Bill Text: IA SSB3171 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to computer science instruction, including by modifying provisions related to the graduation requirements, the computer science instruction provided to students enrolled in grades nine through twelve, computer science instruction endorsements and authorizations issued by the board of educational examiners, and the computer science professional development incentive fund.(See SF 2332.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-13 - Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 2332. [SSB3171 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2023-SSB3171-Introduced.html
Senate Study Bill 3171 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COURNOYER) A BILL FOR An Act relating to computer science instruction, including by 1 modifying provisions related to the graduation requirements, 2 the computer science instruction provided to students 3 enrolled in grades nine through twelve, computer science 4 instruction endorsements and authorizations issued by the 5 board of educational examiners, and the computer science 6 professional development incentive fund. 7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 8 TLSB 6295XC (4) 90 jda/jh
S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph a, 1 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as 2 follows: 3 Adopt rules that establish a core curriculum and high school 4 graduation requirements for all students in school districts 5 and accredited nonpublic schools that include at a minimum 6 satisfactory completion of four years of English and language 7 arts, three years of mathematics, three years of science, and 8 three years of social studies , and, beginning with students in 9 the 2028-2029 school year graduating class, one semester of 10 computer science, or the trimester or quarter equivalent . 11 Sec. 2. Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph l, Code 12 2024, is amended to read as follows: 13 l. (1) One-half unit of computer science commencing with 14 the school year beginning July 1, 2022 . The one-half unit of 15 computer science shall incorporate the standards established 16 pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26 , paragraph “a” , 17 subparagraph (4) , and may be offered online in accordance 18 with rules adopted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 32 , 19 paragraph “a” . The one-half unit of computer science shall 20 satisfy all of the following requirements: 21 (a) Be of high quality. 22 (b) Meet or exceed the curriculum standards and 23 requirements established by the state board. 24 (c) Be offered and taught in a traditional classroom 25 setting; provided, however, that if a traditional classroom 26 setting is not feasible, the one-half unit of computer science 27 may be offered and taught in any of the following ways: 28 (i) Through a combination of instruction that is delivered 29 in a traditional classroom setting and instruction that is 30 delivered primarily over the internet. 31 (ii) Through instruction that is delivered primarily over 32 the internet in accordance with rules adopted by the state 33 board pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 32, paragraph 34 “a” , and is tailored to meet the needs of each participating 35 -1- LSB 6295XC (4) 90 jda/jh 1/ 7
S.F. _____ student. 1 (2) (a) All students, beginning with students in the 2 2028-2029 school year graduating class, shall complete one-half 3 unit of computer science as a condition of graduation. The 4 condition of graduation shall not apply to a student who 5 enrolls in a school district or an accredited nonpublic school 6 in grade twelve immediately after being enrolled in a school 7 located outside of this state. 8 (b) On or before July 1, 2030, a school district or 9 accredited nonpublic school may apply to the department of 10 education for a waiver of the implementation of the condition 11 of graduation described in this subparagraph. The waiver shall 12 be for a period not longer than one school year. 13 (c) The state board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 14 17A establishing standards for the submission of applications 15 for waivers of the implementation of the condition of 16 graduation described in this subparagraph and the department’s 17 consideration and approval of waivers. 18 (3) The department shall publish on the department’s 19 internet site a list of computer science courses that satisfy 20 the rules adopted by the state board pursuant to section 256.7, 21 subsection 32, paragraph “c” , and that a school district or 22 accredited nonpublic school may use to implement the graduation 23 requirement described in subparagraph (2). The list shall 24 include the names of the computer science courses and the 25 course codes associated with each computer science course. 26 (4) Each school district shall report annually to the 27 department all of the following: 28 (a) To the extent such information is available, the course 29 names and course codes associated with all computer science 30 courses offered and taught in the school district pursuant to 31 this paragraph, descriptions of the curriculum covered in such 32 courses, and a description of format in which each course is 33 offered and taught. 34 (b) The number of teachers employed by the school district 35 -2- LSB 6295XC (4) 90 jda/jh 2/ 7
S.F. _____ who teach computer science instruction, sortable by the 1 endorsements and authorizations held by each teacher, the 2 gender of each teacher, the race and ethnicity of each teacher, 3 and the highest academic degree attained by each teacher. 4 The report shall not include any personally identifiable 5 information related to the teachers employed by the school 6 district who teach computer science instruction. 7 (c) The number of students enrolled in a computer science 8 course offered and taught by the school district pursuant to 9 this paragraph, sortable by the gender of each student; the 10 race and ethnicity of each student; each student’s special 11 education status, including students with an individualized 12 education program or a plan under section 504 of the federal 13 Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. §794; each student’s status as 14 an English learner, as defined in section 280.4, subsection 1; 15 each student’s eligibility for free and reduced price meals 16 under the federal National School Lunch Act and the federal 17 Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. §1751 1785; and each 18 student’s grade level. The report shall include the percentage 19 of students who fit within each category described in this 20 subparagraph division. The report shall not include any 21 personally identifiable information related to the students 22 enrolled in a computer science course offered and taught by the 23 school district. 24 Sec. 3. Section 256.146, subsection 19, Code 2024, is 25 amended to read as follows: 26 19. Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A establishing 27 endorsements and authorizations for computer science 28 instruction , including . The rules shall include traditional 29 and nontraditional pathways for obtaining such endorsements or 30 authorizations , including through instruction that is delivered 31 primarily over the internet that may be used to demonstrate 32 competence in computer science instruction for teachers under 33 an initial or intern license . 34 Sec. 4. Section 284.6A, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended 35 -3- LSB 6295XC (4) 90 jda/jh 3/ 7
