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. It amends existing laws to replace the term "service areas" with "content areas" in relation to CTE, 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 selection of occupations for government agencies and statewide programs. Additionally, it mandates that regional CTE partnerships demonstrate alignment of expenditures with these defined occupations.

Furthermore, the bill requires the Iowa Department of Education to implement a statewide lower division general education framework and common course numbering systems for community colleges, which will facilitate 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 established by the Department of Education. The bill also calls for a study on the implementation of these educational frameworks to be submitted to the General Assembly by the end of 2026.

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