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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. There is appropriated
1 2 from the general fund of the state to the department of
1 3 education for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, and
1 4 ending June 30, 1999, the following amount, or so much thereof
1 5 as is necessary, to be used for the purposes designated:
1 6 For competitive alternative education options grants to
1 7 school districts pursuant to section 279.51A:
1 8 .................................................. $ 4,000,000
1 9 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 260C.81 AUTHORITY.
1 10 The board of directors of a community college is authorized
1 11 to establish and operate an areawide alternative education
1 12 options school for the purpose of instructing middle school
1 13 and secondary school students who are at-risk, have behavioral
1 14 disorders, or who are disruptive in their regular classrooms,
1 15 in a setting as conducive as possible to the education of
1 16 those students.
1 17 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 260C.82 BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES.
1 18 Existing buildings and facilities, together with any
1 19 necessary additions to or alterations to those buildings and
1 20 facilities, and any new structures and facilities, as the
1 21 board of directors of a community college shall determine to
1 22 be suitable and authorize for purposes of establishing and
1 23 implementing an alternative education options school, shall be
1 24 set aside as the area on the respective community college
1 25 campus constituting the alternative options education school
1 26 for purposes of this chapter.
1 27 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 260C.83 FINANCING.
1 28 An alternative options education school at each community
1 29 college where so established shall constitute a self-
1 30 liquidating improvement unit to the extent funds are not
1 31 appropriated by the general assembly and shall qualify for and
1 32 may be financed in the same manner as provided for residence
1 33 halls and dormitories under the provisions of sections 260C.56
1 34 through 260C.70.
1 35 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 260C.84 PURPOSES.
2 1 For the purposes of this chapter, the board of directors of
2 2 a community college and the board of directors of any school
2 3 district in the state of Iowa may enter into a contract for an
2 4 alternative education options school to furnish instruction to
2 5 the students of the school district for tuition and other
2 6 compensation to be paid by the school district. A contract
2 7 shall be in writing and may extend for any stipulated period
2 8 not to exceed fifteen years. During the agreed period, a
2 9 contract shall be obligatory on both the school district and
2 10 the community college.
2 11 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 260C.85 ALLOCATIONS TO DEBT
2 12 RETIREMENT FUND.
2 13 The board of directors of a community college may, from
2 14 funds appropriated or otherwise available for the operation of
2 15 the community college at which the alternative education
2 16 options school is located, allocate an annual payment to the
2 17 debt retirement fund for the buildings, areas, and facilities
2 18 used by the community college for the alternative education
2 19 options school until the improvement is fully paid. The board
2 20 of directors of the community college may pledge the annual
2 21 allotment together with the tuition received from school
2 22 districts and all other income received from the operation of
2 23 the alternative education options school as security for the
2 24 mortgage, bonds, or other debt by which the alternative
2 25 education options school is financed as authorized.
2 26 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 260C.86 STATE AID APPLICABLE.
2 27 If the board of directors of a community college has
2 28 established an alternative education options school, the
2 29 community college shall receive state aid pursuant to chapters
2 30 256B and 257 for each student enrolled in the alternative
2 31 education options school in the same amount as the public
2 32 school district in which the student resides would receive aid
2 33 for that student. If the board of a school district terminates
2 34 a contract with the community college for attendance of pupils
2 35 in an alternative education options school, the school
3 1 district shall inform the department of management of the
3 2 number of these pupils who are enrolled in the district on the
3 3 third Friday of the following September. The department of
3 4 management shall pay to the school district, from funds
3 5 appropriated in section 257.16, an amount equal to the amount
3 6 of state aid paid for each pupil in that school district for
3 7 that school year in payments made as provided in section
3 8 257.16.
3 9 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 260C.87 DEBT LIMIT PROVISION NOT
3 10 APPLICABLE.
3 11 The obligations of any school district on any contract
3 12 between it and a community college entered into pursuant to
3 13 this chapter shall be payable only out of current receipts
3 14 from taxes, tuition, or other income available each year, and
3 15 shall not constitute a debt for the purposes of any statutory
3 16 or constitutional provision limiting the obligations the
3 17 school district may incur.
3 18 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 261.55 BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS TEACHER
3 19 SHORTAGE LOAN PROGRAM.
