Iowa Code Title VII. Education and Cultural Affairs [Chs. 256-305B] § 256.40. Statewide work-based learning intermediary network--fund--steering committee--regional networks

a. 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 state system of education, and the community at large.

c. Connect students to career opportunities within the state, creating economic capital for the state using a skilled and available workforce.

d. Provide a one-stop contact point for information useful to both educators and employers, including information related to internships, job shadowing experiences, apprenticeable occupations as defined in section 15B.2, and other workplace learning opportunities for students including those related to occupations in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, critical infrastructure, commercial and residential construction, and targeted industries as defined in section 15.102.

e. Integrate services provided through the program with other career exploration-related activities, which may include but are not limited to a student's career and academic plans and career information and decision-making systems under section 279.61.

f. Facilitate the attainment of portable credentials of value to employers such as the national career readiness certificate, where appropriate.

g. Develop work-based capacity with employers.

h. Provide core services, which may include student job shadowing, student internships, and teacher or student tours.

3. a. The department of workforce development shall establish and facilitate a steering committee comprised of representatives from the department of education, the economic development authority, the community colleges, the institutions under the control of the state board of regents, accredited private institutions, area education agencies, school districts, the workplace learning connection, and an apprenticeship sponsor as defined in section 15B.2. The steering committee shall be responsible for the development and implementation of the statewide work-based learning intermediary network.

b. 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. The steering committee shall recommend program parameters and reporting requirements to the department of workforce development.

6. a. Upon approval by the department of workforce development of a region's work-based learning plan submitted pursuant to subsection 5, moneys deposited in the statewide work-based learning intermediary network fund created in subsection 1 shall be distributed annually by the department of workforce development to each region for the implementation of the statewide work-based learning intermediary network.

b. If the balance in the statewide work-based learning intermediary network fund on July 1 of a fiscal year is one million five hundred thousand dollars or less, the department of workforce development shall distribute moneys in the fund to regions or consortiums of regions on a competitive basis. If the balance in the statewide work-based learning intermediary network fund on July 1 of a fiscal year is greater than one million five hundred thousand dollars, the department of workforce development shall distribute one hundred thousand dollars to each region and distribute the remaining moneys pursuant to the same formula established for distribution of funds by the department of education in section 260C.18C.