Bill Text: IA SSB3096 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A study bill for an act relating to the duties and authority of the state board of education, the department of education, and local school districts and to the programs and activities under the purview of the state board and the department.

Spectrum: Unknown

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-08 - Education: Wilhelm Chair,Behn, and Hogg. [SSB3096 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SSB3096-Introduced.html
Senate Study Bill 3096 - Introduced SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BILL) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the duties and authority of the state board 1 of education, the department of education, and local school 2 districts and to the programs and activities under the 3 purview of the state board and the department. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 256.7, subsection 15, Code 2016, is 1 amended by striking the subsection. 2 Sec. 2. Section 256.9, subsections 26, 27, 36, 40, 54, and 3 59, Code 2016, are amended by striking the subsections. 4 Sec. 3. Section 257.1, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 2016, 5 is amended by striking the paragraph. 6 Sec. 4. Section 257.14, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2016, are 7 amended to read as follows: 8 1. For the budget year commencing July 1, 2001 2016 , if the 9 department of management determines that the regular program 10 district cost of and succeeding budget years, a school district 11 for a budget year is less than the total of the regular program 12 district cost plus any adjustment added under this section for 13 the base year for that school district, the school district 14 shall be eligible to receive for a budget adjustment for that 15 district for that budget year up to in an amount equal to the 16 difference between the regular program district cost for the 17 budget year and one hundred one percent of the regular program 18 district cost for the base year . The board of directors of 19 a school district that wishes to receive a budget adjustment 20 pursuant to this subsection shall, notwithstanding the public 21 notice and hearing provisions of chapter 24 or any other 22 provision to the contrary, within thirty days following May 9, 23 2001, adopt a resolution to receive the budget adjustment and 24 immediately notify the department of management of the adoption 25 of the resolution and the amount of the budget adjustment to 26 be received. 27 2. For the budget years commencing July 1, 2002, and July 28 1, 2003, if the department of management determines that the 29 regular program district cost of a school district for a budget 30 year is less than the total of the regular program district 31 cost plus any adjustment added under this section for the 32 base year for that school district, the school district shall 33 be eligible to receive a budget adjustment for that district 34 for that budget year up to an amount equal to the difference. 35 -1- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 1/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ The board of directors of a school district that wishes to 1 receive a budget adjustment for a budget year pursuant to this 2 subsection section shall adopt by May 15 of the base year for 3 which the budget adjustment is sought, a resolution to receive 4 the budget adjustment by May 15, annually, and shall notify the 5 department of management of the adoption of the resolution and 6 the amount of the budget adjustment to be received. 7 Sec. 5. Section 257.14, subsection 3, Code 2016, is amended 8 by striking the subsection. 9 Sec. 6. Section 279.38A, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 2. Each board that pays membership dues to an organization 12 in accordance with this section shall annually report to the 13 local community and to the department of education the amount 14 the board pays in annual dues to the organization, the amount 15 of any fees paid and revenue or dividend payments received for 16 services the board receives from the organization, and the 17 products or services the school district received inclusive 18 with membership in the organization. If the organization 19 administers federal education grants on behalf of school 20 districts or distributes federal education grant funds to 21 school districts, the organization shall submit to the general 22 assembly copies of all reports the organization provides to the 23 United States department of education, on the date on which 24 each such report is provided to the United States department 25 of education, relating to federal grants and grant amounts 26 that the organization administers for or distributes to school 27 districts. The governing board of the organization is subject 28 to chapters 21 and 22 relating to open meetings and public 29 records. 30 Sec. 7. Section 282.8, Code 2016, is amended to read as 31 follows: 32 282.8 Attending school outside state. 