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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. There is appropriated
1 2 from the rebuild Iowa infrastructure fund to the department of
1 3 education for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2000, and
1 4 ending June 30, 2001, the following amount, or so much thereof
1 5 as is necessary, to be used for the purpose designated:
1 6 For fire and health safety grants for eligible school
1 7 districts:
1 8 .................................................. $ 3,400,000
1 9 From the funds appropriated in this section, the sum of
1 10 $100,000 may be allocated for use by the state fire marshal
1 11 for a collection and reporting system of fire code violations.
1 12 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 422E.6 FIRE AND HEALTH SAFETY
1 13 GRANTS.
1 14 1. If the general assembly appropriates moneys for
1 15 purposes of fire and health safety grants for eligible school
1 16 districts, the department of education shall establish a fire
1 17 and health safety task force and shall award fire and health
1 18 safety grants based upon the recommendations of the task
1 19 force.
1 20 2. Voting members of the fire and health safety task force
1 21 shall include the members of the school budget review
1 22 committee and the state fire marshal. Nonvoting members shall
1 23 be appointed by the director of the department of education,
1 24 in consultation with the state fire marshal, and shall include
1 25 representatives from the education community and individuals
1 26 knowledgeable about school infrastructure and construction
1 27 issues. Nonvoting members may be eligible to receive per diem
1 28 and expenses as provided in section 7E.6. The task force
1 29 shall develop an equitable ranking system based upon the
1 30 following criteria:
1 31 a. The severity of the deficiencies.
1 32 b. The ability of the district to finance fire and health
1 33 safety repairs.
1 34 c. The percentage of at-risk students enrolled in the
1 35 district.
2 1 d. The history of the district's effort to address fire
2 2 and health safety repair issues.
2 3 The task force shall give primary consideration to the
2 4 severity of the deficiencies. The task force shall review
2 5 applications submitted to the department of education and, if
2 6 necessary, conduct site visits to determine final eligibility
2 7 and identify inconsistencies in state and local fire and
2 8 building inspection standards.
2 9 3. A school district is eligible for a grant under this
2 10 section if the district agrees to provide matching funds in
2 11 the amount of twenty-five cents for every dollar of state fire
2 12 and health safety grant moneys received and if either of the
2 13 following occurs:
2 14 a. The school district receives an order or citation from
2 15 the state fire marshal or local fire department officials for
2 16 one or more fire safety or state building code violations in a
2 17 school facility used for instructional purposes.
2 18 b. A school facility used for instructional purposes is
2 19 operating with significant fire or health safety deficiencies
2 20 in the opinion of the state fire marshal or local fire or
2 21 building department officials.
2 22 4. Each school district that wishes to receive a fire and
2 23 health safety grant shall submit an application to the
2 24 department of education, on forms prescribed by the
2 25 department, and shall include with the application a written
2 26 plan to remedy fire or health safety defects within the time
2 27 specified in the plan, a plan budget, and a five-year history
2 28 of infrastructure repairs made within the district.
2 29 5. The department of education shall ensure that grant
2 30 projects are consistent with the Americans with Disabilities
2 31 Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. } 12101 et seq., and section 504 of the
2 32 federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The department of
2 33 education shall award grants of not more than two hundred
2 34 fifty thousand dollars annually to districts in the following
2 35 three size categories:
3 1 a. Small school districts with enrollments of less than
3 2 two thousand students.
3 3 b. Medium school districts with enrollments of not less
3 4 than two thousand or more than four thousand nine hundred
3 5 ninety-nine students.
3 6 c. Large school districts with enrollments of five
3 7 thousand students or more.
3 8 To the extent possible, after consideration of the severity
3 9 of the deficiencies of all applicant school districts, funding
3 10 shall be awarded equitably among the three size categories.
3 11 6. The department of education shall prepare and submit a
3 12 report of the activities and expenditures funded under this
3 13 section to the chairpersons and ranking members of the
3 14 standing education committees and the joint subcommittees on
3 15 education appropriations, and the legislative fiscal bureau,
3 16 by December 1, 2001. The state fire marshal shall submit to
3 17 the department of education for inclusion in the report an
3 18 estimate of the percentage of schools left with serious fire
3 19 or state building code violations.
3 20 EXPLANATION
3 21 This bill appropriates $3.4 million from the rebuild Iowa
3 22 infrastructure fund to the department of education for fiscal
3 23 year 2000-2001, for fire and health safety grants for eligible
3 24 school districts. The bill directs the department to award
3 25 fire and health safety grants based upon the recommendations
3 26 of the fire and health safety task force. The task force is
3 27 composed of voting and nonvoting members.
3 28 Nonvoting members are to be appointed by the director of
3 29 the department of education, in consultation with the state
3 30 fire marshal and shall include representatives from the
3 31 education community and individuals knowledgeable about school
3 32 infrastructure and construction issues. Voting members
3 33 include the members of the school budget review committee and
3 34 the state fire marshal.
3 35 The task force is charged with developing grant criteria
4 1 and an equitable ranking system, with reviewing the
4 2 applications submitted to the department and, if necessary,
4 3 with conducting site visits to determine final eligibility and
4 4 identify inconsistencies in state and local fire and building
4 5 inspection standards. The bill lists the criteria upon which
4 6 the task force is to base its recommendations.
4 7 School districts are eligible for a grant if they agree to
4 8 provide matching funds in the amount of $.25 on each dollar of
4 9 grant moneys and if either the school district receives an
4 10 order or citation from the state fire marshal or local fire
4 11 department officials for one or more fire safety or state
4 12 building code violations in a school facility used for
4 13 instructional purposes; or a school facility used for
4 14 instructional purposes is operating with significant fire or
4 15 health safety deficiencies in the opinion of the state fire
4 16 marshal or local fire or building department officials.
4 17 Each school district that wishes to receive a fire and
4 18 health safety grant must submit an application to the
4 19 department that includes a written plan to remedy fire or
4 20 health safety defects within a time specified in the plan, a
4 21 plan budget, and a five-year history of infrastructure repairs
4 22 made within the district.
4 23 The department must ensure that grant projects are
4 24 consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
4 25 42 U.S.C. } 12101 et seq., and section 504 of the federal
4 26 Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
4 27 Grants are awarded to small, medium, and large districts
4 28 with the awards capped at $250,000.
4 29 The department is required to submit a report of the
4 30 activities and expenditures funded to the general assembly's
4 31 education committees and the legislative fiscal bureau by
4 32 December 1, 2001. The state fire marshal must submit to the
4 33 department of education for inclusion in the report an
4 34 estimate of the percentage of schools left with serious fire
4 35 or state building code violations.
5 1 LSB 5434XS 78
5 2 kh/as/5
Text: SF02382 Text: SF02384 Text: SF02300 - SF02399 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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