Text: SF02158 Text: SF02160 Text: SF02100 - SF02199 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 279.59 STUDENT PROMOTION OR
1 2 RETENTION.
1 3 1. A student enrolled in grade three who does not perform
1 4 satisfactorily on the school district's reading or mathematics
1 5 curriculum, who is not an active participant in school
1 6 district intervention efforts, and, if the school district
1 7 administers a standardized basic educational skills test, who
1 8 is more than one year below grade level in reading or
1 9 mathematics on the test, shall not be promoted to grade four.
1 10 However, retention of a student is not recommended or
1 11 encouraged unless intervention efforts have been unsuccessful.
1 12 The board of directors of each school district shall adopt a
1 13 student promotion policy, in accordance with this section,
1 14 that provides that the district will enter into a contract
1 15 with the parents and guardians of the students enrolled in the
1 16 district. By the first day of school, the school district
1 17 shall notify the parents and guardians of students in grade
1 18 three of the district's student promotion policy.
1 19 2. If appropriate, the school district shall make every
1 20 reasonable effort to provide interventions designed to improve
1 21 the reading or mathematics skills of a student who is failing
1 22 the school district's reading or mathematics curriculum or, if
1 23 the school district administers a standardized basic
1 24 educational skills test, who is more than one year below grade
1 25 level in reading or mathematics on the test, and shall provide
1 26 the student's parent or guardian with strategies to enable the
1 27 parent or guardian to improve the student's skills.
1 28 Notwithstanding section 256D.1, subsection 1, paragraph "b",
1 29 subparagraph (1), if intervention is appropriate, the school
1 30 district shall provide written notice to the parent or
1 31 guardian of the actions the school district intends to take to
1 32 improve the student's reading or mathematics skills.
1 33 3. At the end of the fifth, fifteenth, twentieth, twenty-
1 34 fifth, and thirtieth weeks of the school year, a parent or
1 35 guardian of a student in grade three shall be notified in
2 1 writing if the student is receiving a failing grade in reading
2 2 or mathematics. If the school administers a standardized
2 3 basic educational skills test, the parent or guardian shall be
2 4 notified in writing within five days of the receipt of the
2 5 results, if the results indicate a student is more than one
2 6 year below grade level in reading or mathematics. Notices
2 7 sent to the parent or guardian of a student who is failing the
2 8 reading or mathematics curriculum at the end of the twentieth,
2 9 twenty-fifth, and thirtieth weeks of the school year shall
2 10 include a copy of the school district's student promotion
2 11 policy and shall be sent by certified mail. Notices shall be
2 12 written in clear, understandable language. If the student is
2 13 identified as limited English proficient, the notice shall be
2 14 provided in English and in the student's home language. In
2 15 lieu of notice by mail, the school district may provide a
2 16 written notice required pursuant to this section to a parent
2 17 or guardian at a parent-teacher conference occurring in the
2 18 same week in which a notice would have been required to be
2 19 sent by mail pursuant to this section.
2 20 4. A student who is identified as limited English
2 21 proficient shall complete the reading and mathematics
2 22 curriculum in the student's home language or in English as
2 23 determined by the student's English as a second language
2 24 teacher, with consideration given to specific assessments
2 25 given in the student's home language.
2 26 5. A student identified as a child requiring special
2 27 education shall be expected to master the general curriculum
2 28 to the maximum extent appropriate with the use of
2 29 supplementary aides and services. However, the individualized
2 30 education program team assigned to the child requiring special
2 31 education shall determine whether the student is expected to
2 32 meet the school district's student promotion policy, which
2 33 must be documented in the student's individualized education
2 34 program.
2 35 6. If the parent or guardian of a student who does not
3 1 perform satisfactorily on the school district's reading or
3 2 mathematics curriculum, and, if the school district
3 3 administers a standardized basic educational skills test, who
3 4 is more than one year below grade level in reading or
3 5 mathematics on the test, notifies the district of residence of
3 6 an intention to enroll the student in a public school in
3 7 another school district under section 282.18, the school
3 8 district in which the student is enrolled shall submit copies
3 9 to the receiving district of any notices provided to the
3 10 parent or guardian under subsections 2 and 3. The receiving
3 11 district shall work with the sending district to ensure
3 12 continuity in intervention efforts for the student. However,
3 13 notwithstanding subsection 1, using standards adopted by the
3 14 receiving district's school board and based upon whether the
3 15 student is likely to perform at grade level if the receiving
3 16 district provides the student with interventions designed to
3 17 improve the student's reading or mathematics skills, the
3 18 receiving district shall determine whether the student will be
3 19 promoted to the grade four level or retained at the grade
3 20 three level.
3 21 7. A school district shall notify a parent or guardian in
3 22 writing of the ability of the parent or guardian to appeal a
3 23 school's decision to deny promotion of a student to the school
3 24 board. The school board shall decide in favor of a student's
3 25 promotion only if the school board concludes, using standards
3 26 adopted by the school board, that if promoted and provided
3 27 with interventions designed to improve the student's reading
3 28 or mathematics skills, the student is likely to perform at
3 29 grade level. A decision of the school board to deny promotion
3 30 is subject to appeal under section 290.1.
