HF 443 (LSB 2069YH (7) 88)

HOUSE FILE 443

BY  WHEELER

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the Iowa core curriculum and standards for school districts and accredited nonpublic schools and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

DIVISION I
COMMON CORE STANDARDS PROHIBITED

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  256.25  Common core standards prohibited.
   1.  The state board shall terminate all plans, programs, activities, efforts, and expenditures relating to implementation of the educational initiative commonly referred to as the common core standards, or any derivative or permutation of that educational initiative including but not limited to the Iowa common core standards that have been enacted, adopted, or implemented by the general assembly, the state board, or the department, including but not limited to any assessments, data collection, and instructions based on or involving that educational initiative. To further protect state and local control of public education, the state board and the department are prohibited from adopting, aligning to, or implementing, any other national or multistate consortium standards from any source requiring the use of any assessments aligned with any other national or multistate consortium standards from any source, and, subject to section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph “b”, subparagraph (1), the state board and the department shall do all of the following:
   a.  Respect and support the ultimate right of a parent to opt the parent’s child out of public school, and out of any public school activity, practice, or testing that the parent finds unacceptable, with no negative repercussions to, or financial impact on, the child, parent, or school, and with no interference from this state. This paragraph shall not be construed to prohibit this state from funding public education on a per-pupil basis as provided in chapter 257. 
   b.  (1)  By January 1, 2020, for the school year beginning July 1, 2020, and each succeeding school year, adopt and implement state academic content standards for kindergarten through grade twelve in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies that are the same as the academic standards in effect for the state of Massachusetts during the academic year beginning July 1, 2008, except that any reference in those standards to the state of Massachusetts shall be changed to Iowa and any state history or government content standards shall be changed to reflect the history and government of Iowa. The department shall distribute the standards to school districts and shall post the standards on the department’s internet site within ten days following adoption of the state academic content standards pursuant to this paragraph “b”.
   (2)  Adopt by January 1, 2020, for the school year beginning July 1, 2020, validated state assessments of student achievement based on the assessment used in Massachusetts during the 2008-2009 school year and aligned to the academic standards in effect in Massachusetts during the 2008-2009 school year. 
   c.  Take and direct the director and any other state public employee or authority to take all steps necessary to terminate areas of federal control of the Iowa educational process. In so doing, the state board and the department shall be prohibited from doing any of the following: 
   (1)  Adopting or implementing any national or multistate consortium standard from any source, or the use of any assessments aligned with a national or multistate consortium standard that cedes control of Iowa educational standards in any manner, including but not limited to English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, history, or sexuality standards or next generation science standards. 
   (2)  Joining any consortium or any other organization if participation in that consortium or organization would cede any measure of control over any aspect of Iowa public education to that consortium or organization. 
   d.  (1)  Adopt, at the discretion of the state board but not earlier than five years after the adoption of standards as required under paragraph “b”, state academic content standards for kindergarten through grade twelve to replace the English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies content standards adopted under paragraph “b”. The content standards adopted under this paragraph “d” shall be developed independently and not as part of a multistate consortium. However, the content standards shall emphasize coherence, focus, and essential knowledge, have evidence of successful application and results, and may be administered using computer technology. The department shall not implement content standards adopted by the state board under this paragraph “d” until all of the following conditions are met:
   (a)  The state board submits the content standards to the general assembly.
   (b)  The general assembly’s standing committees on education hold a joint public hearing on the proposed content standards and provide public notice of the public hearing at least ten days prior to the public hearing.
   (c)  The content standards are specifically authorized by a constitutional majority of each house of the general assembly and approved by the governor.
   (2)  Adopt, following the adoption and implementation of state academic content standards for kindergarten through grade twelve in the manner specified in subparagraph (1), assessments aligned with such content standards which shall replace the assessments adopted under paragraph “b”. Each year, as soon as reasonably possible, the aggregated results shall be available on the department’s internet site for review by the public. In collecting student achievement data in order to post the results on the department’s internet site under this subparagraph, the department shall not collect data about the values, attitudes, beliefs, and personality traits of a student or the student’s family or medical, behavioral, mental, biometric, or psychometric data of a student or of the student’s family. The department shall not administer state assessments under this subparagraph until all of the following conditions are met:
   (a)  The department submits the proposed state assessments to the general assembly.
   (b)  The general assembly’s standing committees on education hold a joint public hearing on the proposed state assessments and provide public notice of the public hearing at least ten days prior to the public hearing.
   (c)  The proposed state assessments are specifically authorized by a constitutional majority of each house of the general assembly and approved by the governor. 
   2.  The board of directors of each school district, considering the academic content standards adopted and implemented under this section, shall do all of the following:
   a.  Establish a fundamental academic curriculum for students enrolled in the school district in kindergarten through grade twelve that defines academic objectives to be achieved by all students and is based upon the school district’s educational mission, long-range student goals and student performance objectives, and graduation requirements under section 256.7, subsection 26. The fundamental academic curriculum may vary from the state academic content standards adopted pursuant to this section.
   b.  After consulting with the school district’s teachers and administrators, determine the aligned instructional program for delivering the school district’s fundamental academic curriculum and identify the courses and programs in which the fundamental academic curriculum will be taught. 
   c.  Provide adequate time and transparency for public review and comment on the aligned instructional programs by all interested members of the community before final adoption of the fundamental academic curriculum. 
   3.  This state shall retain sole control over the development, establishment, and revision of course of study standards for kindergarten through grade twelve. 
   4.  This section shall not be construed to promote any religious or nonreligious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs or nonbeliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion. 
   5.  This section does not require any school district to utilize all or any part of the academic content standards adopted under this section. The state board and the department shall not impose any financial consequence on a school district that adopts academic content standards differing from those adopted and implemented under this section. 
DIVISION II
ELIMINATING COMMON CORE REFERENCES —— PROVIDING FOR RELATED MATTERS

