SF 137 (LSB 1519XS (7) 87)

SENATE FILE 137

BY  QUIRMBACH, DOTZLER, BOULTON, DVORSKY, HART, JOCHUM, BOLKCOM, PETERSEN, McCOY, and HOGG

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to school core curriculum and twenty-first century learning skills required to be addressed in rules adopted by the state board of education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph a, subparagraph (3), Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   (3)  The rules establishing a core curriculum shall address the core content standards in subsection 28 and the skills and knowledge students need to be successful in the twenty-first century and shall address the curricular needs of students in kindergarten through grade twelve in those areas. The core curriculum shall include social studies and twenty-first century learning skills which include but are not limited to civic the following:
   (a)  Civic literacy, health literacy, technology literacy, financial literacy, family life and consumer sciences, and employability skills; and shall address the curricular needs of students in kindergarten through grade twelve in those areas. The state board shall further define the twenty-first century learning skills components by rule.
   (b)  Music, visual art, drama and theater, and other fine and applied arts. The department shall employ a consultant to oversee the development of and compliance with the fine and applied arts core curriculum and to provide guidance for professional development programs, strategies, and materials based on the rules adopted by the state board pursuant to this subparagraph division. This subparagraph division shall not be construed to conflict with the provisions of section 256.11, subsection 3, 4, or 5, with regard to areas that are required to be taught. The selection and administration of assessments of music, visual art, drama and theater, or other fine and applied arts courses shall be determined locally by the school district or accredited nonpublic school providing the educational program in accordance with section 256.11. However, the department may provide model assessments aligned with fine and applied arts content standards established by the state board.
    Sec. 2.  STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED.  In accordance with Code 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 Code 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 Code 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.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill modifies the school core curriculum and twenty-first century learning skills and knowledge that the state board of education is required to address in rule.
   Currently, the core curriculum includes English or language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies; and the necessary twenty-first century learning skills include but are not limited to civic literacy, health literacy, technology literacy, financial literacy, family life and consumer sciences, and employability skills. 
   The bill requires that the core curriculum and twenty-first century learning skills address music, visual art, drama and theater, and other fine and applied arts. The bill also requires the department of education to employ a consultant to oversee the development of and compliance with the fine and applied arts core curriculum and to provide guidance for professional development programs, strategies, and materials based on the rules adopted by the state board of education. The bill establishes that the provision establishing arts-related core curriculum requirements shall not be construed to conflict with the offer and teach provisions of Code section 256.11, which establishes the educational program accredited schools must offer and teach.
   The selection and administration of arts-related assessments shall be locally determined, but the department of education is authorized to provide model assessments aligned with the fine and applied arts content standards established by the state board.
   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.