3 31 8. The director of the department of education shall
3 32 conduct a review of school district student promotion
3 33 policies, the number of grade three level students retained or
3 34 promoted, and the success of the interventions implemented by
3 35 school districts to improve the students' reading or
4 1 mathematics skills. The director shall submit a report of the
4 2 findings and recommendations resulting from the review to the
4 3 senate and house standing committees on education and the
4 4 joint appropriations subcommittee on education by December 1,
4 5 2002, and biennially thereafter.
4 6 9. Notwithstanding section 256D.2, a school district may
4 7 expend funds received pursuant to section 256D.4 to meet the
4 8 requirements of this section.
4 9 Sec. 2. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance
4 10 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring
4 11 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall
4 12 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid
4 13 received by the school district under section 257.16 and from
4 14 early intervention block grant program moneys appropriated in
4 15 section 256D.4. This specification of the payment of the
4 16 state cost shall be deemed to meet all the state funding-
4 17 related requirements of section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no
4 18 additional state funding shall be necessary for the full
4 19 implementation of this Act by and enforcement of this Act
4 20 against all affected school districts.
4 21 EXPLANATION
4 22 This bill requires that a school district retain a student
4 23 in grade three, who would otherwise be promoted to grade four,
4 24 if the student does not perform satisfactorily on the school
4 25 district's reading or mathematics curriculum, who is not an
4 26 active participant in school district intervention efforts,
4 27 and, if the school district administers a standardized basic
4 28 educational skills test, who is more than one year below grade
4 29 level in reading or mathematics on the test. The bill permits
4 30 school districts to use early intervention block grant program
4 31 moneys at grade levels three and four to meet the requirements
4 32 of the bill.
4 33 The bill also requires the board of directors of each
4 34 school district to adopt a student promotion policy providing
4 35 for contracts between the district and parents and guardians
5 1 and to notify the parents and guardians of students in grade
5 2 three of the district's student promotion policy.
5 3 The school district shall make every reasonable effort to
5 4 provide interventions designed to improve the reading or
5 5 mathematics skills of the student and shall provide the
5 6 student's parent or guardian with strategies to enable the
5 7 parent or guardian to improve the student's skills. If
5 8 intervention is appropriate, the school district shall
5 9 periodically provide written notice to the parent or guardian
5 10 of the actions the school district intends to take to improve
5 11 the student's reading or mathematics skills.
5 12 Under the bill, a student identified as limited English
5 13 proficient must complete the reading and mathematics
5 14 curriculum in the student's home language or in English as
5 15 determined by the student's English as a second language
5 16 teacher, with consideration given to specific assessments
5 17 given in the student's home language.
5 18 The individualized education program team assigned to a
5 19 child requiring special education shall determine whether that
5 20 student is expected to meet the school district's student
5 21 promotion policy.
5 22 If a parent or guardian notifies a school district that
5 23 they intend to open enroll their child in another district,
5 24 and the child is not performing satisfactorily in reading or
5 25 mathematics, the sending district must submit to the receiving
5 26 district a copy of any notices provided to the parent or
5 27 guardian. The receiving district shall work with the sending
5 28 district to ensure continuity in intervention efforts for the
5 29 student. However, the receiving district shall determine
5 30 whether the student will be promoted to the grade four level
5 31 or retained at the grade three level.
5 32 The school district must notify a parent or guardian in
5 33 writing of the ability of the parent or guardian to appeal a
5 34 school's decision to deny promotion of a student to the school
5 35 board. The school board can decide in favor of a student's
6 1 promotion only if the school board concludes, using standards
6 2 adopted by the school board, that if promoted and provided
6 3 with interventions, the student is likely to perform at grade
6 4 level. A decision of the school board to deny promotion may
6 5 be appealed to the state board of education.
6 6 The bill requires the director of the department of
6 7 education to conduct a review of school district student
6 8 promotion policies, the number of grade three level students
6 9 retained or promoted, and the success of the interventions
6 10 implemented by school districts to improve the students'
6 11 reading or mathematics skills. The director must submit a
6 12 report of the findings and recommendations resulting from the
6 13 review to the senate and house standing committees on
6 14 education and the joint appropriations subcommittee on
6 15 education by December 1, 2002, and biennially thereafter.
6 16 This bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
6 17 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any
6 18 state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school
6 19 district from state school foundation aid received by the
6 20 school district under Code section 257.16 and from early
6 21 intervention block grant program moneys appropriated in Code
6 22 section 256D.4. The specification is deemed to constitute
6 23 state compliance with any state mandate funding-related
6 24 requirements of Code section 25B.2. The inclusion of this
6 25 specification is intended to reinstate the requirement of
6 26 political subdivisions to comply with any state mandates
6 27 included in the bill.
6 28 LSB 5097XS 78
6 29 kh/cf/24.2
Text: SF02158 Text: SF02160 Text: SF02100 - SF02199 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
© 2000 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
Comments about this site or page?
webmaster@legis.iowa.gov.
Please remember that the person listed above does not vote on bills. Direct all comments concerning legislation to State Legislators.
Last update: Wed Feb 23 03:35:00 CST 2000
URL: /DOCS/GA/78GA/Legislation/SF/02100/SF02159/000214.html
jhf