Text: HF02333 Text: HF02335 Text: HF02300 - HF02399 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 256.25 ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL TIME
1 2 SCHEDULE – PILOT PROJECT.
1 3 The department of education shall establish an alternative
1 4 school time schedule pilot project to evaluate the
1 5 effectiveness of offering an alternative time schedule for
1 6 students in grades nine through twelve. The pilot project
1 7 shall be conducted as follows:
1 8 1. School districts may submit an application to the
1 9 department for additional funding to offer an alternative time
1 10 schedule as an option in addition to the standard or regular
1 11 time schedule in a designated school within the school
1 12 district. For the purposes of this section, an alternative
1 13 time schedule shall refer to a school day which commences no
1 14 earlier than nine o'clock in the morning and ends no later
1 15 than five o'clock in the afternoon. A designated school shall
1 16 refer to a school located within the district with pupils in
1 17 grades nine through twelve enrolled, which in the opinion of
1 18 the school district can support the offering of both a
1 19 standard or regular school time schedule and an alternative
1 20 time schedule.
1 21 2. Pupils enrolled in grades nine through twelve at a
1 22 school selected for participation in the pilot project shall
1 23 have the option of attending school pursuant to the
1 24 alternative time schedule based upon criteria to be determined
1 25 by the administrative staff of the school, in consultation
1 26 with the school district board of directors and the
1 27 department. Permission to attend school pursuant to the
1 28 alternative time schedule may be contingent upon the
1 29 maintenance of a satisfactory grade point average, attendance
1 30 record, or disciplinary record.
1 31 3. Applications for the pilot project shall be submitted
1 32 to the department by August 1, 2000. The application shall
1 33 contain a plan regarding which school within the district
1 34 shall be designated for participation in the project, and how
1 35 the standard or regular school day schedule shall be adjusted
2 1 to facilitate the alternative time schedule in a manner which
2 2 ensures that required and elective courses remain available to
2 3 all pupils enrolled at the school. The application shall also
2 4 include an estimate of the amount of additional funding
2 5 necessary to compensate the school district for the increased
2 6 expenses of maintaining the designated school and providing
2 7 additional instruction to accommodate the alternative time
2 8 schedule. The department shall select two school districts
2 9 within which a designated school shall participate in the
2 10 project. One of the school districts selected shall have an
2 11 actual enrollment of five thousand or more pupils and the
2 12 other school district shall have an actual enrollment of under
2 13 two thousand pupils.
2 14 4. A school district which is selected for the pilot
2 15 project shall agree to commence the alternative time schedule
2 16 on the first day of the school year beginning in September
2 17 2000, unless another commencement date is specified in the
2 18 application and approved by the department. The department
2 19 shall submit a report to the general assembly by January 1,
2 20 2002, regarding the results of the pilot project, detailing
2 21 observed advantages and disadvantages to pupils, parents, the
2 22 designated school, and the school district resulting from the
2 23 offering of an alternative time schedule.
2 24 5. There shall be appropriated from the general fund of
2 25 the state to the department of education for the school budget
2 26 year beginning July 1, 2000, and ending June 30, 2001, an
2 27 amount sufficient to provide for the additional costs incurred
2 28 by school districts participating in the pilot project
2 29 attributable to the alternative time schedule. The amount
2 30 appropriated shall be based on the estimates submitted by the
2 31 school districts, as reviewed and adjusted by the department,
2 32 if the department determines an adjustment to be necessary,
2 33 and shall be paid to the school districts as supplemental aid
2 34 payments in the same manner as state aid payments are paid
2 35 pursuant to section 257.16. The additional funding received
3 1 shall be miscellaneous income to the district.
3 2 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of
3 3 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
3 4 EXPLANATION
3 5 This bill provides for an alternative school time schedule
3 6 pilot project to be established by the department of
3 7 education. The purpose of the project shall be to evaluate
3 8 the effectiveness of offering an alternative time schedule for
3 9 students in grades nine through 12. The bill provides that
3 10 school districts participating in the pilot project shall
3 11 select a designated school within the district to offer an
3 12 alternative time schedule as an option in addition to the
3 13 standard or regular time schedule. The bill provides that an
3 14 alternative time schedule refers to a school day which
3 15 commences no earlier than nine o'clock in the morning and ends
3 16 no later than five o'clock in the afternoon.
3 17 The bill provides that pupils attending the designated
3 18 school shall have the option of attending school pursuant to
3 19 the alternative time schedule based upon criteria to be
3 20 determined by the administrative staff of the school, in
3 21 consultation with the school district board of directors and
3 22 the department. The bill provides that applications for the
3 23 pilot project shall be submitted to the department by August
3 24 1, 2000. The bill provides that the application shall contain
3 25 a plan regarding which school within the district shall be
3 26 designated for participation in the project, facilitating the
3 27 alternative time schedule in a manner which ensures that
3 28 required and elective courses remain available to all pupils
3 29 enrolled at the school, and estimating the amount of
3 30 additional funding necessary to compensate the school district
3 31 for the increased expenses of maintaining the designated
3 32 school and providing additional instruction to accommodate the
3 33 alternative time schedule.
3 34 The bill provides that the department shall select two
3 35 school districts within which a designated school shall
4 1 participate in the project, one with an actual enrollment of
4 2 5,000 or more pupils, and the other with an actual enrollment
4 3 of under 2,000 pupils. A school district which is selected
4 4 for the pilot project shall agree to commence the alternative
4 5 time schedule on the first day of the school year beginning in
4 6 September 2000, unless another commencement date is specified
4 7 in the application and approved by the committee.
4 8 The bill provides that the department shall submit a report
4 9 to the general assembly by January 1, 2002, regarding the
4 10 results of the pilot project, detailing observed advantages
4 11 and disadvantages to pupils, parents, the designated school,
4 12 and the school district resulting from the offering of an
4 13 alternative time schedule.
4 14 The bill provides for an appropriation from the general
4 15 fund of the state to the department of education for the
4 16 school budget year beginning July 1, 2000, and ending June 30,
4 17 2001, of an amount sufficient to provide for the additional
4 18 costs incurred by school districts participating in the pilot
4 19 project attributable to the alternative time schedule.
4 20 The bill takes effect upon enactment.
4 21 LSB 5859HH 78
4 22 rn/cf/24
Text: HF02333 Text: HF02335 Text: HF02300 - HF02399 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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