3 20 1. A behavioral disorders teacher shortage loan payment
3 21 program is established to be administered by the commission as
3 22 provided in this section. The purpose of the loan program is
3 23 to assist individuals possessing a baccalaureate degree or
3 24 higher to obtain a teaching endorsement in behavioral
3 25 disorders, or if the individual is licensed to teach under
3 26 chapter 272, to obtain or upgrade the license with a
3 27 behavioral disorders endorsement. The endorsement shall be an
3 28 authorization to teach children with behavioral disorders who
3 29 are enrolled in kindergarten through grade six or grades seven
3 30 through twelve.
3 31 2. The commission shall adopt rules under chapter 17A, in
3 32 consultation with the state board of educational examiners, to
3 33 administer the program. The rules shall provide that loans
3 34 not be granted to teachers for the purpose of improving their
3 35 knowledge of subject content or teaching skills in order to
4 1 teach courses in subject matter areas for which they possess
4 2 approval granted by the state board of educational examiners.
4 3 3. The annual amount of a loan to a qualified student
4 4 shall be the amount of the student's financial need for that
4 5 period, but shall not exceed the resident tuition rate
4 6 established for institutions of higher learning under the
4 7 control of the state board of regents. A loan received under
4 8 this section shall be used only to pay for coursework offered
4 9 by practitioner preparation programs approved by the board of
4 10 educational examiners and meeting the requirements for
4 11 achievement of a behavioral disorders endorsement for
4 12 kindergarten through grade six or grades seven through twelve
4 13 as established by the state board of educational examiners.
4 14 Loans for part-time students shall be granted for not more
4 15 than five years.
4 16 4. The commission shall set a final date for submission of
4 17 applications each year and shall review the applications and
4 18 inform the recipients within a reasonable time after the
4 19 deadline.
4 20 5. There is appropriated from the general fund of the
4 21 state to the college student aid commission for the fiscal
4 22 year beginning July 1, 1998, and for each succeeding year, the
4 23 sum of two hundred thousand dollars for the behavioral
4 24 disorders teacher shortage loan program.
4 25 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION. 261.56 PAYMENT OF BEHAVIORAL
4 26 DISORDERS TEACHER SHORTAGE LOAN – FUND.
4 27 1. Payment of a loan received under the behavioral
4 28 disorders teacher shortage loan program shall begin one year
4 29 after the recipient completes the educational program for
4 30 which tuition and fees were received except as otherwise
4 31 provided in this section.
4 32 2. If a recipient submits evidence to the commission that
4 33 the recipient was employed as a teacher of children with
4 34 behavioral disorders in kindergarten through grade six or
4 35 grades seven through twelve in a public school district or
5 1 nonpublic school in this state or at the Iowa braille and
5 2 sight saving school or the Iowa school for the deaf during the
5 3 year succeeding completion of the educational program, the
5 4 recipient may choose to receive either of the following:
5 5 a. Cancellation of fifty percent of the amount of the
5 6 loan.
5 7 b. A lump sum payment of one thousand dollars. However, a
5 8 recipient choosing the lump sum payment shall be required to
5 9 commence payment of the loan immediately.
5 10 3. If the recipient continues employment as a teacher as
5 11 provided in subsection 2 during the next succeeding school
5 12 year and submits evidence to the commission of the
5 13 continuation of teaching employment, the recipient may choose
5 14 to receive either of the following:
5 15 a. Cancellation of the remaining fifty percent of the
5 16 total amount of the loan, or the loan amount remaining,
5 17 whichever is less.
5 18 b. A lump sum payment of one thousand dollars. However, a
5 19 recipient selecting the lump sum payment shall be required to
5 20 commence or continue payment of the loan immediately.
5 21 4. There is created a behavioral disorders teacher
5 22 shortage loan payment fund for deposit of payments made by
5 23 recipients. Payments made by recipients of the loans shall be
5 24 used to supplement moneys appropriated to the guaranteed loan
5 25 payment program. Any funds remaining on June 30 of a fiscal
5 26 year shall be transferred from the fund created in this
5 27 section to the general fund of the state.
5 28 5. The interest rate collected on a behavioral disorders
5 29 teacher shortage loan shall be equal to the interest rate
5 30 being collected by an eligible lender under the guaranteed
5 31 loan payment program.