33 1. The boards of directors of school districts located 34 near the state boundaries may designate schools of equivalent 35 -2- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 2/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ standing across the state line for attendance of both 1 elementary and high secondary school pupils when the public 2 school in the adjoining state is nearer than any appropriate 3 public school in a pupil’s district of residence or in Iowa. 4 Distance shall be measured by the nearest traveled public 5 road. Arrangements shall be subject to reciprocal agreements 6 made between the chief state school officers of the respective 7 states. Notwithstanding section 282.1 , arrangements between 8 districts pursuant to the reciprocal agreements made under 9 this section shall establish tuition and transportation 10 fees in an amount acceptable to the affected boards, but the 11 tuition and transportation fees fee established shall not be 12 less than the lower average cost per pupil of the tuition 13 fee established pursuant to section 282.24 for the school 14 district or the equivalent tuition rate for the non-Iowa school 15 district for the previous school year, and the transportation 16 fee established shall not be less than the lower average 17 transportation cost per mile for yellow school buses as 18 described in section 321.373 for the previous school year of 19 the two affected school districts. For the purpose of this 20 section average cost per pupil for the previous school year is 21 determined by dividing the district’s operating expenditures 22 for the previous school year by the number of children enrolled 23 in the district in the previous school year on the date 24 specified in section 257.6, subsection 1 . The agreement shall 25 provide that if the tuition fee for the school district in 26 the adjoining state is a variable rate, the test of which 27 tuition fee is lower shall be determined for each student by 28 the affected boards. 29 2. A person attending school in another state pursuant 30 to this section shall continue to be treated as a pupil of 31 the district of residence in the apportionment of the current 32 school fund and the payment of state aid for state school 33 foundation aid purposes under section 257.6 . 34 3. Notwithstanding the tuition provisions of subsection 35 -3- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 3/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ 1, the tuition fee established for a child requiring special 1 education under chapter 256B shall be equal to the actual cost 2 of the special education instructional program provided to that 3 child under the child’s individualized education program. 4 4. If the chief state school officers of the respective 5 states have not entered into a reciprocal agreement under this 6 section, or the agreement has expired or been terminated, or 7 the distance to the public school in the adjoining state is 8 not nearer than an appropriate public school in the pupil’s 9 district of residence or an appropriate public school in 10 Iowa, the pupil attending school outside the state shall be 11 considered a nonresident child for purposes of tuition payments 12 to the receiving district and shall not be treated as a pupil 13 of the district of residence for state school foundation aid 14 purposes under section 257.6. 15 5. The whole grade sharing provisions of sections 282.10 16 through 282.12 and the open enrollment provisions of section 17 282.18 shall not apply to agreements made between districts 18 under this section. 19 Sec. 8. Section 282.10, subsection 4, Code 2016, is amended 20 to read as follows: 21 4. A whole grade sharing agreement shall be signed by the 22 boards of the districts involved in the agreement not later 23 than February 1 of the school year preceding the school year 24 for which the agreement is to take effect. The boards of 25 the districts shall negotiate as part of the new or existing 26 agreement the disposition of funding provided under chapter 284 27 except for the following: 28 a. Funding for the beginning teacher mentoring and induction 29 programs pursuant to section 284.13, subsection 1, paragraph 30 “b” . 31 b. The teacher leadership supplement state cost per pupil as 32 provided in section 257.9, unless all of the districts subject 33 to the agreement are receiving such funding. 34 c. Teacher leadership supplemental aid payments as provided 35 -4- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 4/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ in section 284.13, subsection 1, paragraph “e” , unless all 1 of the districts subject to the agreement are receiving such 2 payments. This paragraph “c” is repealed June 30, 2018. 