The federal government last year ended Clinton-era guidance that allowed undocumented students to participate in postsecondary adult and career and technical education programs. A federal judge blocked that guidance in some states, but not Iowa.
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The Iowa Department of Education is requiring school districts and community colleges to affirm that undocumented high school students can’t participate in college-level career and technical education classes, in line with recent federal guidance. Most school districts complied, according to records obtained by Chalkbeat, which first reported the story.
Iowa’s Education Department issued a memo last year, noting that college-level programs funded by Perkins grants—federal funding for CTE programs—are now considered a “federal public benefit” by the Trump administration, meaning undocumented students would no longer be considered eligible for them under federal law. That includes Perkins-funded dual-enrollment courses, even if taught at high schools, according to the memo.
The message was in response to the Trump administration’s decision last year to nix Clinton-era guidance that allowed undocumented students to participate in postsecondary adult and career and technical education programs. Federal officials argued that the Supreme Court’s Plyler v. Doe decision, which prevents states from barring undocumented students from public schools, only protects “basic public education,” not college-level career and technical education or adult education.
