Iowa Code § 261E.8 — IA Code / Title VII / Chapter 261E / Section 261E.8
District-to-community college sharing or concurrent enrollment program.
Status: in_force

(1) A district-to-community college sharing or concurrent enrollment program is established to be administered by the department to promote rigorous academic or career and technical pursuits and to provide a wider variety of options to high school students to enroll in eligible nonsectarian courses at or through community colleges established under chapter 260C. The program shall be made available to all resident students in grades nine through twelve. Notice of the availability of the program shall be included in a school district’s student registration handbook and the handbook shall identify which courses, if successfully completed, generate college credit under the program. A student and the student’s parent or legal guardian shall also be made aware of this program as a part of the development of the student’s career and academic plan in accordance with section 279.61.

(2) (a) Students from accredited nonpublic schools and students receiving competent private instruction or independent private instruction under chapter 299A may access the program through the school district in which the accredited nonpublic school or private institution is located.

(2) (b) Students from accredited nonpublic schools may also access the program if the accredited nonpublic school in which the students are enrolled meets the requirements of this section and section 257.11, subsection 3, as if the accredited nonpublic school were a school district, and enters into a contract with a community college that meets the requirements of this section and section 257.11, subsection 3, for the provision of academic or career and technical coursework to high school students enrolled in the accredited nonpublic school. However, the accredited nonpublic school need not meet requirements for career and technical education more stringent than the requirements of section 256.11B. A student who wishes to participate in the program must make application to the accredited nonpublic school and the community college in the manner established under subsection 3 and meet the requirements of this section.

(2) (b) An accredited nonpublic school that provides units of mathematics, science, and career and technical education under an agreement that meets the requirements of subparagraph (1) shall be deemed to have met the education program requirement for the units of mathematics, science, and career and technical education provided, as applicable, under section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph “a”, “d”, or “e”, or section 256.11B.

(2) (b) Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general assembly for this purpose, a student enrolled in a unit of coursework provided under this subparagraph shall be counted as if the student was assigned a weighting under section 257.11, subsection 3, paragraph “b”, in determining the amount calculated and paid to a community college under subparagraph (4), if the accredited nonpublic school is accredited under the standards required of a school district pursuant to section 256.11, the number of students enrolled in a class used to meet the unit requirement exceeds five, and the accredited nonpublic school’s total enrollment in grades nine through twelve does not exceed two hundred pupils.

(2) (b) A student enrolled in a unit of coursework provided under this subparagraph is not eligible to be counted as if the student was assigned a weighting under section 257.11, subsection 3, paragraph “b”, in determining the amount calculated and paid to a community college under subparagraph (4), if the accredited nonpublic school’s total enrollment in grades nine through twelve exceeds two hundred pupils.

(2) (b) A community college that enters into a contract as provided in this paragraph shall submit to the department, during the fall and spring semesters, or the equivalent, a list of the accredited nonpublic school students enrolled for the semester, or the equivalent, who are participating in the program. The community college and the accredited nonpublic school shall verify to the department that the accredited nonpublic school and the coursework provided under this paragraph meet the requirements of this section and section 257.11, subsection 3, and shall provide to the department data and information elements as required under subsection 9 by rule.

(2) (b) Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general assembly for this purpose, the department shall calculate, using the state cost per pupil, and pay to a community college for each semester in which a student is concurrently enrolled in the community college in accordance with this paragraph “b” an amount equivalent to the amount a school district would receive if the student was assigned a weighting under section 257.11, subsection 3, paragraph “b”. If the amount appropriated annually for purposes of this paragraph “b” is insufficient to pay to community colleges the full amount for students concurrently enrolled in a community college in accordance with this paragraph “b”, the department shall annually prorate the amount for payments to community colleges for the concurrent enrollment of accredited nonpublic students under this paragraph “b”. A community college shall decrease the amount billed to the accredited nonpublic school by the amount calculated and paid to the community college by the department in accordance with this paragraph.

(3) A student may make application to a community college and the school district to allow the student to enroll for college credit in a nonsectarian course offered by the community college. A comparable course, as defined in rules adopted by the board of directors of the school district, must not be offered by the school district or accredited nonpublic school which the student attends. The school board shall annually approve courses to be made available for high school credit using locally developed criteria that establishes which courses will provide the student with academic rigor and will prepare the student adequately for transition to a postsecondary institution. If a community college accepts a student for enrollment under this section, the school district, in collaboration with the community college, shall send written notice to the student, the student’s parent or legal guardian in the case of a minor child, and the student’s school district. The notice shall list the course, the clock hours the student will be attending the course, and the number of hours of college credit that the student will receive from the community college upon successful completion of the course.

(4) A school district shall grant high school credit to a student enrolled in a course under this chapter if the student successfully completes the course as determined by the community college and the course was previously approved by the school board pursuant to subsection 3. The board of directors of the school district shall determine the number of high school credits that shall be granted to a student who successfully completes a course.

(5) District-to-community college sharing agreements or concurrent enrollment programs that meet the requirements of section 257.11, subsection 3, are eligible for funding under that provision.

(6) Community colleges shall comply with the data collection requirements of section 260C.14, subsection 21.

(7) A student enrolled in a career and technical course made available pursuant to subsection 1 is exempt from the proficiency requirements of section 261E.3, subsection 1, paragraph “e”. However, a community college may require a student who applies for enrollment under a district-to-community college sharing or concurrent enrollment program to complete an initial assessment administered by the community college receiving the application to determine the applicant’s readiness to enroll in career and technical coursework, and the community college may deny the enrollment.

(8) Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general assembly for this purpose, the department shall establish a program to provide additional funds for resident high school pupils enrolled in grades nine through twelve to attend a community college for college-level classes or attend a class taught by a community college-employed instructor through a contractual agreement between a community college and a school district that satisfies the requirements for classes under section 257.11, subsection 3, except that the classes eligible for funding under this program are offered during the summer and outside of the regular school year and are aligned with career pathways leading to postsecondary credentials and high-demand jobs designated by the workforce development board or a community college pursuant to section 84A.1B, subsection 3. A community college shall not charge students tuition for a class offered partially or completely outside of the regular school year under this program.

(9) The state board, in collaboration with the board of directors of each community college, shall adopt rules that clearly define data and information elements to be collected related to the senior year plus programming, including concurrent enrollment courses. The data elements shall include but not be limited to the following:

(9) (a) The course title and whether the course supplements, rather than supplants, a school district course.

(9) (b) An unduplicated enrollment count of eligible students participating in the program.

(9) (c) The actual costs and revenues generated for concurrent enrollment. An aligned unique student identifier system shall be established by the department for students in kindergarten through grade twelve and community college.

(9) (d) Degree, certifications, and other qualifications to meet the minimum hiring standards.

(9) (e) Salary information including regular contracted salary and total salary.

(9) (f) Credit hours and laboratory contact hours and other data on instructional time.

(9) (g) Other information comparable to the data regarding teachers collected in the basic education data survey.

2008 Acts, ch 1181, §58; 2011 Acts, ch 20, §12; 2012 Acts, ch 1021, §59; 2012 Acts, ch 1119, §38; 2013 Acts, ch 121, §90; 2016 Acts, ch 1108, §4, 9; 2018 Acts, ch 1067, §14, 15; 2019 Acts, ch 164, §8; 2020 Acts, ch 1062, §39; 2020 Acts, ch 1063, §104; 2020 Acts, ch 1117, §24