3 Sec. 9. Section 282.12, subsection 4, Code 2016, is amended 4 to read as follows: 5 4. The number of pupils participating in a whole grade 6 sharing agreement shall be determined on the date specified in 7 section 257.6, subsection 1 , and on the third second Friday of 8 February January of each year. 9 Sec. 10. Section 282.18, subsection 7, Code 2016, is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 7. A pupil participating in open enrollment shall be 12 counted, for state school foundation aid purposes, in the 13 pupil’s district of residence. A pupil’s residence, for 14 purposes of this section , means a residence under section 15 282.1 . The board of directors of the district of residence 16 shall pay to the receiving district the sum of the state 17 cost per pupil for the previous school year , and plus either 18 the teacher leadership supplement state cost per pupil for 19 the previous fiscal year as provided in section 257.9 , or 20 the teacher leadership supplement foundation aid for the 21 previous fiscal year as provided in section 284.13, subsection 22 1, paragraph “e” , if both the district of residence and the 23 receiving district are receiving such supplements, plus any 24 moneys received for the pupil as a result of the non-English 25 speaking weighting under section 280.4, subsection 3 , for the 26 previous school year multiplied by the state cost per pupil 27 for the previous year. If the pupil participating in open 28 enrollment is also an eligible pupil under section 261E.6 , the 29 receiving district shall pay the tuition reimbursement amount 30 to an eligible postsecondary institution as provided in section 31 261E.7 . 32 Sec. 11. Section 282.18, subsection 9, paragraph c, Code 33 2016, is amended to read as follows: 34 c. Quarterly payments The receiving district shall bill the 35 -5- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 5/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ first resident district according to the timeline in section 1 282.20, subsection 3. Payments shall be made to the receiving 2 district in a timely manner . 3 Sec. 12. Section 282.24, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 4 2016, is amended to read as follows: 5 a. The maximum tuition fee that may be charged for 6 elementary and high secondary school students residing 7 within another school district or corporation except students 8 attending school in another district under section 282.7, 9 subsection 1 or 3 , is the district cost per pupil of the 10 receiving district as computed in section 257.10 . 11 Sec. 13. Section 282.24, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended 12 by striking the subsection. 13 Sec. 14. Section 284.12, Code 2016, is amended to read as 14 follows: 15 284.12 Reports —— rules Rules . 16 1. The department shall annually report the statewide 17 progress on the following: 18 a. Student achievement scores in mathematics and reading at 19 the fourth and eighth grade levels on a district-by-district 20 basis as reported to the local communities pursuant to section 21 256.7, subsection 21 , paragraph “c” . 22 b. Evaluator training program. 23 c. Changes and improvements in the evaluation of teachers 24 under the Iowa teaching standards. 25 2. The report shall be made available to the chairpersons 26 and ranking members of the senate and house committees on 27 education, the deans of the colleges of education at approved 28 practitioner preparation institutions in this state, the 29 state board, the governor, and school districts by January 1. 30 School districts shall provide information as required by the 31 department for the compilation of the report and for accounting 32 and auditing purposes. 33 3. In developing administrative rules for consideration by 34 the state board, the department shall consult with stakeholders 35 -6- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 6/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ who might reasonably be affected by the proposed rule, 1 including persons representing teachers, administrators, school 2 boards, approved practitioner preparation institutions, and 3 other appropriate education stakeholders. 4 Sec. 15. Section 284.15, subsection 6, paragraphs a and c, 5 Code 2016, are amended to read as follows: 6 a. A school district may apply to the department for 7 approval to implement the career paths, leadership roles, 8 and compensation framework specified in subsection 2 , or 9 a comparable system of career paths and compensation for 10 teachers that contains differentiated multiple leadership 11 roles. The director shall consider the recommendations of the 12 commission established pursuant to subsection 12 when approving 13 or disapproving applications submitted pursuant to this 14 section . A school district may modify an approved framework or 15 comparable system if the director or the director’s designee 16 approves the modification. A school district may appeal the 17 director’s or the director’s designee’s decision to the state 18 board and the state board’s decision is final. 19 c. A school district approved to implement the framework or 20 a comparable system pursuant to this subsection shall submit to 21 the department director or the director’s designee for approval 22 any proposed change modification to the framework or comparable 23 system. 24 Sec. 16. REPEAL. Sections 256.19, 279.55, 279.56, and 25 279.57, Code 2016, are repealed. 26 EXPLANATION 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 28 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 29 This bill makes statutory changes affecting the duties and 30 authority of the state board of education and the department of 31 education, repeals certain programs, eliminates certain reports 32 by and to the department, and modifies or eliminates provisions 33 relating to certain programs and activities under the purview 34 of the state board and the department. 