258.4 Duties of director.

The director of the department of education shall do all of the following:

1. Develop and submit to the state board for approval the multiyear state plan developed in accordance with federal laws and regulations governing career and technical education.

2. Provide for making studies and investigations relating to career and technical education.

3. Promote and aid in the establishment of career and technical education programs in local communities, school districts, and community colleges.

4. Cooperate with local communities, school districts, and community colleges in the maintenance of career and technical education programs.

5. Make recommendations to the board of educational examiners relating to the enforcement of rules prescribing standards for teachers of career and technical education service areas.

6. Cooperate in the maintenance of practitioner preparation schools, departments, and classes, supported and controlled by the public, for the training of career and technical education teachers and supervisors.

7. Review and approve career and technical education programs to ensure that the programs meet standards adopted by the state board pursuant to section 258.3A. The director shall annually review at least twenty percent of the approved career and technical programs as a basis for continuing approval to ensure that the programs meet board standards and are compatible with educational reform efforts, are capable of responding to technological change and innovation, and meet the educational needs of students and the employment community. The review shall include an assessment of the extent to which the competencies in the program are being mastered by the students enrolled, the costs are proportionate to educational benefits received, the career and technical education curriculum is articulated and integrated with other curricular offerings required of all students, the programs would permit students with career and technical education backgrounds to pursue other educational interests in a postsecondary institutional setting, and the programs remove barriers for both traditional and nontraditional students to access educational and employment opportunities.

8. Facilitate the process established by the state board for the implementation of a statewide system of regional career and technical education planning partnerships that utilize the services of local school districts, community colleges, sector partnerships, and other resources to assist local school districts in meeting career and technical education standards while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services. The director shall also review and approve regional planning partnerships and regional centers to ensure that the partnerships and centers meet the standards adopted by the state board pursuant to section 258.3A, subsection 5.

9. Enforce rules adopted by the state board pursuant to section 258.3A.

10. Notwithstanding the accreditation process contained in section 256.11, permit school districts that provide a program which does not meet the standards for accreditation for career and technical education to cooperate with the regional career and technical education planning partnership and contract for an approved program under this chapter without losing accreditation. A school district that fails to cooperate with the regional career and technical education planning partnership and contract for an approved program shall, however, be subject to section 256.11.

11. Prescribe standards and procedures for the approval of career academies as defined in section 258.6.

[C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3840; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §258.4]

86 Acts, ch 1245, §1427; 89 Acts, ch 265, §31; 89 Acts, ch 278, §3, 4; 90 Acts, ch 1253, §9; 92 Acts, ch 1198, §2; 2016 Acts, ch 1108, §39; 2017 Acts, ch 29, §67

Referred to in §258.9, 258.15