Section 281.47.2. Career academy program of study.

       47.2(1) Minimum requirements. A career academy must have operational policies related to a defined curriculum, credit provisions, sequence and locations of courses, and enrollment procedures. A career academy shall meet the following minimum requirements:

        a.           Articulate two years of secondary education with an associate degree program, which may include a diploma or certificate;

        b.           Ensure that the secondary and postsecondary components of the career preparatory program are nonduplicative;

        c.           Identify a sequential course of study;

        d.           Delineate skill standards specific to the industry;

        e.           Integrate academic and technical instruction;

        f.            Utilize work-based learning;

        g.           Utilize work site learning where appropriate and available;

        h.           Lead to an associate degree in a high-skill and rewarding career field;

        i.            Provide for an individual career planning process, with parent or guardian involvement; and

        j.            Include articulation of a community college associate degree or, if possible, a baccalaureate degree.

       47.2(2) Career academy funding. Funding for a career academy is as specified in 2003 Iowa Acts, First Extraordinary Session, chapter 2, section 76. The individual courses offered by a community college in a career academy may be funded additionally through a variety of state and federal sources. Nothing in these rules relieves secondary and postsecondary institutions of their obligations to meet other funding requirements.

       47.2(3) Vocational, career and technical program approval. The career academy program of study shall include both secondary and postsecondary curricula. A career academy program must meet requirements of the department of education as specified in Iowa Code sections 256.11(5)“h,” 258.3A, 258.4, and 260C.14. The career academy must be an articulated program of study between secondary and postsecondary institutions.

       47.2(4) Contract or agreement. The career academy program of study must receive school district board and community college board approval. A contract or 28E agreement between the boards of a school district and a community college must be signed by participating parties and be in effect prior to initiation of a career academy. The contract or 28E agreement between the boards of the school district(s) and the community college must set forth the purposes, powers, rights, objectives, and responsibilities of the contracting parties and must specify assurances that the career academy program of study is as defined in 2003 Iowa Acts, First Extraordinary Session, chapter 2, section 76. The contract or 28E agreement shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

        a.           The duration of the joint or cooperative undertaking;

        b.           The precise organization, composition and nature of any separate legal or administrative entity created thereby, together with the powers delegated thereto, provided such entity may be legally created. However, if the agreement establishes a separate legal or administrative entity, the entity shall, when investing funds, comply with the provisions of Iowa Code sections 12B.10 through 12B.10C and other applicable law;

        c.           The purpose or purposes of the joint or cooperative undertaking and the method to assess effectiveness in achieving results;

        d.           The manner of financing the joint or cooperative undertaking and of establishing and maintaining a budget;

        e.           The permissible method or methods to be employed in accomplishing the partial or complete termination of the agreement and for disposing of property upon such partial or complete termination;

        f.            The manner of acquiring, holding, and disposing of real and personal property used in the joint or cooperative undertaking;

        g.           Provision for an administrator or a joint board responsible for administrating the joint or cooperative undertaking; and

        h.           Any other necessary and proper matters for the joint or cooperative undertaking.

The school district board and community college board must approve the contract or 28E agreement. An assurance form, as defined by the department of education, which specifies that the career academy includes all the components required under subrule 47.2(1) shall be sent to the director of the department of education.

       47.2(5) Faculty requirements. Faculty providing college credit instruction in a career academy program of study must meet community college faculty minimum standards as specified in rule 281—21.3(260C) and the requirements of the quality faculty plan as approved by the community college board pursuant to Iowa Code section 260C.36. Faculty teaching courses that provide only secondary level credit must have appropriate secondary licensure pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 272.

       47.2(6) Credit options. School districts may elect to offer high school credit for college credit courses within a career academy program. The career academy program of study shall be designed so that a student who utilizes the program will graduate from high school with the class in which the student was enrolled.

       47.2(7) Data collection. Data collection and enrollment reporting must follow specified requirements as determined by the department of education.