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House
File
2649
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HOUSE
FILE
2649
BY
COMMITTEE
ON
HIGHER
EDUCATION
(SUCCESSOR
TO
HSB
533)
(As
Amended
and
Passed
by
the
House
March
4,
2026
)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
establishing
a
pilot
program
that
authorizes
eligible
1
community
colleges
to
offer
baccalaureate
degrees.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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Section
1.
SHORT
TITLE.
This
Act
shall
be
known
and
may
be
1
cited
as
the
“Removing
Education
Access
Challenges
in
Higher
2
Education
(REACH)
Act”.
3
Sec.
2.
Section
260C.1,
Code
2026,
is
amended
by
adding
the
4
following
new
subsection:
5
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
13.
Degree
programs
that
lead
to
6
baccalaureate
degrees,
as
authorized
in
this
chapter.
7
Sec.
3.
Section
260C.2,
subsection
3,
Code
2026,
is
amended
8
to
read
as
follows:
9
3.
“Community
college”
means
a
publicly
supported
school
10
which
may
offer
that
does
one
or
more
of
the
following:
11
a.
Offers
programs
of
adult
and
continuing
education,
12
lifelong
learning,
community
education,
and
up
to
two
years
13
of
liberal
arts,
preprofessional,
or
occupational
instruction
14
partially
fulfilling
the
requirements
for
a
baccalaureate
15
degree
but
confers
no
more
than
an
associate
degree
;
or
which
16
offers
,
except
as
provided
in
paragraph
“c”
.
17
b.
Offers
as
the
whole
or
as
part
of
the
curriculum
up
18
to
two
years
of
career
and
technical
education,
training,
or
19
retraining
to
persons
who
are
preparing
to
enter
the
labor
20
market.
21
c.
Offers
a
degree
program
that
leads
to
a
baccalaureate
22
degree,
subject
to
the
requirements
established
in
section
23
260C.25.
24
Sec.
4.
Section
260C.14,
subsection
2,
Code
2026,
is
amended
25
to
read
as
follows:
26
2.
Have
authority
to
determine
tuition
rates
for
27
instruction.
28
a.
Tuition
for
residents
of
Iowa
shall
not
exceed
the
29
lowest
tuition
rate
per
semester,
or
the
equivalent,
charged
30
by
an
institution
of
higher
education
under
the
state
board
31
of
regents
for
a
full-time
resident
student.
However,
except
32
for
students
enrolled
under
section
261E.6
,
if
a
local
school
33
district
pays
tuition
for
a
resident
pupil
of
high
school
age,
34
the
limitation
on
tuition
for
residents
of
Iowa
shall
not
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apply,
the
amount
of
tuition
shall
be
determined
by
the
board
1
of
directors
of
the
community
college
with
the
consent
of
the
2
local
school
board,
and
the
pupil
shall
not
be
included
in
the
3
full-time
equivalent
enrollment
of
the
community
college
for
4
the
purpose
of
computing
general
aid
to
the
community
college.
5
b.
Tuition
for
nonresidents
of
Iowa
shall
not
be
less
than
6
the
marginal
cost
of
instruction
of
a
student
attending
the
7
college.
A
lower
tuition
for
nonresidents
may
be
permitted
8
under
a
reciprocal
tuition
agreement
between
a
merged
area
and
9
an
educational
institution
in
another
state,
if
the
agreement
10
is
approved
by
the
director.
11
c.
Tuition
for
residents
of
Iowa,
for
upper-level
courses
12
offered
as
part
of
a
baccalaureate
program,
shall
not
exceed
13
one
hundred
fifty
percent
of
the
tuition
charged
to
such
14
students
under
paragraph
“a”
.
15
d.
The
board
may
designate
that
a
portion
of
the
tuition
16
moneys
collected
from
students
be
used
for
student
aid
17
purposes.
18
Sec.
5.
Section
260C.14,
Code
2026,
is
amended
by
adding
the
19
following
new
subsection:
20
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
27.
If
the
community
college
will
offer
a
21
degree
program
that
leads
to
a
baccalaureate
degree,
establish
22
or
modify
any
policies,
seek
any
accreditation,
and
employ
any
23
staff
necessary
to
offer
such
a
degree
program.
24
Sec.
6.
NEW
SECTION
.
260C.25
Pilot
program
for
community
25
college
baccalaureate
degrees
in
geographically
isolated
regions.
26
1.
The
department
of
education
shall
administer
a
pilot
27
program
that
authorizes
eligible
community
colleges
to
offer
28
baccalaureate
degrees
subject
to
the
requirements
established
29
in
this
section.
30
2.
The
state
board
of
education
shall
adopt
rules
under
31
chapter
17A
prescribing
standards
and
procedures
for
the
32
authorization
and
oversight
of
the
pilot
program
as
well
as
an
33
application
and
approval
process.
34
3.
a.