5 32 6. The commission shall prescribe by rule the terms of
5 33 repayment.
5 34 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION. 279.51A ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
5 35 OPTIONS GRANT PROGRAM.
6 1 An alternative education options grant program is
6 2 established to be administered by the department of education.
6 3 The department shall award moneys for purposes of this section
6 4 on a competitive grant basis and for diversity geographically
6 5 and by population. The department of education shall develop
6 6 grant criteria, guidelines, and a process to be used in
6 7 selecting grant recipients.
6 8 2. To be eligible for an alternative education options
6 9 grant, a school district shall develop a proposal that
6 10 includes, but is not limited to, the following:
6 11 a. Data supporting a statement of the dimensions of the
6 12 at-risk problems in the district.
6 13 b. A survey of existing programs used by the district to
6 14 address the needs of the district's at-risk student
6 15 population, including, but not limited to, students with
6 16 behavioral disorders or who are disruptive in class.
6 17 c. A plan for use of competency-based outcome methods and
6 18 measures of program effectiveness.
6 19 d. Proposals for screening and assessment mechanisms for
6 20 identifying students who are at risk, are disruptive, or
6 21 otherwise exhibit behavioral disorders.
6 22 e. Identification of the methods the district will use to
6 23 encourage at-risk students and their parents or guardians to
6 24 utilize an alternative education setting.
6 25 f. Proposals for intensive staff development efforts to
6 26 empower teachers and encourage innovative behavior.
6 27 g. The estimated costs of the proposal.
6 28 3. In developing a proposal, a school district is
6 29 encouraged to consult with area education agencies and
6 30 community colleges and to cooperate with the juvenile courts,
6 31 the department of economic development, the department of
6 32 workforce development, the department of human services, and
6 33 the new Iowa schools development corporation.
6 34 4. An alternative education options program is a
6 35 comprehensive school transformation program under section
7 1 294A.14.
7 2 5. A school district desiring to receive grant moneys
7 3 under the program may submit a proposal to the department for
7 4 approval by December 1. The department shall review each
7 5 proposal and award grants for approved plans by February 15.
7 6 6. Notwithstanding section 8.33, unencumbered or
7 7 unobligated funds remaining on June 30 of the fiscal year for
7 8 which funds were appropriated for purposes of this section
7 9 shall not revert but shall be available for expenditure for
7 10 the following fiscal year for the purposes of this section.
7 11 Sec. 12. Section 282.18, Code Supplement 1997, is amended
7 12 by adding the following new subsection:
7 13 NEW SUBSECTION. 19. If a request under this section is
7 14 for transfer to an alternative education options school, as
7 15 described in chapter 260C, the student who is the subject of
7 16 the request shall not be included in the basic enrollment of
7 17 the student's district of residence, and the alternative
7 18 education options school shall report the enrollment of the
7 19 student directly to the department of education. The
7 20 community college operating the alternative education options
7 21 school and the board of directors of the school district in
7 22 the community in which the alternative education options
7 23 school is located shall develop a student transfer policy
7 24 designed to protect and promote the quality, integrity, and
7 25 viability of the education programs conducted at the
7 26 alternative education options school and the school district.
7 27 An alternative education options school may deny a request for
7 28 transfer under the policy. A denial of a request to transfer
7 29 under this paragraph is not subject to appeal under section
7 30 290.1.
7 31 EXPLANATION
7 32 This bill appropriates from the general fund of the state
7 33 $4 million to the department of education for competitive
7 34 alternative education options grants to school districts,
7 35 provides structure permitting community colleges to establish
8 1 and receive funding for areawide alternative education options
8 2 schools, establishes a behavioral disorders teacher shortage
8 3 loan payment program and fund to be administered by the
8 4 college student aid commission and appropriates $200,000 from
8 5 the general fund of the state to the college student aid
8 6 commission for the program.
8 7 The bill establishes an alternative education options grant
8 8 program to be administered by the department of education.
