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Kim Reynolds
governor
Office of the Governor Chris Cournoyer
LT GOVERNOR
June 02, 2026
The Honorable Paul Pate
Secretary of State of Iowa
State Capitol
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Dear Mr. Secretary,
I hereby transmit:
House File 2610, an Act relating to education programs and systems, including career
and technical education expenditures and definitions, statewide lower division general
education framework and common course numbering systems, and the implementation of
a statewide corequisite model in Iowa community colleges.
The above House File is hereby approved on this date.
Kim Reynolds y }
Governor of Iowa
cc: Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House
STATE CAPITOL DES MOINES, IOWA 50319 515.281.5211 WWW.GOVERNOR.IOWA.GOV
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House File 2610
AN ACT
RELATING TO EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND SYSTEMS, INCLUDING CAREER
AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION EXPENDITURES AND DEFINITIONS,
STATEWIDE LOWER DIVISION GENERAL EDUCATION FRAMEWORK AND
COMMON COURSE NUMBERING SYSTEMS, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A
STATEWIDE COREQUISITE MODEL IN IOWA COMMUNITY COLLEGES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. Section 256.9, subsection 70, paragraph a, Code
2026, is amended to read as follows:
a. Develop and make available on the department's
internet site a list of industry-recognized credentials or
certifications that are attainable by students enrolled in
grades nine through twelve and that are aligned with career and
technical education servic e content areas.
Sec. 2. Section 256.11, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code
2026, is amended to read as follows:
b. Computer science instruction incorporating the standards
established under section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph "a",
subparagraph (4), shall be offered in at least one grade level
commencing with the school year beginning July 1, 2023. Career
exploration and development shall be designed so that students
are appropriately prepared to create an individual career
and academic plan pursuant to section 279.61, incorporate
foundational career and technical education concepts aligned
with the six career and technical education s-e- rv-i-c e content
areas as defined in subsection 5, paragraph ^h", incorporate
House File 2610, p. 2
relevant twenty-first century skills to facilitate career
readiness, and introduce students to career opportunities
within the local community and across this state.
Sec. 3. Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph h,
subparagraph (1), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
(1) A minimum of three sequential units in at least four
of the following six career and technical education s-e-rvic e
content a r eas . The department shall ensure that the six career
and technical education content areas are aligned to a national
framework representative of all career pathways :
(a) Agricultur 67 — f-ood ,— and natural resourc e s .
( b) Arts ,— communications, and information Information
systems .
(c) Applied sciencesT — technology, — engineering ,— and
manufacturing ,— including transportation, distribution,
logistic s ,— architecture ,— and— construction .
(d) Health sciences.
(e) Human services-? — including law, public saf e ty,
corrections ,— se curity, governm e nt, public administration, and
education and training.
( f ) Business-? — financ e , marketing, — and managem e nt .
Sec. 4. Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph h,
subparagraph (3), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
(3) The department of education shall permit school
districts, in meeting the requirements of this section, to use
career and technical education core courses in more than one
career and technical education s e rvic e content area and to use
multi-occupational courses to complete a sequence in more than
one career and technical education s er-vic e content area.
Sec. 5. Section 256.125, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended
to read as follows:
5. "Career and technical education servic e content area"
means any one of the s ervic e content areas specified in section
256.11, subsection 5, paragraph "h".
Sec. 6. Section 256.125, Code 2026, is amended by adding the
following new subsections:
NEW SUBSECTION . 5A. "High-demand occupation" means an
occupation in which state, local, or regional labor market
forecasting shows occupational demand exceeds the overall
House File 2610, p. 3
state, local, or regional employer demand metrics, including in
openings, numeric change, and growth.
NEW SUBSECTION . 5B. "High-skill occupation" means
an occupation with education or training requirements,
including the completion of an apprenticeship program, an
industry-recognized credential, a short-term college credential
such as a certificate or diploma, a noncredit college
credential or certification, an associate degree or higher,
on-the-job training, or on-the-job credential or certification.
NEW SUBSECTION . 5C. "High-wage occupation" means an
occupation for which at least three of five hourly wage or
annual salary measurements for that occupation exceed the
hourly wage or annual salary for all occupations in the state
or region.
Sec. 7. Section 256.129, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended
to read as follows:
2. Adopt rules prescribing standards for teachers in the six
career and technical education ge r vic e content areas specified
in section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph "h", in approved
programs .
Sec. 8. Section 256.130, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended
to read as follows:
5. Make recommendations to the board of educational
examiners relating to the enforcement of rules prescribing
standards for teachers of career and technical education
ge r-vic e content areas.