35 -7- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 7/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ CERTAIN DIRECTOR’S DUTIES STRICKEN. The bill strikes from 1 Code section 256.9, which provides for the duties of the 2 director of the department of education, provisions which 3 require the director to cause to be printed in book form, every 4 four years, all school laws in force and any amendments or 5 changes in school laws, along with other information which may 6 aid school officers; to develop a model written publications 7 code for the regulation of time, place, and manner of student 8 expression; and to submit to the general assembly an annual 9 report regarding the activities, findings, and student progress 10 under the core curriculum, as well as an annual report on the 11 necessity of waiving statutory obligations for school districts 12 in the event of a disaster. 13 BUDGET ADJUSTMENT LANGUAGE. The bill amends Code sections 14 257.1 and 257.14 to strike obsolete transition language 15 relating to the budget adjustments for school districts. 16 MEMBERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS BY SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICIALS —— 17 REPORTING. The bill strikes language which requires school 18 board members and administrators who pay membership dues to 19 certain local, regional, and national organizations to annually 20 report to the department of education the amount the school 21 board pays in dues and fees, and the products or services the 22 school district received inclusive with membership in the 23 organization. The bill also strikes a reporting requirement 24 for those organizations that administer federal education 25 grants on behalf of school districts or distribute federal 26 education grant funds to school districts. 27 ATTENDING SCHOOL OUTSIDE THE STATE. Code section 282.8 28 authorizes the boards of directors of school districts located 29 near the state boundaries to designate schools of equivalent 30 standing across the state line for attendance of pupils, to 31 establish reciprocal agreements between such districts, and 32 to establish tuition and transportation fees in an amount 33 acceptable to the affected boards. Currently, Code section 34 282.8 provides that tuition and transportation fees shall not 35 -8- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 8/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ be less than the lower average cost per pupil for the previous 1 school year of the two affected school districts. 2 The bill amends Code section 282.8 to establish that the 3 tuition fee for students not requiring special education shall 4 not be less than the lower of the tuition fee established 5 pursuant to Code section 282.24 for students attending school 6 outside the district of residence or the equivalent tuition 7 rate for the non-Iowa school district for the previous school 8 year, and the transportation fee established shall not be 9 less than the lower average cost per mile for yellow school 10 buses for the previous school year of the two affected school 11 districts. The bill also provides that if the tuition fee for 12 the school district in the adjoining state is a variable rate, 13 the test of which tuition fee is lower shall be determined for 14 each student by the affected boards. For students requiring 15 special education, the bill provides that the tuition fee 16 shall be equal to the actual cost of the special education 17 instructional program provided to that child under the child’s 18 individualized education program. 19 If there is no agreement between districts or the agreement 20 has expired or been terminated, or if the distance requirements 21 are not met, the bill provides that a student attending school 22 in the other state shall be treated as a nonresident for 23 purposes of tuition payments to the receiving district or 24 for purposes of establishing enrollment for purposes of the 25 school aid formula. The bill further establishes that an 26 agreement reached under Code section 282.8 does not qualify as 27 a whole grade sharing agreement, and, also, the open enrollment 28 provisions of Code section 282.18 do not apply to such an 29 agreement. 30 TERMINOLOGY CHANGES. Code sections 282.8 and 282.24 are 31 amended to replace references to “elementary and high school” 32 with the term “elementary and secondary school”. Definitions 33 for junior high school and high school are also stricken from 34 Code section 282.24. 35 -9- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 9/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ WHOLE GRADE SHARING AGREEMENTS. Whole grade sharing 1 is a procedure used by school districts in which all or a 2 substantial portion of the pupils in any grade in two or 3 more school districts share an educational program for all 4 or a substantial portion of a school day under a written 5 agreement. Currently, the boards of the school districts 6 participating in the agreement must negotiate, as part of 7 the new or existing agreement, the disposition of funding 8 provided under Code chapter 284, the student achievement and 9 teacher quality program. The bill provides exemptions from 10 the disposition negotiation requirement relating to beginning 11 teacher mentoring and induction funds; the teacher leadership 12 supplement state cost per pupil, unless all of the districts 13 subject to the agreement are receiving such funding; and the 14 teacher leadership supplemental aid payments, unless all 15 districts subject to the agreement are receiving such funding. 