Bill Text: IA HF274 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to kindergarten programs offered by school districts.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-17 - Subcommittee, Dolecheck, Hanson, and Hanusa. H.J. 343. [HF274 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF274-Introduced.html

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House File 274 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  DOLECHECK

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to kindergarten programs offered by school
  2    districts.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 256.7, subsection 19, unnumbered
  1  2 paragraph 1, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    For a school or school district with a school calendar
  1  4 measuring instructional time in days pursuant to section
  1  5 279.10, subsection 1, define the minimum school day as a day
  1  6 consisting of six hours of instructional time for grades one
  1  7  kindergarten through grade twelve. The minimum hours shall be
  1  8 exclusive of the lunch period, but may include passing time
  1  9 between classes. Time spent on parent=teacher conferences
  1 10 shall be considered instructional time. A school or school
  1 11 district may record a day of school with less than the minimum
  1 12 instructional hours as a minimum school day if any of the
  1 13 following apply:
  1 14    Sec. 2.  Section 256.7, subsection 19, paragraph b, Code
  1 15 2015, is amended to read as follows:
  1 16    b.  If the total hours of instructional school time for
  1 17 grades one kindergarten through grade twelve for any five
  1 18 consecutive school days equal a minimum of thirty hours,
  1 19 even though any one day of school is less than the minimum
  1 20 instructional hours because of a staff development opportunity
  1 21 provided for the professional instructional staff or because
  1 22 parent=teacher conferences have been scheduled beyond the
  1 23 regular school day. Furthermore, if the total hours of
  1 24 instructional time for the first four consecutive days equal at
  1 25 least thirty hours because parent=teacher conferences have been
  1 26 scheduled beyond the regular school day, a school or school
  1 27 district may record zero hours of instructional time on the
  1 28 fifth consecutive school day as a minimum school day.
  1 29    Sec. 3.  Section 256.9, subsection 33, paragraph a,
  1 30 subparagraphs (2) and (3), Code 2015, are amended to read as
  1 31 follows:
  1 32    (2)  Assist school districts in the development of child
  1 33 care services and programs to complement half=day and all=day
  1 34  kindergarten programs.
  1 35    (3)  Assist school districts in the development of
  2  1 appropriate curricula for all=day, everyday kindergarten
  2  2 programs.
  2  3    Sec. 4.  Section 256D.2A, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  2  4 follows:
  2  5    256D.2A  Program funding.
  2  6    For the budget year beginning July 1, 2009, and each
  2  7 succeeding budget year, a school district shall expend funds
  2  8 received pursuant to section 257.10, subsection 11, at the
  2  9 kindergarten through grade three levels to reduce class sizes
  2 10 to the state goal of seventeen students for every one teacher
  2 11 and to achieve a higher level of student success in the basic
  2 12 skills, especially reading. In order to support these efforts,
  2 13 school districts may expend funds received pursuant to section
  2 14 257.10, subsection 11, at the kindergarten through grade three
  2 15 level on programs, instructional support, and materials that
  2 16 include but are not limited to the following:  additional
  2 17 licensed instructional staff; additional support for students,
  2 18 such as before and after school programs, tutoring, and
  2 19 intensive summer programs; the acquisition and administration
  2 20 of diagnostic reading assessments; the implementation of
  2 21 research=based instructional intervention programs for students
  2 22 needing additional support; the implementation of all=day,
  2 23 everyday kindergarten programs; and the provision of classroom
  2 24 teachers with intensive training programs to improve reading
  2 25 instruction and professional development in best practices
  2 26 including but not limited to training programs related to
  2 27 instruction to increase students' phonemic awareness, reading
  2 28 abilities, and comprehension skills.
  2 29    Sec. 5.  Section 279.51, subsection 2, paragraph a,
  2 30 subparagraph (2), subparagraph division (a), Code 2015, is
  2 31 amended to read as follows:
  2 32    (a)  To school districts to establish programs for
  2 33 three=year=old, four=year=old, and five=year=old at=risk
  2 34 children which are a combination of preschool and full=day
  2 35  kindergarten.
  3  1                           EXPLANATION
  3  2 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  3  3 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  3  4    This bill makes kindergarten programs offered by school
  3  5 districts subject to the minimum school day and instructional
  3  6 requirements that currently apply to grades 1 through 12.  The
  3  7 bill eliminates references to half=day, full=day, and everyday
  3  8 kindergarten programs.
  3  9    Currently, students enrolled in kindergarten, whether in
  3 10 full=day or half=day programs, are counted as one pupil for
  3 11 purposes of state school foundation aid received by a school
  3 12 district pursuant to Code chapter 257.
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