Sec. 9. Section 256.136, subsection 6, Code 2026, is amended
to read as follows:
6. A regional career and technical education partnership
may use funds received from state and fed e ral sources on behalf
of school districts and community colleges participating in the
regional career and technical education planning partnership
to convene, lead, and staff the regional career and technical
education planning partnership; to offer regional career and
technical education professional development opportunities;
to coordinate and maintain a career guidance system pursuant
to section 279.61; to purchase career and technical education
equipment; and to purchase standard classroom consumable
supplies other than consumable supplies that will be made into
House File 2610, p. 4
products to be sold or used personally by students, teachers,
and other persons. The regional career and technical education
partnership shall demonstrate that all expenditures are aligned
with high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand occupations as
defined in section 256.125.
Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 256.139 Statewide lower division
general education and common course numbering systems.
1. To support student transfer and academic transparency,
statewide lower division general education framework and common
course numbering systems shall be implemented by the department
of education, in coordination with the Iowa community colleges
and in consultation with the state board of regents, for
coursework offered by Iowa community colleges.
2. The common course numbering system must do all of the
following :
a. Assign each course an alphanumeric prefix and number
reflecting subject area and level.
b. Identify equivalent courses across institutions. Each
course shall have a common description and common course
outcomes developed by faculty from community colleges, with
consultation from the board of regents.
c. Be used in all course catalogs, registration systems, and
transcripts .
3. The department shall maintain a statewide course
numbering directory and shall establish a faculty-led process
for determining course equivalency.
4. For the school year beginning July 1, 2027, and each
succeeding school year, the lower division general education
framework shall apply to all community college general
education coursework, inclusive of a common set of general
education learning requirements, and shall be built upon
the existing statewide transfer pathways used by public
institutions of higher education in the state. This process
shall preserve institutional autonomy over course delivery and
content while ensuring transfer consistency.
5. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A
to administer this section.
Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 256.140 Statewide corequisite model.
1. By the 2028-2029 school year, all Iowa community colleges
House File 2610, p. 5
shall replace traditional, prerequisite remedial coursework in
mathematics and English with corequisite models.
2. The department of education, in consultation with
Iowa community colleges, shall by rule establish a statewide
framework for corequisite developmental education.
Sec. 12. NEW SECTION . 256.141 Statewide occupation
definitions.
The department of education, in consultation with the
Iowa workforce development board, shall adopt rules pursuant
to chapter 17A to administer the process of selecting the
occupations that qualify as a high-demand occupation,
high-skill occupation, or high-wage occupation, each as defined
in section 256.125, for purposes of use by government agencies
and statewide programs.
Sec. 13. Section 257.11, subsection 3, paragraph c,
unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as
follows :
Notwithstanding paragraph "b", subparagraph (1), a school
district that otherwise meets the requirements of this
subsection may enter into a sharing agreement with a community
college under which the community college may offer, or provide
a community college-employed instructor to teach, one of the
science or one of the mathematics units in accordance with
section 256.11, subsection 5, and one or more units in only one
of the six career and technical education setvîee content areas
in accordance with section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph "h".
Pupils enrolled in a unit in accordance with this paragraph
shall be assigned additional weighting in accordance with
this subsection if the number of pupils enrolled in such a
unit exceeds five and the school district's total enrollment
does not exceed six hundred pupils. A school district that
enters into a sharing agreement with a community college under
this paragraph to provide a unit of science or mathematics
in accordance with section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph
^a", "d", or "e", shall be deemed to have met the requirement
that the school district offer and teach such a unit under
the educational standards of section 256.11, subsection 5,
paragraph "a", '’'d", or "e". However, the provisions of this
paragraph "c" relating to a sharing agreement for a unit of
House File 2610, p. 6
science or mathematics are applicable only if all of the
following conditions are met:
Sec. 14. Section 260C.14, Code 2026, is amended by adding
the following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 27. Comply with the requirements of section
256.140, including by replacing traditional, prerequisite
remedial coursework in mathematics and English with corequisite
models, and by assisting the department of education in
the implementation of a statewide framework for corequisite
developmental education.
Sec. 15. IMPLEMENTATION OF A COMMON COURSE NUMBERING SYSTEM
STUDY. By December 31, 2026, the department of education, in
consultation with the state board of regents, shall submit to
the general assembly a study on the systemic implementation
considerations of statewide lower division general education
framework and common course numbering systems across public
institutions of higher education, including Iowa community
colleges and the institutions governed by the state board of
regents.
tor .. _ PAT GRASSLEY// AMY SINCLAIR
Speaker of Che House President of the Senate
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
is known as House File 2610, Ninety-first General Assembly.
Approved , 2026
MEGHAN NELSON
Chivf ÄlerJ^jf the House
KIM REYNOLDS
Governor