1997 SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION

EDUCATION

EDUCATION LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 104 - Coaching Authorization (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act adds a minimum requirement of 18 years of age to the requirements an applicant must satisfy before the State Board of Educational Examiners may award a coaching authorization.
The Act takes effect April 18, 1997.

SENATE FILE 189 - School Finance — Regular Program District Cost Guarantee (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act continues through the 1998 and 1999 fiscal years a provision directing the Department of Management to provide a budget adjustment to ensure that a school district's regular program district cost is not less than 100 percent of the level of the previous budget year. This permits the district to levy additional property tax to maintain funding at 100 percent of the level of the previous budget year.
The Act takes effect April 9, 1997.

SENATE FILE 410 - Higher Education Loan Authority (full text of act)

BY TINSMAN. This Act eliminates the maximum amount of bonds the Iowa Higher Educational Loan Authority may have outstanding to finance improvements at private colleges. The Act would also permit the authority to issue its obligations and make loans to institutions in anticipation of the receipt of tuition by the institutions and would permit the authority to issue its obligations to finance projects that would be leased to institutions.

HOUSE FILE 92 - School Improvement Technology Program (full text of act)

BY BRUNKHORST, KREMER AND FALCK. This Act adds the mental health institutes (MHIs) located in Cherokee and Independence to the list of entities eligible for School Improvement Technology Program moneys. These are the only MHIs in the state that house children who can benefit from attending school. Under the Act, School Improvement Technology Program moneys totaling $45,000 are to be distributed by the Department of Education on a proportionate basis to the two MHIs, Glenwood State Hospital-School and Woodward State Hospital-School.
The Act also provides that each entity receiving funds under the program need provide only one technology plan to the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, or the State Board of Regents, as directed. Each school district must keep a plan on file and send a copy, and any subsequent amendments, to its area education agency. Prior to receiving school technology improvement moneys, each school district and area education agency, the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, the State School for the Deaf, and the Price Laboratory School at the University of Northern Iowa must adopt a technology plan. The institutions under the control of the Department of Human Services that are eligible for school improvement technology moneys, the Glenwood State Hospital-School, Woodward State Hospital-School, the MHI at Cherokee, the MHI at Independence, the State Training School, and the Iowa Juvenile Home, must submit annual progress reports to the Department of Education and the Department of Human Services.

HOUSE FILE 320 - Registration and Accreditation Requirements for Postsecondary Schools (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act exempts postsecondary educational institutions offering programs limited to nondegree specialty vocational training programs from the chapter of the Code that requires postsecondary schools to register with the Secretary of State's Office. Because the Act exempts these programs from the entire chapter, the Act also strikes from the Code a provision that exempts these programs from an accreditation requirement in the chapter.

HOUSE FILE 331 - Student Searches (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act makes changes in the standards and procedures for searches by school officials of student protected areas and lockers, desks, and other facilities or spaces owned and furnished by a school and provided as a courtesy to students.
The Act removes student lockers, desks, and other facilities owned and furnished by a school as a courtesy to students from the definition of the term "student protected area." The Act changes the standard for searches of student protected areas from "reasonable and articulable suspicion" to a reasonableness standard based on consideration of the circumstances which gave rise to the need for the search, including the nature of the violation, the age and gender of the students who may be searched, and the objectives to be accomplished by the search.
The Act also permits periodic inspections of lockers, desks, and other facilities or spaces owned by the school without prior notice. However, the Act and provides for written notice at the beginning of school to all students and the parents, guardians, or legal custodians of the students that the inspections may occur.
Inspections of lockers, desks, and other facilities or spaces owned by the school, but furnished to students, are to occur in the presence of the students or at least one other person. If a student is not present at the time a student protected area is searched, the student is to be informed of the search either prior to or as soon as is reasonably practicable after the search is conducted.
Schools wishing to conduct periodic inspections prior to the 1997-1998 school year may conduct a search, notwithstanding the timing of the notice requirements in the Act, if the district sends a notice to all students and their parents, guardians, or legal custodians prior to commencing the inspections.
The Act takes effect April 29, 1997.