8 9 The department shall award moneys to school districts on a
8 10 competitive grant basis and for diversity geographically and
8 11 by population. The department shall develop grant criteria,
8 12 guidelines, and a process to be used in selecting grant
8 13 recipients, including a requirement that grant recipients
8 14 provide matching funds or match grant funds with in-kind
8 15 resources on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
8 16 Each school district that wishes to compete for a grant
8 17 must submit a proposal to the department that provides
8 18 evidence of the dimensions of the at-risk problems in the
8 19 district, sets forth the estimated costs of the proposal,
8 20 names the existing programs used by the district to address
8 21 the needs of the district's at-risk student population, and
8 22 includes a plan for use of competency-based outcome methods
8 23 and measures of program effectiveness, proposals for screening
8 24 and assessment mechanisms for identifying students who are at
8 25 risk, identifies the methods the district will use to
8 26 encourage at-risk students and their parents or guardians to
8 27 utilize an alternative education setting, and includes
8 28 proposals for intensive staff development efforts to empower
8 29 teachers and encourage innovative behavior.
8 30 School districts are encouraged to consult with area
8 31 education agencies and community colleges and to cooperate
8 32 with the juvenile courts, the department of economic
8 33 development, the department of workforce development, the
8 34 department of human services, and the new Iowa schools
8 35 development corporation when developing their proposals.
9 1 The alternative education options programs operated by
9 2 school districts are eligible for phase III moneys.
9 3 The bill also authorizes the board of directors of a
9 4 community college to establish and operate an areawide
9 5 alternative education options school for the purpose of
9 6 instructing students who are at risk, have behavioral
9 7 disorders, or who are disruptive in their regular classrooms,
9 8 in a setting as conducive as possible to the education of
9 9 these students. The community college may use, add to, or
9 10 alter any existing buildings and facilities for such a school
9 11 or may construct new structures or facilities on the campus.
9 12 The bill permits the board of directors of a community
9 13 college and the board of directors of a school district to
9 14 enter into a contract for an alternative education options
9 15 school to furnish instruction to the students of the district
9 16 for tuition and other compensation to be paid by the school
9 17 district. A student may open enroll to an alternative
9 18 education options school if the school approves the transfer.
9 19 If the board of directors of a community college has
9 20 established an alternative education options school, the
9 21 community college shall receive state school aid for each
9 22 student enrolled in the alternative education options school
9 23 in the same amount as the public school district in which the
9 24 student resides would receive for that student.
9 25 The obligations of any school district on any contract
9 26 between it and a community college entered into pursuant to
9 27 this chapter shall be payable only out of current receipts
9 28 from taxes, tuition, or other income available each year, and
9 29 shall not constitute a debt for the purposes of any statutory
9 30 or constitutional provision limiting the obligations the
9 31 school district may incur.
9 32 The bill creates a behavioral disorders teacher shortage
9 33 loan program to assist individuals possessing an undergraduate
9 34 degree or higher to obtain a teaching endorsement in
9 35 behavioral disorders, or if the individual is licensed to
10 1 teach under Code chapter 272, to obtain or upgrade the license
10 2 with a behavioral disorders endorsement. The endorsement
10 3 shall be an authorization to teach children with behavioral
10 4 disorders who are enrolled in kindergarten through grade six
10 5 or grades seven through twelve. Teachers wishing to update or
10 6 increase their knowledge, but who are already teaching in
10 7 those areas, are ineligible to receive a loan.
10 8 The annual amount of a loan to a qualified student shall be
10 9 the amount of the student's financial need for that period,
10 10 but shall not exceed the resident tuition rate established for
10 11 institutions of higher learning under the control of the state
10 12 board of regents. A loan can only be used to pay for
10 13 coursework meeting the requirements for achievement of a
10 14 behavioral disorders endorsement.
10 15 Loans for part-time students shall be granted for not more
10 16 than five years.
10 17 The commission is directed to cancel 50 percent of the loan
10 18 in each of the first two years in which a recipient submits
10 19 evidence that the recipient was employed as a teacher of
10 20 children with behavioral disorders in kindergarten through
10 21 grade six or grades seven through 12 in a public or nonpublic
10 22 school or at the Iowa braille and sight saving school or the
10 23 Iowa school for the deaf during that year.
10 24 A behavioral disorders teacher shortage loan payment fund
10 25 for deposit of payments made by recipients is also established
10 26 by the bill. Payments made by recipients of the loans shall
10 27 be used to supplement moneys appropriated to the guaranteed
10 28 loan payment program.
10 29 LSB 3464XS 77
10 30 kh/cf/24.1
Text: SF02275 Text: SF02277 Text: SF02200 - SF02299 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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