Iowa’s workforce development department must run a student internship program, with matching wage assistance available for eligible employers and limits on how fund money may be used.
1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: a. “Innovative business” means the same as defined in section 15E.52. b. “Internship” means temporary employment of a student that focuses on providing the student with work experience in the student’s field of study. c. “Iowa student” means a student of an Iowa community college, private college, or institution of higher learning under the control of the state board of regents, or a student who graduated from high school in Iowa but now attends an institution of higher learning outside the state of Iowa. 2. a. The department of workforce development shall establish and administer an internship program with two components for Iowa students. To the extent permitted by this section, the department of workforce development shall administer the two components in as similar a manner as possible. b. The purpose of the first component of the program is to link Iowa students to small and medium-sized Iowa firms through internship opportunities. An Iowa employer may receive financial assistance on a matching basis for a portion of the wages paid to an intern. If providing financial assistance, the department of workforce development shall provide the assistance on a reimbursement basis such that for every two dollars of wages earned by the student, one dollar paid by the employer is matched by one dollar from the department of workforce development. The amount of financial assistance shall not exceed three thousand one hundred dollars for any single internship, or nine thousand three hundred dollars for any single employer. In order to be eligible to receive financial assistance, the employer must have five hundred or fewer employees and must be an innovative business. The department of workforce development shall encourage youth who reside in economically distressed areas, youth adjudicated to have committed a delinquent act, and youth transitioning out of foster care to participate in the first component of the internship program. c. (1) The purpose of the second component of the program is to assist in placing Iowa students studying in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into internships that lead to permanent positions with Iowa employers. The department of workforce development shall collaborate with eligible employers, including but not limited to innovative businesses, to ensure that the interns hired are studying in such fields. An Iowa employer may receive financial assistance on a matching basis for a portion of the wages paid to an intern. If providing financial assistance, the department of workforce development shall provide the assistance on a reimbursement basis such that for every two dollars of wages earned by the student, one dollar paid by the employer is matched by one dollar from the department of workforce development. The amount of financial assistance shall not exceed five thousand dollars per internship. The department of workforce development may adopt rules to administer this component. In adopting rules to administer this component, the department of workforce development shall adopt rules as similar as possible to those adopted pursuant to paragraph “b”. (2) The requirement to administer this component of the internship program is contingent upon the provision of funding for such purposes by the general assembly. 3. a. An Iowa student internship fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the department of workforce development. The fund shall consist of moneys appropriated to the department of workforce development and any other moneys available to or obtained or accepted by the department of workforce development for placement in the fund. b. Payments of interest, repayments of moneys loaned pursuant to this section, and recaptures of financial assistance shall be credited to the fund. Moneys in the fund are not subject to section 8.33. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. c. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department of workforce development and, with the approval of the Iowa workforce development board, shall be used to increase the availability of skilled workers in innovative businesses, by providing Iowa student internship opportunities. Such moneys shall not be used for the support of retail businesses, health care businesses, or other businesses requiring a professional license. 2024 Acts, ch 1182, §139; 2025 Acts, ch 30, §14 Any internship or financial assistance awarded under section 15.411, Code 2024, prior to July 1, 2024, is valid and shall continue as provided in the terms of the internship or financial assistance under this section; 2024 Acts, ch 1182, §140 Subsection 3, paragraph a amended