S.F. _____ by adding the following new paragraph: 1 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0c. In order to provide students with the 2 competencies to compete in a twenty-first century workforce, 3 develop skills that translate into high-wage jobs, develop 4 problem solving and critical thinking skills, and encourage 5 the creation and retention of new, high-wage jobs in this 6 state, all high school students enrolled in school districts 7 or accredited nonpublic schools, beginning with the 2028-2029 8 school year graduating class, students should complete one 9 semester of computer science as a condition of graduation as 10 required by section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph “a” . 11 Sec. 5. Section 284.6A, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 12 2024, is amended to read as follows: 13 b. A school district or accredited nonpublic school may 14 apply to the department, in the manner prescribed by the 15 department, to receive moneys from the fund to provide tuition 16 reimbursement for Iowa teachers , including Iowa teachers 17 under an initial or intern license, seeking endorsements or 18 authorizations for computer science under section 256.146, 19 subsection 19 . 20 Sec. 6. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance 21 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring 22 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall 23 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid 24 received by the school district under section 257.16. This 25 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed 26 to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of 27 section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding 28 shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act 29 by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school 30 districts. 31 EXPLANATION 32 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 33 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 34 This bill relates to computer science instruction, 35 -4- LSB 6295XC (4) 90 jda/jh 4/ 7
S.F. _____ including by modifying provisions related to the graduation 1 requirements, the computer science instruction provided to 2 students enrolled in grades 9 through 12, computer science 3 instruction endorsements and authorizations issued by the board 4 of educational examiners (BOEE), and the computer science 5 professional development incentive fund. 6 Current law provides that the graduation requirements 7 applicable to students enrolled in school districts and 8 accredited nonpublic schools shall include, at a minimum, 9 satisfactory completion of four years of English and language 10 arts, three years of mathematics, three years of science, 11 and three years of social studies. The bill provides that 12 such graduation requirements shall also include, beginning 13 with students in the 2028-2029 school year graduating class, 14 satisfactory completion of one semester of computer science, or 15 the trimester or quarter equivalent. 16 Current law requires school districts and accredited 17 nonpublic schools to offer and teach to students enrolled in 18 grades 9 through 12 one-half unit of computer science. The 19 bill modifies provisions related to how the computer science 20 instruction is offered and taught by allowing the instruction 21 to be offered and taught through blended learning, or through 22 instruction that is delivered primarily over the internet, when 23 it is not possible to provide such instruction in a traditional 24 classroom setting. 25 The bill requires all students, beginning with students 26 in the 2028-2029 school year graduating class, to complete 27 one-half unit of computer science as a condition of graduation. 28 The bill provides that the condition of graduation shall not 29 apply to a student who enrolls in a school district or an 30 accredited nonpublic school in grade 12 immediately after 31 being enrolled in a school located outside of this state. The 32 bill authorizes school districts and accredited nonpublic 33 schools to apply to the department of education (DE) for a 34 waiver of the implementation of the graduation requirement. 35 -5- LSB 6295XC (4) 90 jda/jh 5/ 7
S.F. _____ The bill requires the state board of education to adopt rules 1 establishing standards for the submission of applications for 2 waivers of the implementation of the condition of graduation 3 and DE’s consideration and approval of waivers. 4 The bill requires DE to publish on DE’s internet site certain 5 information related to computer science courses that satisfy 6 DE’s requirements and courses that may be used to satisfy the 7 computer science graduation requirement. The bill requires 8 school districts to report annually to DE certain specified 9 information related to teachers providing computer science 10 instruction and students involved in computer science courses. 11 The bill provides that the rules adopted by the BOEE 12 establishing nontraditional pathways for obtaining endorsements 13 and authorizations for computer science instruction also 14 include opportunities to obtain such endorsements or 15 authorizations through instruction that is delivered primarily 16 over the internet that may be used to demonstrate competence 17 in computer science instruction for teachers under an initial 18 or intern license. 19 Current law establishes a computer science professional 20 development incentive fund in the state treasury under the 21 control of DE. Current law authorizes DE to disburse moneys 22 contained in the fund to a school district or accredited 23 nonpublic school to provide tuition reimbursement for Iowa 24 teachers seeking endorsements or authorizations for computer 25 science from the BOEE. The bill modifies this provision 26 to allow such tuition reimbursement to be provided to Iowa 27 teachers under an initial or intern license. 28 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code 29 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of 30 any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school 31 district from state school foundation aid received by the 32 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification 33 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate 34 funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The 35 -6- LSB 6295XC (4) 90 jda/jh 6/ 7
S.F. _____ inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the 1 requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state 2 mandates included in the bill. 3 -7- LSB 6295XC (4) 90 jda/jh 7/ 7
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