HOUSE FILE 405 - Sale or Lease of School Property (full text of act)

BY BARRY. This Act rewrites the procedure for disposition of property owned by a school district. If the board of directors of a school district or area education agency wishes to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of property valued at more than $5,000, the Act requires the board to adopt a resolution and hold a public hearing on the resolution. The Act removes the requirement that a school district or area education agency obtain an independent appraisal of property the district or agency wishes to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of and the requirement that the property be sold through a public process.
The Act takes effect May 26, 1997.

HOUSE FILE 410 - College Student Aid — Osteopathic Students (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act replaces the Osteopathic Grant Program, the Osteopathic Subvention Program, and the Osteopathic Forgivable Loan Program with a program titled the Osteopathic Physician Recruitment Program.
The Osteopathic Physician Recruitment Program is administered by the College Student Aid Commission. However, the Act directs the commission to pay a fee to the University of Osteopathic Medicine for administration of the program and provides that a portion of the fee is based upon physician recruitment for the Physician Loan Repayment Program. The three components of the Osteopathic Physician Recruitment Program are as follows:

1. A forgivable loan. The Act provides that a student enrolled at the University of Osteopathic Medicine is eligible for loan forgiveness if the student is a resident of the State of Iowa and if the student agrees to practice in this state for a period of time to be determined by the commission at the time the loan is awarded. A loan shall not be forgiven if the student does not finish the medical program or fails to complete the agreed upon time period of practice in the state.
2. A tuition scholarship. A student who is enrolled at the University of Osteopathic Medicine and is a resident of Iowa is eligible for a tuition scholarship. However, a student who receives a tuition scholarship is not eligible for the loan repayment program. The student who receives a tuition scholarship must agree to practice in this state for a period of time to be determined by the commission at the time the scholarship is awarded.
3. The Physician Loan Repayment Program. Physicians who agree to practice in a rural community in the state are eligible for loan repayment under the Physician Loan Repayment Program. The University of Osteopathic Medicine is directed to recruit and place physicians in rural communities that have agreed to provide additional funds for the physician's loan repayment.
4. Students who received a tuition scholarship, and physicians for whom loan repayments were made, who fail to complete the agreed upon time period of practice in a rural community in the state, are required under the Act to repay the commission for moneys received under the program.

