SF 248 (LSB 1171XS (2) 87)

SENATE FILE 248

BY  CHELGREN, ZAUN, SCHULTZ, SINCLAIR, ROZENBOOM, and GUTH

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to educational instruction and course content primarily over the internet.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 256.7, subsection 32, paragraph a, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Adopt rules for online learning in accordance with sections 256.41, 256.42, and 256.43, and criteria for waivers granted pursuant to section 256.42.
    Sec. 2.  Section 256.7, subsection 32, paragraphs b and c, Code 2017, are amended by striking the paragraphs.
    Sec. 3.  Section 256.9, subsection 56, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   56.  Develop and establish an online learning program model in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 32, paragraph “a”, and in accordance with section 256.43.
    Sec. 4.  Section 256.41, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   256.41  Online learning requirements —— legislative findings and declarations.
   1.  The general assembly finds and declares the following:
   a.  That prior legislative enactments on the use of telecommunications in elementary and secondary school classes and courses did not contemplate and were not intended to authorize participation in open enrollment under section 282.18 for purposes of attending online schools, contracts to provide exclusively or predominantly online coursework to students, or online coursework that does not use teachers licensed under chapter 272 for instruction and supervision.
   b.  That online learning technology has moved ahead of Iowa’s statutory framework and the current administrative rules of the state board, promulgated over twenty years ago, are inadequate to regulate today’s virtual opportunities.
   A school district providing educational instruction and course content delivered primarily over the internet shall do all of the following with regard to such instruction and content:
   a.  Monitor and verify full-time student enrollment, timely completion of graduation requirements, course credit accrual, and course completion.
   b.  Monitor and verify student progress and performance in each course through a school-based assessment plan that includes submission of coursework and security and validity of testing.
   c.  Conduct parent-teacher conferences.
   d.  Administer assessments required by the state to all students in a proctored setting and pursuant to state law.
   2.  Online learning curricula shall be provided and supervised by a teacher licensed under chapter 272.
    Sec. 5.  Section 256.42, subsections 3 and 9, Code 2017, are amended by striking the subsections.
    Sec. 6.  Section 256.42, subsection 7, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   The department may waive for one year at its discretion the provisions of section 256.11, subsection 5, which require that specified subjects be offered and taught by professional staff of a school district or school, if the school district or school makes every reasonable and good-faith effort to employ a teacher licensed under chapter 272 for such a subject, and the school district or school proves to the satisfaction of the department that the school district or school is unable to employ such a teacher. The specified subject shall be provided by the initiative. The However, the specified subject may instead be provided by the school district or school if all of the following conditions are met:
    Sec. 7.  Section 256.42, subsection 8, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   8.  The department shall establish fees payable by school districts and accredited nonpublic schools participating in the initiative. Fees collected pursuant to this subsection are appropriated to the department to be used only for the purpose of administering this section and shall be established so as not to exceed the budgeted cost of administering this section to the extent not covered by the moneys appropriated in subsection 9. Providing professional development necessary to prepare teachers to participate in the initiative shall be considered a cost of administering this section. Notwithstanding section 8.33, fees collected by the department that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purpose of expanding coursework offered under the initiative in subsequent fiscal years.
    Sec. 8.  Section 256.43, subsection 1, paragraph i, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   i.  Criteria for school districts or schools to use when choosing providers of online learning to meet the online learning program requirements specified in rules adopted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 32, paragraph “a”.
    Sec. 9.  Section 256.43, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Private providers.  At the discretion of the school board or authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, after consideration of circumstances created by necessity, convenience, and cost-effectiveness, courses developed by private providers may be utilized by the school district or school in implementing a high-quality online learning program. Courses obtained from private providers shall be taught by teachers licensed under chapter 272.  A school district may provide courses developed by private providers and delivered primarily over the internet to pupils who are participating in open enrollment under section 282.18.
    Sec. 10.  Section 282.18, subsection 7, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   7.  a.  A pupil participating in open enrollment shall be counted, for state school foundation aid purposes, in the pupil’s district of residence. A pupil’s residence, for purposes of this section, means a residence under section 282.1.
   b.  (1)  The board of directors of the district of residence shall pay to the receiving district the sum of the state cost per pupil for the previous school year plus either the teacher leadership supplement state cost per pupil for the previous fiscal year as provided in section 257.9 or the teacher leadership supplement foundation aid for the previous fiscal year as provided in section 284.13, subsection 1, paragraph “e”, if both the district of residence and the receiving district are receiving such supplements, plus any moneys received for the pupil as a result of the non-English speaking weighting under section 280.4, subsection 3, for the previous school year multiplied by the state cost per pupil for the previous year. If the pupil participating in open enrollment is also an eligible pupil under section 261E.6, the receiving district shall pay the tuition reimbursement amount to an eligible postsecondary institution as provided in section 261E.7.
   (2)  If a pupil participates in an extracurricular activity in accordance with subsection 11A, the district of residence may deduct an activity fee from the amount calculated in subparagraph (1). The amount of an activity fee shall not exceed the lesser of the actual cost of providing the activity to the pupil or fifteen percent of the state cost per pupil for the previous school year.
    Sec. 11.  Section 282.18, Code 2017, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  11A.  A pupil participating in open enrollment for purposes of receiving educational instruction and course content primarily over the internet in accordance with section 256.7, subsection 32, may participate in any extracurricular activities offered to children in the pupil’s grade or group and sponsored by the district of residence under the same conditions and requirements as the pupils enrolled in the district of residence.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill eliminates provisions requiring that the state board adopt rules prohibiting or limiting the open enrollment of students whose educational instruction and course content are delivered primarily over the internet. The bill authorizes school districts to provide courses developed by private providers and delivered primarily over the internet to pupils who are participating in open enrollment.
   Current law limits to one year the waiver that the department may issue to school districts and accredited nonpublic schools relating to the educational program that online schools must offer and teach. The bill strikes the one-year limitation on the waiver and provides for departmental discretion in issuing such a waiver.
   The bill allows a pupil who is participating in open enrollment for purposes of online instruction to participate in extracurricular activities in the district of residence under the same conditions and requirements as pupils enrolled in the district of residence.
   The bill permits the school district of residence to deduct an activity fee in an amount not to exceed the actual cost of providing the activity or 15 percent of the state cost per pupil for the previous year from the total amount the school district is required to pay to the receiving school district when such a pupil participates in any extracurricular activities in the pupil’s grade or group that is sponsored by the district of residence.