16 Because the funding for the teacher leadership supplemental aid 17 payments is scheduled to end with the 2016-2017 fiscal year, 18 the bill repeals the relevant provision June 30, 2018. 19 The bill also changes, from the third Friday of February to 20 the second Friday of January of each year, the second of two 21 dates used to determine the number of pupils participating in a 22 whole grade sharing agreement. 23 OPEN ENROLLMENT PAYMENTS. In addition to other statutory 24 requirements for open enrollment payments, the bill provides 25 that the board of directors of the district of residence must 26 pay to the receiving district either the teacher leadership 27 supplement state cost per pupil for the previous fiscal year, 28 or the teacher leadership supplement foundation aid for the 29 previous fiscal year, if both the district of residence and 30 the receiving district are receiving such supplements. Such a 31 limitation currently exists in Code section 284.13, subsection 32 1, paragraph “e”, regarding the teacher leadership supplement 33 foundation aid. Currently, the district of residence must pay 34 to the receiving district the teacher leadership supplement 35 -10- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 10/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ state cost per pupil for the previous fiscal year whether 1 or not both districts are receiving the teacher leadership 2 supplement state cost per pupil. 3 Currently, when a child who is participating in open 4 enrollment moves to a different school district during the 5 academic year, the first district of residence must make 6 quarterly payments to the receiving district for the remainder 7 of the year. Under the bill, the receiving district must bill 8 the first district of residence biannually, and the district of 9 residence must make payments in a timely manner. 10 STATEWIDE PROGRESS REPORTS. Currently, the department of 11 education must make an annual report to the general assembly 12 on statewide progress in student achievement on mathematics 13 and reading at the fourth and eighth grades, on the evaluator 14 training program, and on changes and improvements in teacher 15 evaluations. The bill eliminates that reporting requirement. 16 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND TEACHER QUALITY PROGRAM. Currently, 17 in developing administrative rules for consideration by the 18 state board of education, the department must consult with 19 persons representing teachers, administrators, school boards, 20 approved practitioner preparation institutions, and other 21 appropriate education stakeholders. The bill provides that the 22 department must consult stakeholders when those stakeholders 23 might reasonably be affected by the proposed rule. 24 APPROVAL OF FRAMEWORK OR COMPARABLE SYSTEM BY DIRECTOR. The 25 bill authorizes the director of the department of education 26 to authorize a designee to approve modifications to a school 27 district’s approved framework for Iowa teacher career paths, 28 leadership roles, and compensation or to an approved comparable 29 system submitted by the school district, and allows the 30 school district to appeal the designee’s decision to the 31 state board of education. Currently, school districts must 32 submit proposals for modifications to approved frameworks or 33 comparable systems to the director, and the director’s decision 34 may be appealed to the state board. The bill also allows the 35 -11- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 11/ 12
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ proposals for modification to frameworks and comparable systems 1 to be submitted to the director’s designee. 2 REPEALS. The bill repeals the following: 3 1. PILOT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS. When 4 first enacted in 1987, the provision was part of a program 5 to offer incentives to school districts that established 6 pilot projects to utilize a modified block schedule for 7 offering classes in the districts and sharing the certificated 8 instructional personnel. Implementation by the department 9 of education is dependent on whether the general assembly 10 appropriates funding for the pilot projects. 11 2. TEACHER EXCHANGE PROGRAM. The teacher exchange program 12 was enacted in 1991, contingent on an appropriation of moneys 13 by the general assembly, to permit school districts to exchange 14 licensed instructional personnel with other districts in order 15 to promote the exchange and enhancement of instructional 16 methods and materials and encourage the educational development 17 of Iowa’s teachers. 18 -12- LSB 5215XD (3) 86 kh/sc 12/ 12
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