Iowa Code 261E.6 – Postsecondary enrollment options program
The postsecondary enrollment options program is established to promote rigorous academic or career and technical pursuits and to provide a wider variety of options to high school students by enabling ninth and tenth grade students who have been identified by the school district as gifted and talented, and eleventh and twelfth grade students, to enroll in eligible courses at an eligible postsecondary institution of higher learning.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 261E.6
- Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Department: means the department of education. See Iowa Code 261E.2
- Eligible postsecondary institution: means an institution of higher learning under the control of the state board of regents, a community college established under chapter 260C, or an accredited private institution as defined in section 261. See Iowa Code 261E.2
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Institution: means a school district or eligible postsecondary institution delivering the instruction in a given program as authorized by this chapter. See Iowa Code 261E.2
- Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
- School: means an agency of the state or political subdivision of the state, individual, partnership, company, firm, society, trust, association, corporation, or any combination which meets any of the following criteria:a. See Iowa Code 261B.2
- State board: means the state board of education. See Iowa Code 261E.2
- Student: includes an individual attending an accredited nonpublic school or the Iowa school for the deaf or the Iowa braille and sight saving school for purposes of sections 261E. See Iowa Code 261E.2
- Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
2.Notification.The availability and requirements of this program shall be included in each school district’s student registration handbook. Information about the program shall be provided to the student and the student’s parent or guardian prior to the development of the student’s career and academic plan under section 279.61. The school district shall establish a process by which students may indicate interest in and apply for enrollment in the program.
3.Authorization.To participate in this program, an eligible student shall make application to an eligible postsecondary institution to allow the eligible student to enroll for college credit in a nonsectarian course offered at the institution. A comparable course, as defined in rules adopted by the board of directors of the school district consistent with department administrative rule, must not be offered by the school district or accredited nonpublic school the student attends. A course is ineligible for purposes of this section if the school district has a contractual agreement with the eligible postsecondary institution under section 261E.8 that meets the requirements of section 257.11, subsection 3, and the course may be delivered through such an agreement in accordance with section 257.11, subsection 3. If the postsecondary institution accepts an eligible student for enrollment under this section, the institution shall send written notice to the student, the student’s parent or legal guardian in the case of a minor child, and the student’s school district or accredited nonpublic school and the school district in the case of a nonpublic school student, or the Iowa school for the deaf or the Iowa braille and sight saving school. The notice shall list the course, the clock hours the student will be attending the course, and the number of hours of college credit that the eligible student will receive from the eligible postsecondary institution upon successful completion of the course.
4.Credits.a. A school district, the Iowa school for the deaf, the Iowa braille and sight saving school, or accredited nonpublic school shall grant high school credit to an eligible student enrolled in a course under this chapter if the eligible student successfully completes the course as determined by the eligible postsecondary institution. The board of directors of the school district, the board of regents for the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school, or authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school shall determine the number of high school credits that shall be granted to an eligible student who successfully completes a course. Eligible students may take up to seven semester hours of credit during the summer months when school is not in session and receive credit for that attendance, if the student pays the cost of attendance for those summer credit hours.b. The high school credits granted to an eligible student under this section shall count toward the graduation requirements and subject area requirements of the school district of residence, the Iowa school for the deaf, the Iowa braille and sight saving school, or accredited nonpublic school of the eligible student. Evidence of successful completion of each course and high school credits and college credits received shall be included in the student’s high school transcript.5.Transportation.The parent or legal guardian of an eligible student who has enrolled in and is attending an eligible postsecondary institution under this chapter shall furnish transportation to and from the postsecondary institution for the student.
6.Definition.For purposes of this section and section 261E.7, unless the context otherwise requires, “eligible student” means a student classified by the board of directors of a school district, by the state board of regents for pupils of the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school, or by the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school as a ninth or tenth grade student who is identified according to the school district’s gifted and talented criteria and procedures, pursuant to section 257.43, as a gifted and talented child, or an eleventh or twelfth grade student, during the period the student is participating in the postsecondary enrollment options program.