    Sec. 2.  Section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph b, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  A set of core academic indicators in mathematics and reading in grades four, eight, and eleven, a set of core academic indicators in science in grades eight and ten, and another set of core indicators that includes but is not limited to graduation rate, postsecondary education, and successful employment in Iowa. Annually, the department shall report state data for each indicator in the condition of education report.
   (1)  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection shall specify that the statewide summative assessment of student progress administered by school districts for purposes of the core academic indicators shall be the summative assessment developed by the Iowa testing program within the university of Iowa college of education and administered by the Iowa testing program’s designee. 
   (2)  For the school year beginning July 1, 2018, and each succeeding school year, the rules shall also require all of the following:
   (a)  That all students enrolled in school districts in grades three through eleven be administered an assessment in mathematics and English language arts, including reading and writing, during the last quarter of the school year and all students enrolled in school districts in grades five, eight, and ten be administered an assessment in science during the last quarter of the school year.
   (b)  That the assessment, at a minimum, assess the core academic indicators identified in this paragraph “b”; be aligned with the Iowa common core standards in both content and rigor; accurately describe student achievement and growth for purposes of the school, the school district, and state accountability systems; provide valid, reliable, and fair measures of student progress toward college or career readiness; and meet the summative assessment requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub. L. No. 114-95.
   (c)  That the assessment be available for administration in both paper-and-pencil and computer-based formats and include assessments in mathematics, science, and English language arts, including reading and writing.
   (d)  That the assessment be peer-reviewed by an independent, third-party evaluator to determine that the assessment is aligned with the Iowa core academic standards, provides a measurement of student growth and student proficiency, and meets the summative assessment requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub. L. No. 114-95. The assessment developed by the Iowa testing program within the university of Iowa college of education shall be adjusted as necessary to meet the requirements of this subparagraph (2) as determined by the peer review.
    Sec. 3.  Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph a, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   Adopt rules that establish a core curriculum and high school graduation requirements for all students in school districts and accredited nonpublic schools that include at a minimum satisfactory completion of four years of English and language arts, three years of mathematics, three years of science, and three years of social studies.
    Sec. 4.  Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph a, subparagraph (3), Code 2019, is amended by striking the subparagraph.
    Sec. 5.  Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraphs b and c, Code 2019, are amended by striking the paragraphs.
    Sec. 6.  Section 256.7, subsection 28, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   28.  Adopt a set of core state academic content standards applicable to all students in kindergarten through grade twelve in every school district and accredited nonpublic school in accordance with section 256.25, subsection 1. For purposes of this subsection, “core content “assessment standards” includes reading, mathematics, and science. School districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall include, at a minimum, the core state academic content standards adopted pursuant to this subsection in any set of locally developed content standards. School districts and accredited nonpublic schools are strongly encouraged to set higher expectations in local standards. As changes in federal law or regulation occur, the state board is authorized to amend the core content standards as appropriate.
    Sec. 7.  Section 256.7, subsection 32, paragraph b, subparagraph (1), unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   Adopt rules which require that educational instruction and course content delivered primarily over the internet be aligned with the Iowa core state academic standards as applicable. Under such rules, a school district may develop and offer to students enrolled in the district educational instruction and course content for delivery primarily over the internet. A school district providing educational instruction and course content that are delivered primarily over the internet shall annually submit to the department, in the manner prescribed by the department, data that includes but is not limited to the following:
    Sec. 8.  Section 256.9, subsection 49, paragraph a, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Develop and distribute, in collaboration with the area education agencies, core curriculum technical assistance and implementation strategies that school districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall may utilize, including but not limited to the development and delivery of formative and end-of-course model assessments classroom teachers may use to measure student progress on the core curriculum adopted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26. The department shall, in collaboration with the advisory group convened in accordance with paragraph “b” and educational assessment providers, identify and make available to school districts end-of-course and additional model end-of-course and additional assessments to align with the expectations included in the Iowa core curriculum. 
