work 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.
   (iv)  The student bears the primary responsibility for planning, instruction, and assessment within the classroom during the student teaching experience.
   (3)  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.
DIVISION IV
CHANGES TO DEFINED TERMS

    Sec. 16.  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. 17.  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.
    Sec. 18.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  The following, being deemed of immediate importance, take effect upon enactment:
   1.  The portion of the section of this division of this Act amending section 84D.2, subsection 18.
   2.  The portion of the section of this division of this Act amending section 84D.2, subsection 25.
DIVISION V
DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT —— WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY FUND

    Sec. 19.  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.
   4.  This section is repealed July 1, 2029.
    Sec. 20.  Section 96.9, subsection 8, Code 2024, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 21.  UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION RESERVE FUND —— TRANSFER TO WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY FUND.
   1.  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.
   2.  Any moneys remaining in the unemployment compensation reserve fund after the deposit described in subsection 1 shall be transferred to the account of this state in the unemployment trust fund; provided, however, that any interest earned on moneys remaining in the unemployment compensation reserve fund after the deposit described in subsection 1 shall be transferred to the special employment security contingency fund.
DIVISION VI
FUTURE READY IOWA SKILLED WORKFORCE LAST-DOLLAR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

    Sec. 22.  Section 256.228, subsection 1, paragraph g, subparagraph (2), Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   (2)  Completes and submits application forms required by the commission, including the free application for federal student aid; applies for all available state and federal financial aid; attends orientation in person or virtually; registers for classes with the assistance of an academic advisor; and participates in academic and career advising sessions required under the eligible program. To receive a renewal of a scholarship awarded under this section, an eligible student must annually submit a new application to the commission for reevaluation of eligibility.
    Sec. 23.  Section 256.228, subsection 1, paragraph g, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
   NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (5)  Has a student aid index of less than or equal to twenty thousand dollars at the time of initial application, as determined by the application forms submitted pursuant to subparagraph (2), including the free application for federal student aid.
    Sec. 24.  Section 256.228, subsection 3, paragraph d, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   d.  A future ready Iowa skilled workforce last-dollar scholarship shall be awarded on an annual basis, requiring reapplication by an eligible student each year for a two-year period, or prior to the expiration of a two-year period if the student earns the credential or associate degree sought within such period. Scholarship payments shall be allocated equally among the semesters, or the equivalent, and paid upon certification by the eligible institution that the student meets the requirements of subsection 1, paragraph “g”.
    Sec. 25.  EMERGENCY RULES.  The college student aid commission, in consultation with the department of workforce development, may adopt emergency rules under section 17A.4, subsection 3, and section 17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, to implement the provisions of this division of this Act and the rules shall be effective immediately upon filing unless a later date is specified in the rules. Any rules adopted in accordance with this section shall also be published as a notice of intended action as provided in section 17A.4.

______________________________
AMY SINCLAIR
President of the Senate

______________________________
PAT GRASSLEY
Speaker of the House

   I hereby certify that this bill originated in the Senate and is known as Senate File 2411, Ninetieth General Assembly.

______________________________
W. CHARLES SMITHSON
Secretary of the Senate

Approved _______________, 2024

______________________________
KIM REYNOLDS
Governor