SF 316 (LSB 1788SV (2) 88)

SENATE FILE 316

BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

(SUCCESSOR TO SF 206)

A BILL FOR

An Act requesting the establishment of a special education interim study committee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEE —— SPECIAL EDUCATION. 
   1.  The legislative council is requested to establish an interim study committee to study and make recommendations relating to special education program requirements and outcomes for students with individualized education programs.
   2.  The study committee shall review state and federal laws relating to students with individualized education programs (IEPs); shall determine the ways in which inclusion requirements and least restrictive environment placements affect the classroom, including but not limited to the teaching staff, teacher retention, teacher professional development, and student and peer outcomes when children requiring special education are placed in a general education classroom; shall review evidence-based practices and strategies by which schools and teachers can best accommodate students with IEPs who have severe emotional, social, and behavioral problems; shall develop or identify strategies designed to improve outcomes for children requiring special education; and shall develop or identify a graduated process for the transfer of a child requiring special education from a self-contained classroom to a general education classroom.
   3.  The study committee shall receive input from, at a minimum, the department of education, the area education agencies, school administrators, special education teachers, general education teachers, mental health professionals with experience in children’s mental health, parents of children requiring special education and parents of children who do not require special education, and boards of directors of school districts. 
   4.  The study committee shall submit a report with its findings and recommendations to the general assembly and to each member of Iowa’s congressional delegation on or before December 18, 2020.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requests the legislative council to establish an interim study committee to study and make recommendations relating to special education program requirements and outcomes for students with individualized education programs (IEPs). The study committee shall review state and federal laws; shall determine the ways in which inclusion requirements and placements affect classrooms, teachers, and student and peer outcomes when children requiring special education are placed in a general education classroom; shall review evidence-based practices and strategies by which schools and teachers can best accommodate students with IEPs who have severe emotional, social, and behavioral problems; shall develop or identify strategies designed to improve outcomes for children requiring special education; and shall develop or identify a graduated process for the transfer of a child requiring special education from a self-contained classroom to a general education classroom. 
   The study committee shall receive input from, at a minimum, the department of education, the area education agencies, and the boards of directors of school districts; school administrators; special education teachers; general education teachers; parents of children requiring special education and parents whose children do not require special education; and mental health professionals with experience in children’s mental health.
   The study committee shall submit a report with its findings and recommendations to the general assembly and to each member of Iowa’s congressional delegation on or before December 18, 2020.