House File 144 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 144 BY J. TAYLOR , FORRISTALL , LUKAN , HELLAND , TJEPKES , RAECKER , and JORGENSEN A BILL FOR An Act relating to the minimum hours of instructional school 1 time in a school year for public and accredited nonpublic 2 elementary and secondary schools, and including effective 3 date provisions. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 1686YH (9) 84 kh/nh

H.F. 144 Section 1. Section 256.7, subsection 19, Code 2011, is 1 amended by striking the subsection. 2 Sec. 2. Section 256.7, Code 2011, is amended by adding the 3 following new subsection: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 31. Adopt rules that define what 5 constitutes instructional time for purposes of the minimum 6 hours of instructional time set forth in section 279.10. 7 Instructional time shall not include the lunch period, recess, 8 time for noninstructional assemblies, late arrival or early 9 dismissal times required for emergency health or safety 10 factors, weather-related late starts or early releases, or time 11 used for professional development. 12 Sec. 3. Section 256F.4, subsection 5, Code 2011, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 5. A charter school or innovation zone school shall provide 15 instruction for at least the number of days hours required by 16 section 279.10 , subsection 1 , or shall provide at least the 17 equivalent number of total hours . 18 Sec. 4. Section 279.10, Code 2011, is amended to read as 19 follows: 20 279.10 School year —— beginning date —— exceptions —— pilot 21 programs instructional hours —— exception . 22 1. The school year for each school district and accredited 23 nonpublic school shall begin on the first day of July 1 and 24 each regularly established elementary and secondary school 25 shall begin no sooner than a day during the calendar week 26 in which the first day of September falls but no later than 27 the first Monday in December. However, if the first day of 28 September falls on a Sunday, school may begin on a day during 29 the calendar week which immediately precedes the first day of 30 September. School shall continue for at least one hundred 31 eighty days, except as provided in subsection 3 , and may be 32 maintained during the entire calendar year end on June 30 . 33 However, if the board of directors of a district extends the 34 school calendar because inclement weather caused the district 35 -1- LSB 1686YH (9) 84 kh/nh 1/ 5

H.F. 144 to temporarily close school during the regular school calendar, 1 the The minimum hours of instructional time in a school year 2 for an elementary school shall be nine hundred ninety hours. 3 The minimum hours of instructional time in a school year for 4 a secondary school shall be one thousand eighty hours. A 5 school district may excuse or accredited nonpublic school shall 6 require a graduating senior who has met district or school 7 to meet the same requirements for graduation from attendance 8 during the extended school calendar as those required of any 9 other class of students enrolled at the secondary level in the 10 school district or accredited nonpublic school, except with 11 regard to activities related to graduation as authorized by the 12 school district or accredited nonpublic school. The board of 13 directors of a school district and the authorities in charge of 14 an accredited nonpublic school shall set the number of days of 15 required attendance for the school year as provided in section 16 299.1, subsection 2 . A school corporation may begin employment 17 of personnel for in-service training and development purposes 18 before the date to begin elementary and secondary school. 19 2. The board of directors shall hold a public hearing on any 20 proposal prior to submitting it to the department of education 21 for approval. 22 3. The board of directors of a school district may request 23 approval from the department of education for a pilot program 24 for an innovative school year. The number of days per year 25 that school is in session may be more or less than those 26 specified in subsection 1 , but the innovative school year shall 27 provide for an equivalent number of total hours that school is 28 in session. 29 a. The board shall file a request for approval with the 30 department not later than November 1 of the preceding school 31 year. The request shall include a listing of the savings and 32 goals to be attained under the innovative school year subject 33 to rules adopted by the department under chapter 17A . The 34 department shall notify the districts of the approval or denial 35 -2- LSB 1686YH (9) 84 kh/nh 2/ 5

H.F. 144 of pilot programs not later than the next following January 15. 1 b. A request to continue an innovative school year pilot 2 project after its initial year also shall include an evaluation 3 of the savings and impacts on the educational program in the 4 district. 5 c. Participation in a pilot project shall not modify 6 provisions of a master contract negotiated between a school 7 district and a certified bargaining unit pursuant to chapter 8 20 unless mutually agreed upon. 9 4. The director of the department of education may 10 grant a request made by a board of directors of a school 11 district stating its desire to commence classes for regularly 12 established elementary and secondary schools prior to the 13 earliest starting date specified in subsection 1 . A request 14 shall be based upon the determination that a starting date on 15 or after the earliest starting date specified in subsection 1 16 would have a significant negative educational impact. 17 Sec. 5. Section 299.4, subsection 1, Code 2011, is amended 18 to read as follows: 19 1. The parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child who 20 is of compulsory attendance age, who places the child under 21 competent private instruction under either section 299A.2 or 22 299A.3 , not in an accredited school or a home school assistance 23 program operated by a school district or accredited nonpublic 24 school, shall furnish a report in duplicate on forms provided 25 by the public school district, to the district by the earliest 26 starting date specified in section 279.10, subsection 1 July 1 27 of the school year in which the child will be under competent 28 private instruction . The secretary shall retain and file 29 one copy and forward the other copy to the district’s area 30 education agency. The report shall state the name and age of 31 the child, the period of time during which the child has been 32 or will be under competent private instruction for the year, 33 an outline of the course of study, texts used, and the name 34 and address of the instructor. The parent, guardian, or legal 35 -3- LSB 1686YH (9) 84 kh/nh 3/ 5

H.F. 144 custodian of a child, who is placing the child under competent 1 private instruction for the first time, shall also provide the 2 district with evidence that the child has had the immunizations 3 required under section 139A.8 , and, if the child is elementary 4 school age, a blood lead test in accordance with section 5 135.105D . The term “outline of course of study” shall include 6 subjects covered, lesson plans, and time spent on the areas of 7 study. 8 Sec. 6. REPEAL. Sections 256.20 and 256.22, Code 2011, are 9 repealed. 10 Sec. 7. REPEAL. Section 257.17, Code 2011, is repealed. 11 Sec. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect July 1, 2012. 12 EXPLANATION 13 This bill replaces the current 180-day school calendar, 14 which converts to a required 990 hours of instructional school 15 time at 5.5 hours per day, with a requirement that the school 16 calendar include 990 hours of instructional time for elementary 17 schools and 1,080 hours of instructional time for secondary 18 schools. The bill authorizes school districts and accredited 19 nonpublic schools to set the number of days their schools will 20 be in session. 21 The bill strikes a Code provision directing the state board 22 of education to define the minimum school day and allowing the 23 minimum hours to include early dismissals or late arrivals 24 for inclement weather or emergency health factors and staff 25 development. However, the bill adds a new requirement that 26 the state board define what constitutes instructional time, 27 which the bill states cannot include the lunch period, recess, 28 assembly time, late arrival or early dismissal times, or 29 professional development time. 30 The bill eliminates a provision that authorizes a school 31 district to excuse a graduating senior from attendance on days 32 added to the school calendar to make up for days lost due to 33 inclement weather. The bill requires that graduating seniors 34 meet the same attendance requirements as those required of any 35 -4- LSB 1686YH (9) 84 kh/nh 4/ 5

H.F. 144 other class of students at the secondary level, except with 1 regard to graduation activities. 2 The bill also includes technical changes and repeals 3 obsolete provisions relating to innovative school year pilots, 4 school start date waivers and penalties, year around school 5 pilot projects, and an extended year school grant program. 6 The bill takes effect July 1, 2012. 7 -5- LSB 1686YH (9) 84 kh/nh 5/ 5