    Sec. 9.  Section 256.42, subsection 6, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  Coursework offered under the initiative shall be rigorous and high quality, and the department shall annually evaluate the quality of the courses and ensure that coursework is aligned with the state’s core curriculum and core state academic content requirements and standards adopted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 28, and section 256.25, subsection 1, as well as national standards of quality for online courses issued by an internationally recognized association for kindergarten through grade twelve online learning.
    Sec. 10.  Section 257.11, subsection 9, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   9.  Shared classes and curriculum standards.  A school district shall ensure that any course made available to a student through any sharing agreement between the school district and a community college or any other entity providing course programming pursuant to this section to students enrolled in the school district meets the expectations contained in the core curriculum adopted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26. The school district shall ensure that any course that has the capacity to generate college credit shall be equivalent to college-level work.
    Sec. 11.  Section 260C.14, subsection 22, paragraph b, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  Collaborate with the state board of regents to meet the requirements specified in section 262.9, subsection 33, including but not limited to developing a systematic process for expanding academic discipline and meetings between the community college faculty and faculty of the institutions of higher education governed by the state board of regents, developing criteria to prioritize core curriculum areas, promoting greater awareness of articulation-related activities, facilitating additional opportunities for individual institutions to pursue program articulation agreements for career and technical educational programs, and developing and implementing a process to examine a minimum of eight new associate of applied science degree programs for which articulation agreements would serve students’ continued academic success in those degree programs.
    Sec. 12.  Section 261E.9, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  A regional academy may include in its curriculum virtual or internet-based coursework and courses delivered via the Iowa communications network, career and technical courses, core curriculum coursework, courses required pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26, or section 256.11, subsections 4 and 5, and asynchronous learning networks.
    Sec. 13.  Section 262.9, subsection 33, paragraph c, Code 2017, is amended by striking the paragraph.
    Sec. 14.  Section 279.61, subsection 1, paragraph a, subparagraph (1), Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   (1)  Prepare the student for successful completion of the core curriculum developed high school graduation requirements adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26, by the time the student graduates from high school. 
    Sec. 15.  Section 279.61, subsection 2, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  The board of directors of each school district shall report annually to each student enrolled in grades nine through twelve in the school district, and, if the student is under the age of eighteen, to each student’s parent or guardian, the student’s progress toward meeting the goal of successfully completing the core curriculum and high school graduation requirements adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26, and toward achieving the goals of the student’s career and academic plan.
    Sec. 16.  Section 280.3, subsection 2, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  The minimum educational program shall be the curriculum graduation requirements set forth in subsection 3 of this section 256.7, subsection 26, and the educational program set forth in section 256.11, except as otherwise provided by law. The board of directors of a public school district shall not allow discrimination in any educational program on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, marital status, or place of national origin.
    Sec. 17.  Section 280.3, subsection 3, Code 2019, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 18.  Section 284.6, subsection 9, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   9.  Moneys received pursuant to section 257.10, subsection 10, or section 257.37A, subsection 2, shall be maintained as a separate listing within a school district’s or area education agency’s budget for funds received and expenditures made pursuant to this subsection. The department shall not require a school district or area education agency to allocate a specific amount or percentage of moneys received pursuant to section 257.10, subsection 10, or section 257.37A, subsection 2, for professional development related to implementation of the core curriculum state academic content standards under section 256.7, subsection 26 28. A school district shall certify to the department how the school district allocated the funds and that moneys received under this subsection were used to supplement, not supplant, the professional development opportunities the school district would otherwise make available. For budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2017, all or a portion of the moneys received pursuant to section 257.10, subsection 10, that remain unexpended and unobligated at the end of a fiscal year may, pursuant to section 257.10, subsection 10, paragraph “d”, be transferred for deposit in the school district’s flexibility account established under section 298A.2, subsection 2.
DIVISION III
STATE MANDATE

