256.40 - STATEWIDE WORK-BASED LEARNING INTERMEDIARY NETWORK -- FUND -- STEERING COMMITTEE -- REGIONAL NETWORKS.

        256.40  STATEWIDE WORK-BASED LEARNING INTERMEDIARY
      NETWORK -- FUND -- STEERING COMMITTEE -- REGIONAL NETWORKS.
         1.  A statewide work-based learning intermediary network program
      is established in the department and shall be administered by the
      department.  A separate, statewide work-based learning intermediary
      network fund is created in the state treasury under the control of
      the department.  The fund shall consist of all moneys deposited in
      the fund, including any moneys appropriated by the general assembly
      and any other moneys available to and obtained or accepted by the
      department from federal or private sources for purposes of the
      program.  Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund at the end
      of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund of the state.
      Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on
      moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
         2.  The purpose of the program shall be to build a seamless
      career, future workforce, and economic development system in Iowa to
      accomplish all of the following:
         a.  Better prepare students to make informed postsecondary
      education and career decisions.
         b.  Provide communication and coordination in order to build
      and sustain relationships between employers and local youth, the
      education system, and the community at large.
         c.  Connect students to local career opportunities, creating
      economic capital for the region using a skilled and available
      workforce.
         d.  Facilitate the sharing of best practices statewide by
      business and education leaders.
         e.  Provide a one-stop contact point for information useful to
      both educators and employers, including a state-level clearinghouse
      for internships, job shadowing experiences, and other workplace
      learning opportunities for students that are linked to the state's
      economic goals.
         f.  Implement services for all students, staff, and districts
      within the region and integrate workplace skills into the curriculum.

         g.  Develop work-based capacity with employers.
         h.  Improve the skills of Iowa's future workforce.
         i.  Provide core services, which may include student job
      shadowing, student internships, and teacher or student tours.
         3.  The department shall establish and facilitate a steering
      committee comprised of representatives from the department of
      workforce development, the department of economic development, the
      community colleges, the institutions under the control of the state
      board of regents, accredited private institutions, area education
      agencies, school districts, and the workplace learning connection.
      The steering committee shall be responsible for the development and
      implementation of the statewide work-based learning intermediary
      network.
         4.  The steering committee shall develop a design for a statewide
      network comprised of fifteen regional work-based learning
      intermediary networks.  The design shall include network
      specifications, strategic functions, and desired outcomes.
         5.  Each regional network shall establish an advisory council to
      develop and implement the regional network.
         6.  Funds deposited in the statewide work-based learning
      intermediary network fund created in subsection 1 shall be
      distributed to each region for the implementation of the statewide
      work-based learning intermediary network based upon the distribution
      of the kindergarten through grade twelve student enrollments in each
      region.  The amount shall not exceed three dollars per student.
         7.  The department shall provide oversight of the statewide
      work-based learning intermediary network and shall annually evaluate
      the statewide and regional network progress toward the outcomes
      identified by the steering committee pursuant to subsection 4.
         8.  Each regional network shall match the funds received pursuant
      to subsection 6 with financial resources equal to at least
      twenty-five percent of the amount of the funds received pursuant to
      subsection 6.  The financial resources used to provide the match may
      include private donations, in-kind contributions, or public funds
      other than the funds received pursuant to subsection 6.  
         Section History: Recent Form
         2005 Acts, ch 154, §1; 2006 Acts, ch 1030, §31