1. As a condition of eligibility for an applicant for or a recipient of assistance under this chapter, the department shall require a child's parent or other specified relative whose needs are included in the cash assistance grant payable to the child's family to cooperate with efforts to ensure children receiving assistance under this chapter complete educational requirements through the sixth grade. As a further condition of eligibility, an applicant or recipient shall provide written authorization for release of information to a school concerning the receipt of assistance and for release of information by a school concerning the child's compliance with attendance requirements.
2. If the department of human services receives written notification from a school truancy officer under section 299.12 that a child receiving assistance under this chapter is deemed to be truant, the child's family shall be subject to sanction as provided in this section. The sanction shall continue to apply until the department of human services receives written notification from the school truancy officer of any of the following:
a. The child is complying with the attendance policy applicable to the child's school.
b. The child has satisfactorily completed educational requirements through the sixth grade.
c. The child's school has determined there is good cause for the child's nonattendance and the school withdraws the written notification.
d. The child is no longer enrolled in the school for which the written notification was provided and the child's family demonstrates that the child is enrolled in and is attending another school or is otherwise receiving equivalent schooling as authorized under state law.
3. The sanction under this section shall be a deduction of twenty-five percent from the net cash assistance grant amount payable to the child's family prior to any deduction for recoupment of prior overpayment. If more than one child in the family is deemed to be truant, the sanction shall continue to apply until the department receives written notification from the school truancy officer, as provided in subsection 2 concerning each child.
4. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this chapter, unless prohibited by federal law, the department may release or make information available to a school truancy officer, as defined in section 299.12, regarding persons applying for or receiving assistance under this chapter as necessary to verify the family investment program assistance status of a child of a family who may be subject to sanction under this section. The department shall implement protocols restricting information access under this section by region or other means to provide for the minimum access to information necessary to implement the purposes of this section. The department may adopt rules as necessary to administer this section.
97 Acts, ch 41, § 32, 34; 97 Acts, ch 174, §1, 7
Referred to in § 299.6, 299.6A, 299.13
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