This bill focuses on enhancing education programs and systems in Iowa, particularly in the areas of career and technical education (CTE), general education frameworks, and the implementation of a corequisite model in community colleges. Key amendments include renaming "career and technical education service areas" to "content areas" and ensuring that these areas align with a national framework representative of all career pathways. The bill also introduces definitions for high-demand, high-skill, and high-wage occupations, which will guide the alignment of educational programs with labor market needs. Additionally, it mandates that regional CTE partnerships demonstrate that their expenditures align with these defined occupations.

Furthermore, the bill requires the establishment of a statewide lower division general education framework and common course numbering systems for Iowa community colleges, aimed at facilitating student transfer and academic transparency. This includes assigning alphanumeric prefixes to courses, identifying equivalent courses across institutions, and maintaining a statewide course numbering directory. By the 2028-2029 school year, all Iowa community colleges must replace traditional remedial coursework in mathematics and English with corequisite models, supported by a statewide framework for developmental education. The Department of Education is tasked with overseeing these implementations and conducting a study on the systemic considerations for these educational reforms.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 256.9, 256.11, 256.7, 256.125, 256.129, 256.136