1. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the department of education for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, and each succeeding fiscal year, the sum of fifteen million three hundred sixty thousand dollars.
The moneys shall be allocated as follows:
a. Two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars of the funds appropriated shall be allocated to the area education agencies to assist school districts in developing program plans and budgets under this section and to assist school districts in meeting other responsibilities in early childhood education.
b. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, and for each succeeding fiscal year, eight million five hundred ten thousand dollars of the funds appropriated shall be allocated to the child development coordinating council established in chapter 256A for the purposes set out in subsection 2 of this section and section 256A.3.
c. For each of the fiscal years during the fiscal period beginning July 1, 1996, and ending June 30, 2000, two million eight hundred thousand dollars of the funds appropriated shall be allocated for the school-based youth services education program established in subsection 3. For each of the fiscal years during the fiscal period beginning July 1, 1994, and ending June 30, 2000, twenty thousand dollars of the funds allocated in this paragraph shall be expended for staff development, research, and the development of strategies for coordination with community-based youth organizations and agencies. A school that received a grant during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1993, or July 1, 1997, is ineligible to receive a grant under this paragraph. Subject to the approval of the state board of education, the allocation made in this paragraph may be renewed for additional four-year periods of time.
d. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1996, and for each fiscal year thereafter, three million five hundred thousand dollars of the funds appropriated shall be allocated as grants to school districts that have elementary schools that demonstrate the greatest need for programs for at-risk students with preference given to innovative programs for the early elementary school years. The grant allocations made in this paragraph may be renewed for additional periods of time. Of the amount allocated under this paragraph for each fiscal year, seventy-five thousand dollars shall be allocated to school districts which have an actual student population of ten thousand or less and have an actual non-English speaking student population which represents greater than five percent of the total actual student population for grants to elementary schools in those districts.
e. Notwithstanding paragraph "c", for each of the fiscal years during the fiscal period beginning July 1, 1998, and ending June 30, 2000, fifty thousand dollars of the funds allocated in paragraph "c" shall be granted to each of the schools that received grants under subsection 3 during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1993, or July 1, 1997, to allow for expansion and to include identified minimum services if the school submits a program plan pursuant to subsection 3.
f. Notwithstanding section 256A.3, subsection 6, of the amount appropriated in this subsection for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1996, and for each succeeding fiscal year, two and one-fourth percent may be used for administrative costs. Any reduction of an allocation under this subsection as necessary to fund the provisions of this paragraph shall be made from the allocation in paragraph "b".
2. Funds allocated under subsection 1, paragraph "b", shall be used by the child development coordinating council for the following:
a. To continue funding for programs previously funded by grants awarded under section 256A.3 and to provide additional grants under section 256A.3. The council shall seek to provide grants on the basis of the location within the state of children meeting at-risk definitions.
b. At the discretion of the child development coordinating council, award grants for the following:
(1) To school districts to establish programs for three- year-, four-year-, and five-year-old at-risk children which are a combination of preschool and full-day kindergarten.
(2) To provide grants to provide educational support services to parents of at-risk children age birth through three years.
3. A school-based youth services education program is established. The department of education, in consultation with the department of human services, the department of workforce development, the Iowa department of public health, the division of criminal and juvenile justice planning of the department of human rights, institutions of higher learning with applicable programs, and the division of job training and entrepreneurship assistance of the department of economic development, shall develop a four-year demonstration grant program that commences in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1994. The department shall provide grants to individual or consortiums of elementary, middle, or high schools to establish school-based youth services programs, in conjunction with local agencies and community organizations, based upon program plans filed by the board of directors of the school district. The department shall provide grants to establish model programs in at least the following three size categories:
a. A school district with an enrollment of less than one thousand two hundred.
b. A school district with an enrollment of one thousand two hundred to four thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.
c. A school district with an enrollment of at least five thousand.
Priority shall be weighted toward need and given to schools whose plans indicate a high degree of active participation by community-based youth organizations and agencies, and to schools with student populations characterized by high rates of a number of the following: school dropout and absenteeism; teenage pregnancy; juvenile court involvement; family conflict; unemployment; teenage suicide; and child and youth mental health, substance abuse, and other health problems. The department shall coordinate an evaluation initiative with the approved projects designed to investigate program effectiveness in reducing these rates within communities. In developing the evaluation initiative, the department shall consult with the department of human services, the department of workforce development, the Iowa department of public health, the division of criminal and juvenile justice planning of the department of human rights, institutions of higher learning with applicable programs, and the division of job training and entrepreneurship assistance of the department of economic development.
Programs shall provide at a minimum recreation opportunities, personal skills development, basic academic skills development, family interaction opportunities, and mentoring. Additional objectives of the programs shall be: to increase the ability of existing agencies within the community to address the multiple problems of children and youth and to coordinate their activities and to facilitate joint planning to make the most economic and innovative use of community resources. Priority shall be given to programs that provide access to a center for children and youth after school, in the evening, and on weekends, and during the summer and that provide a twenty-four-hour telephone hotline or similar service, and that provide access to day care or on-site child day care. Programs shall at a minimum provide career development services, mental health and family counseling services, and primary health care services that include but are not limited to physical examinations, immunizations, hearing and vision screening, and preventive and primary health care services, in the context of the educational needs of the students. Programs shall not include abortion counseling or the dispensing of contraceptives.
The plan shall include the appointment by the board of a local advisory board for each proposed program, which at a minimum shall include a representative of the private industry council serving the area, parents of children enrolled in the school, a teacher recommended by the local teachers association, a representative from the health and mental health community in the area, teenagers enrolled in the school and recommended by the school student government, a representative from the nonprofit provider community, and a representative from the juvenile court system serving the area. Management of the program shall be by the school or by a nonprofit youth service organization. As used in this subsection, "youth service" means recreational services, employment services, civic services, or juvenile treatment services.
Program proposals shall include a program evaluation component and a written commitment from the school principal and the board of directors that the school will work to coordinate and integrate existing school services and activities with the center and shall include letters of support for the proposal from the local teachers association; parent-teacher organizations; community organizations; nonprofit agencies providing social services, health, or career development services in the area; the juvenile court system serving the area; and the area private industry council.
Grants for the program shall not be used to construct a new facility or to renovate an existing structure.
Program proposals shall include a contribution of at least twenty percent of the total costs of the program, which can include "in-kind" services. Partnerships between the public and private sectors to provide employment and training opportunities for youth served by the program are particularly encouraged. The budget for a proposed program shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars per year.
4. The department shall seek assistance from foundations and public and private agencies in the evaluation of the programs funded under this section, and in the provision of support to school districts in developing and implementing the programs funded under this section.
5. The state board of education shall adopt rules under chapter 17A for the administration of this section.
89 Acts, ch 135, §76; 90 Acts, ch 1272, § 69, 70; 91 Acts, ch 267, §239, 240; 92 Acts, ch 1227, § 21; 94 Acts, ch 1199, §47-49; 95 Acts, ch 209, §14; 96 Acts, ch 1186, § 23; 96 Acts, ch 1219, § 7-10; 97 Acts, ch 209, §17, 18; 98 Acts, ch 1133, § 1; 98 Acts, ch 1215, § 44; 98 Acts, ch 1223, § 24, 25
Referred to in § 256.42, 256A.3
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