Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 281 - Education Department › Title IX - Vocational Education › Chapter 46 - Career and Technical Education › Rule 281-46.6 - Career and Technical Education Program Approval and Review

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Secondary program approval.
All career and technical education
				programs offered by a district are to be approved by the department. As a
				condition for approval, a district will comply with the following paragraphs:
a.
Data collection and
				analysis.
A district, for each program, will conduct an analysis of
				appropriate data and information related to the program and occupational fields
				applicable to the program. For purposes of this subrule, data includes, at a
				minimum, program enrollment numbers and trends by high school, course
				completion rates and trends, data needed under federal statutes governing
				career and technical education, and labor market information and socioeconomic
				and demographic data elements as provided by the partnership.
b.
Program report and
				self-study.
A district will create a program report and self-study for
				each offered program. The program report and self-study includes the following
				minimum criteria:
(1) Program overview. This
				section includes an overview of the program's purpose, a summary of data and
				information as described under paragraph 46.6(1)
"a"
and any
				conclusions drawn from this data and information, and an analysis of future
				trends in occupations associated with the program.
(2) Statement of program goals, objectives,
				and outcomes. This section includes clear statements of the program's goals,
				objectives, and outcomes, including a justification of the program's goal(s),
				objective(s), and outcome(s) based on the review conducted under subparagraph
				46.6(1)
"b"
(1), and describes methods that will be used to
				measure the program's stated outcomes.
(3) Competencies. This section describes the
				established program competencies aligned with state standards pursuant to rule
				281-46.5(256) and the program's goals, objectives, and outcomes; includes
				evidence of advisory committee approval of competencies, technical skill
				assessment tool(s), and proficiency benchmarks; includes evidence of
				postsecondary approval of competencies and technical skill assessment tool(s);
				outlines and describe the coherent sequence of coursework that constitutes the
				program, including any related foundational and concurrent enrollment
				coursework, depicted in a plan of study template; describes processes utilized
				to employ contextualized and effective work-based, project-based, and
				problem-based learning approaches; describes efforts to integrate career and
				technical education student organization(s) into the program, if applicable;
				and describes processes utilized to review and update the curriculum, ensuring
				continued relevancy to the occupational field.
(4) Student assessment. This section
				describes how the program will assess student outcomes established under
				subparagraph 46.6(1)
"b"
(2) and program competencies
				established under subparagraph 46.6(1)
"b"
(3) and the
				established technical skill assessment tool(s) to measure competencies,
				utilizing industry-approved technical skill assessments, where available and
				appropriate.
(5) Educational
				resources. This section describes key equipment and materials currently used in
				instruction; processes to determine whether the equipment is relevant and up to
				date; processes to maintain the equipment; and new equipment needs, with a
				description of how the proposed new equipment would improve the
				program.
(6) Advisory council. This
				section describes how the program engages with the business community to
				recruit members for the advisory council pursuant to rule
				281-46.8 (258) and includes a
				current member list with titles and company; describes advisory committee
				meeting logistics including, but not limited to, meeting frequency, agendas,
				and minutes; details and describes the advice the advisory council has
				suggested for the program and any actions or results taken by the program that
				stem from this advice as well as any advice not acted upon by the program; and
				includes, as an appendix to the narrative, advisory council minutes from the
				prior year.
(7) Partnerships. This
				section describes how the program's curriculum is integrated with other
				curricular offerings required of all students; describes the articulation,
				contractual agreements for shared courses with community colleges, and other
				agreements with community colleges and other postsecondary institutions; and
				describes how the program partners with counselors at various levels to assist
				all students and stakeholders in the exploration of pathway opportunities
				within the service area.
(8)
				Removing barriers. This section describes how the program removes barriers for
				all students to access education opportunities both while in and beyond high
				school.
c.
Feedback.
The district will submit the program report and
				self-study completed under paragraph 46.6(1)
"b"
to the
				partnership for peer review and feedback. The partnership is to complete a
				review of the program report and self-study and provide the district with
				recommendations and feedback based on that review. The partnership's
				recommendations will be documented and submitted to the department and the
				district. The partnership will include in the recommendations a determination
				of whether the program should or should not receive department approval. A
				program must be recommended for approval by the partnership for the program to
				receive approval by the department. The district will modify the program report
				and self-study based on the partnership's recommendations. The partnership's
				recommendations will be included as an appendix to the program report and
				self-study submitted to the department. The final program report and self-study
				will be submitted by the district to the department.
d.
Department approval.
Final approval of programs is reserved to the department. Approval will be
				awarded to a program if clear evidence of compliance with the criteria
				established in this rule is provided in the program report and self-study under
				paragraph 46.6(1)
"b."
A program that fails to be approved by
				the department will have one year to address identified deficiencies and
				resubmit for approval of the program. The department will provide a summary of
				the deficiencies in need of addressing.