    Sec. 19.  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.
DIVISION IV
EFFECTIVE DATE

    Sec. 20.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill provides for the termination and elimination of all plans, programs, activities, efforts, and expenditures relating to implementation of the educational initiative commonly referred to as the common core standards, or any derivative or permutation of that educational initiative including but not limited to the Iowa common core standards that have been enacted, adopted, or implemented by the general assembly, the state board of education, or the department of education, including but not limited to any assessments, data collection, and instructions based on or involving that educational initiative. 
   DIVISION I —— COMMON CORE STANDARDS PROHIBITED. The bill establishes new Code section 256.25. The new Code section prohibits the state board from adopting, aligning to, or implementing any other national or multistate consortium standards from any source requiring the use of any assessments aligned with any other national or multistate consortium standards from any source and requires the state board and the department to respect and support the ultimate right of a parent to opt the parent’s child out of public school, and out of any public school activity, practice, or testing that the parent finds unacceptable, with no negative repercussions to, or financial impact on, the child, parent, or school, and with no interference from the state. 
   Also, by January 1, 2020, for the school year beginning July 1, 2020, and each succeeding school year, the state board and the department must adopt and implement state academic content standards for kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies that are the same as the academic standards in effect for the state of Massachusetts during the academic year beginning July 1, 2008, except that any reference in those standards to the state of Massachusetts shall be changed to Iowa and any state history or government content standards shall be changed to reflect the history and government of Iowa. The department shall distribute the standards to school districts and shall post the standards on the department’s internet site within 10 days following adoption of the state academic content standards. At the same time, the state board and the department must also adopt validated state assessments of student achievement based on the assessment used in Massachusetts during the 2008-2009 school year and aligned to the academic standards in effect in Massachusetts during the 2008-2009 school year. 
   The bill directs the state board, the department, and the director of the department, and any other state public employee or authority to take all steps necessary to terminate areas of federal control of the Iowa educational process; and prohibits these entities from adopting or implementing any national or multistate consortium standard from any source, or the use of any assessments aligned with a national or multistate consortium standard that cedes control of Iowa educational standards in any manner; or from joining any consortium or any other organization if participation in that consortium or organization would cede any measure of control over any aspect of Iowa public education to that consortium or organization. This state shall retain sole control over the development, establishment, and revision of course of study standards for K-12. 
   After not less than five years and at the discretion of the state board, the state board may adopt state academic content standards to replace the standards that were based on Massachusetts’ standards. However, these replacement content standards must be developed independently and not as part of a multistate consortium. Such content standards shall emphasize coherence, focus, and essential knowledge, have evidence of successful application and results, and may be administered using computer technology. The department shall not implement the replacement content standards until the state board submits the content standards to the general assembly, the general assembly’s standing committees on education hold a joint public hearing on the proposed content standards and provide public notice of the public hearing at least 10 days prior to the public hearing; and the content standards are specifically authorized by a constitutional majority of each house of the general assembly and approved by the governor.
   Each year, as soon as reasonably possible, the aggregated results shall be available on the department internet site for review by the public. In collecting student achievement data for posting on the internet site, the department shall not collect data about the values, attitudes, beliefs, and personality traits of a student or the student’s family or medical, behavioral, mental, biometric, or psychometric data of a student or of the student’s family. 
   Prior to implementing the proposed state assessments, the department must submit them to the general assembly, the standing committees on education must hold a public hearing on the proposed assessments and post notice of the hearing 10 days prior to the hearing, and the general assembly and the governor must specifically authorize the assessments in the same manner as the state academic content standards. 
   School districts must establish a fundamental academic curriculum for students enrolled in the school district in K-12 that defines academic objectives to be achieved by all students and is based upon the school district’s educational mission, long-range student goals and student performance objectives, and the state’s graduation requirements. The fundamental academic curriculum may vary from the state academic content standards adopted pursuant to this section.
   After consulting with the school district’s teachers and administrators, the district must determine the aligned instructional program for delivering its fundamental academic curriculum and identify the courses and programs in which the fundamental academic curriculum will be taught. 
   School districts must provide adequate time and transparency for public review and comment on the aligned instructional programs by all interested members of the community before final adoption of the fundamental academic curriculum.
   New Code section 256.25 includes language providing that the new Code section shall not be construed to promote any religious or nonreligious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs or nonbeliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion; and that the new Code section does not require any school district to utilize all or any part of the academic content standards adopted. The state board and the department shall not impose any financial consequence on a school district that adopts academic content standards differing from those adopted and implemented under the new Code section. 
   DIVISION II —— ELIMINATING COMMON CORE REFERENCES —— PROVIDING FOR RELATED MATTERS. The bill eliminates requirements and references to the (Iowa) common core or core curriculum and to core content standards, but continues to direct the state board of education to adopt high school graduation requirements and state academic content standards.
   Provisions directing school districts to cooperate with each eighth grade student on a core curriculum plan to meet core curriculum requirements are amended to replace “core curriculum plan” with “graduation plan” and “core curriculum requirements” with “high school graduation requirements”. The term “core content standards” is replaced with the term “state academic content standards”. Such standards will remain applicable to all students in kindergarten through grade 12 in every school district and accredited nonpublic school. Corresponding changes are made throughout the Code, and obsolete language is eliminated. 
   DIVISION III —— STATE MANDATE. 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. 
   DIVISION IV —— EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill takes effect upon enactment.