HF 194 (LSB 1615HH (2) 88)

HOUSE FILE 194

BY  SHIPLEY

A BILL FOR

An Act directing that students be required to read and demonstrate comprehension of excerpts from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s book “the gulag archipelago” as a condition of high school graduation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  280.9C  Required reading —— the gulag archipelago.
   The board of directors of each school district and the authorities in charge of each nonpublic school shall require all students to read and demonstrate comprehension of excerpts from the book by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, “the gulag archipelago 1918-1956 abridged: an experiment in literary investigation”, as a condition of high school graduation.
    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.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill directs school districts and accredited nonpublic schools to require all students to read and demonstrate comprehension of excerpts from the abridged version of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s book, “the gulag archipelago”, as a condition of high school graduation.
   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.