The
rules
adopted
pursuant
to
subsection
2
must
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provide
that
a
community
college
shall
not
offer
a
degree
1
program
that
leads
to
a
baccalaureate
degree
unless
the
2
community
college’s
main
campus
is
located
at
least
fifty
miles
3
from
the
main
campus
of
an
institution
of
higher
education
4
governed
by
the
state
board
of
regents
or
the
main
campus
5
of
a
private
institution
of
higher
education
that
is
already
6
offering
the
degree
program
that
the
community
college
proposes
7
to
offer.
8
b.
For
purposes
of
this
paragraph,
distance
shall
be
9
measured
as
the
shortest
practical
driving
distance
using
10
publicly
available
mapping
software,
as
determined
by
the
11
department
of
education.
12
4.
The
rules
adopted
pursuant
to
subsection
2
must
provide
13
that
a
community
college
shall
not
offer
a
degree
program
that
14
leads
to
a
baccalaureate
degree
unless
the
degree
program
15
satisfies
all
of
the
following
requirements:
16
a.
Consists
of
accredited
programs
of
study
or
academic
17
majors
that
lead
to
jobs
that
address
a
high-demand,
sustained,
18
and
unmet
workforce
need
within
the
community
college
19
region,
as
demonstrated
by
multiple
workforce
indicators,
20
including
current
and
projected
job
openings,
wage
data,
21
workforce
shortages,
credential
attainment
gaps,
labor
market
22
projections,
and
documented
employer
support
for
such
programs
23
of
study
or
academic
majors,
as
shown
by
the
community
college.
24
b.
Is
in
any
one
of
the
following
fields:
25
(1)
Education.
26
(2)
Nursing.
27
(3)
Information
technology.
28
(4)
Public
safety.
29
(5)
Business.
30
(6)
Health
care
management.
31
(7)
Agriculture.
32
(8)
Dental
hygiene.
33
c.
The
instruction
provided
in
courses
within
the
degree
34
program
is
not
delivered
entirely
over
the
internet.
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5.
The
rules
adopted
pursuant
to
subsection
2
must
prohibit
1
a
community
college
from
offering
more
than
three
baccalaureate
2
degrees.
3
6.
The
rules
adopted
pursuant
to
subsection
2
must
provide
4
that
the
instruction
provided
in
the
upper-level
courses
in
the
5
degree
program
that
leads
to
a
baccalaureate
degree
must
be
6
provided
at
the
community
college’s
primary
campus
designated
7
by
the
community
college
for
governance
purposes.
8
7.
a.
On
or
before
December
1
of
each
year
following
the
9
initial
enrollment
of
students
in
a
degree
program
that
leads
10
to
a
baccalaureate
degree,
each
community
college
participating
11
in
the
pilot
program
must
submit
a
report
to
the
department
of
12
education
and
to
the
general
assembly
that
includes
information
13
related
to
all
of
the
following:
14
(1)
Enrollment
and
retention
in
the
degree
programs.
15
(2)
The
number
of
students
who
have
completed
the
degree
16
programs.
17
(3)
The
workforce
outcomes
of
students
who
have
completed
18
the
degree
programs.
19
(4)
Employer
engagement
with
students
in
the
degree
20
programs
and
the
community
college.
21
(5)
The
alignment
of
the
degree
programs
with
regional
22
workforce
needs.
23
(6)
Tuition
levels
within
the
degree
programs.
24
(7)
The
financial
sustainability
of
the
degree
programs.
25
(8)
Challenges
encountered
during
implementation
of
the
26
pilot
program.
27
(9)
Recommendations
related
to
statutory
or
rules
changes
28
needed
to
make
the
pilot
program
more
effective.
29
b.
The
legislative
services
agency
shall
provide
copies
30
of
the
reports
submitted
to
the
general
assembly
pursuant
31
to
paragraph
“a”
to
the
chairpersons
of
the
senate
standing
32
committee
on
education
and
the
house
standing
committee
on
33
education.
34
c.
The
department
of
education
shall
compile
the
reports
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submitted
by
the
community
colleges
pursuant
to
paragraph
“a”
,
1
create
a
summary
of
the
reports,
and
submit
the
summary
to
the
2
general
assembly.
3
8.
Upon
the
graduation
of
the
first
full
cohort
of
students
4
from
baccalaureate
degree
programs
under
this
pilot
program,
5
the
general
assembly
shall
review
the
outcomes
of
the
pilot
6
program
and
consider
whether
to
modify
or
expand
the
pilot
7
program.
8
9.
As
used
in
this
section:
9
a.
“Main
campus”
means
the
primary
campus
designated
by
an
10
institution
of
higher
education
governed
by
the
state
board
of
11
regents,
or
by
a
private
institution
of
higher
education,
for
12
governance
purposes.
13
b.
“Private
institution
of
higher
education”
means
an
14
institution
of
higher
learning
located
in
this
state
that
15
satisfies
all
of
the
following
requirements:
16
(1)
Is
accredited
by
any
federally
recognized
accreditor
of
17
postsecondary
educational
institutions.
18
(2)
Is
exempt
from
taxation
under
section
501(c)(3)
of
the
19
Internal
Revenue
Code.
20
(3)
Is
authorized
to
award
associate
degrees
or
21
baccalaureate
degrees
in
this
state.
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