HF 202 (LSB 1676HH (5) 85)

HOUSE FILE 202

BY  H. MILLER, GASKILL, BEARINGER, HANSON, RUFF, WOLFE, ISENHART, KEARNS, DUNKEL, MUHLBAUER, and MURPHY

A BILL FOR

An Act establishing an agricultural education pilot project for certain school districts and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  256.24  Agricultural education pilot project.
   1.  An agricultural education pilot project is established to be administered by the department of education. Participating school districts shall include all of the following as part of their education programs under section 256.11, for either grades one through six or grades seven and eight:
   a.  The school district’s social studies curriculum shall include the history of agriculture in Iowa and awareness of the global and technological importance of agriculture and conservation.
   b.  The school district’s science curriculum shall include environment and natural resources, land stewardship, and biofuels and renewable energy.
   2.  For purposes of this section, “participating school district” means a school district with an enrollment of at least nine thousand students in grades kindergarten through twelve, which contains at least two high schools, and which is identified as a district in need of assistance under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110.
   3.  The department shall conduct a survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot project. The department shall provide the survey to superintendents of participating school districts, teachers responsible for meeting the curriculum requirements of subsection 1, students subject to the curriculum requirements of subsection 1, and the parents of students subject to the curriculum requirements of subsection 1.
   4.  The department shall submit a report on the agricultural education pilot project to the governor and the general assembly by January 15, 2016. The report shall include the results of the survey conducted pursuant to subsection 3, a recommendation as to whether the pilot project should be continued or expanded, and any recommendations for changes to the pilot project.
   5.  This section is repealed on June 30, 2017.
    Sec. 2.  STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED.  In accordance with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under section 257.16. This specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts.
    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect July 1, 2014.
EXPLANATION
   This bill establishes an agricultural education pilot project to be administered by the department of education. The bill requires participating school districts to include additional subjects as part of their education programs under Code section 256.11, for either grades one through six or grades seven and eight. A participating school district must include the history of agriculture in Iowa and awareness of the global and technological importance of agriculture and conservation in its social studies curriculum. A participating school district must also include environment and natural resources, land stewardship, and biofuels and renewable energy in its science curriculum.
   The bill defines “participating school district” as a school district with an enrollment of at least 9,000 students in grades kindergarten through 12, which contains at least two high schools, and which is identified as a district in need of assistance under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110.
   The bill requires the department of education to conduct a survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot project. The survey will be provided to superintendents of participating school districts, teachers responsible for meeting the additional curriculum requirements, students subject to the additional curriculum requirements, and the parents of students subject to the additional curriculum requirements.
   The department must submit a report on the agricultural education pilot project to the governor and the general assembly by January 15, 2016. The report must include the results of the survey, a recommendation as to whether the pilot project should be continued or expanded, and any recommendations for changes to the pilot project.
   The agricultural education pilot project is repealed on June 30, 2017.
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under Code section 257.16. The specification is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state mandates included in the bill.
   The bill takes effect July 1, 2014.