HOUSE FILE 597 - School Attendance Requirements and Family Investment Program (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act relates to school attendance requirements by requiring an attendance cooperation meeting process prior to designating truant a child who has not completed the sixth grade, providing for a truancy-related grant reduction sanction under the Family Investment Program (FIP, formerly known as Aid to Families With Dependent Children or AFDC), and providing for a civil penalty for truancy. The attendance cooperation requirements do not apply to a child who is receiving competent private instruction.
If a child is not in compliance with a school's attendance requirements and has not completed educational requirements through the sixth grade, the child's parent or guardian is to be contacted to participate in an attendance cooperation meeting. If the child is a member of a family receiving FIP assistance, the Department of Human Services (DHS) is to make the required contacts and participate in the meeting. Otherwise, contacts are to be made by the school truancy officer or other person designated to administer the Act's provisions by a public school board or the governing body of an accredited nonpublic school. Other persons who may be invited to the meeting include other school officials, a designee of the juvenile court, or a designee of the county attorney.
The purpose of the attendance cooperation meeting is to ascertain the cause of the child's nonattendance, to arrive at an agreement to address the child's attendance, and to initiate referrals to counseling or services. The terms of the agreement are to be reduced to writing and signed by those attending. The parties may designate a monitor for the agreement. The monitor is to be selected by the school or DHS, depending on which made the contacts for the meeting.
If the parties fail to enter into an agreement, or the child's parent, guardian or custodian violates a term of the agreement or fails to participate in a meeting, the child is to be deemed truant. For a FIP participant, DHS is to be notified in writing and the child's family is subject to sanction. The sanction is 25 percent of the net cash assistance grant payable to the child's family. The sanction amount is the same if more than one child is deemed truant. The sanction remains applicable until DHS is notified by the school of one of the following: The child complies with the attendance requirements, the child has completed educational requirements through the sixth grade, the school has determined there is good cause for the nonattendance and withdraws the notification, or the child is no longer enrolled in the school and the family demonstrates that the child is attending another school or is receiving equivalent schooling.
FIP participants are required to cooperate with the attendance efforts as a condition of eligibility for FIP assistance. The Act includes emergency rulemaking authority for DHS as part of transition provisions for the written authorizations to be obtained from current and new participants in the program. The transition provisions relating to FIP have an immediate effective date of May 21, 1997.
The Department of Human Services and the Department of Education are to develop a form for written notifications concerning the attendance status of a child. The fiscal information filed with the legislation indicates DHS is developing a means for schools to make an electronic query to determine whether a child is a member of a family participating in FIP. Release of information between schools and DHS is to apply beginning January 1, 1998. Information releases are limited to the minimum amount necessary. Release of information that is not specifically authorized is prohibited. An aggrieved person, the county attorney, or the Office of the Attorney General may bring suit for an injunction of unauthorized release of information.
Under current law, the parent or guardian of a child deemed to be truant may be required to participate in mediation or be subject to criminal sanctions of imprisonment, performance of unpaid community service, or monetary fines that are graduated depending upon the number of offenses. The Act allows the county attorney to bring a civil action in lieu of a criminal proceeding for truancy. If the court finds against the parent or guardian, the civil penalty is $100 to $1,000. The court may waive the civil penalty if the child's family has been subject to a truancy sanction under FIP. Funds received from the civil penalty are to be paid to the child's school district of enrollment to be used for at-risk programs.

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 176 -- Child Sexual Abuse Reporting

(Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH)

This Act requires mandatory reporters of child abuse to also report sexual abuse of a child who is under 12 years of age, which would otherwise be defined as child abuse except that the abuse resulted from acts or omissions of a person other than a person responsible for the care of the child. Licensed school employees are mandatory reporters of child abuse. The Act also authorizes a mandatory reporter to report sexual abuse by this type of perpetrator of a child who is 12 years of age or older.

SENATE FILE 233 -- Community College Retirement Benefits

(Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT)

This Act provides certain new employees of community colleges the option of continuing their membership in certain eligible alternative retirement plans instead of being required to join the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS).

SENATE FILE 361 -- School-to-Work Programs — Workers' Compensation

(Complete summary under LABOR & EMPLOYMENT)

This Act establishes that, for purposes of the workers' compensation law, a student participating in a school-to-work program is defined as an "employee." If the student's participation in the program is unpaid, the eligible postsecondary institution, school corporation, or accredited nonpublic school is defined as the "employer." If the student is participating in a paid school-to-work program, the entity that pays the student is defined as the "employer."

SENATE FILE 519 -- Iowa Communications Network — Authorized Use and Users — VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR

(Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT)

This bill identified permitted and prohibited activities with respect to the Iowa Communications Network. The bill was vetoed by the Governor April 24, 1997.

SENATE FILE 531 -- School District Financing — Physical Plant and Equipment Levy

(Complete summary under TAXATION)

This Act provides for an increase in the voter-approved physical plant and equipment levy from its current level of 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation in a school district to $1.34 per $1,000 of assessed valuation in a school district.

SENATE FILE 542 -- Supplemental and Other Appropriations and Miscellaneous Provisions

(Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS)

This Act makes supplemental appropriations for FY 1996-1997 and appropriations for other fiscal years. The Act includes an increase in the standing appropriations for at-risk programs, funding for the Educational Excellence Commission, and funding for initiatives to improve access to education through distance learning in postsecondary institutions.

SENATE FILE 549 -- Appropriations — Education

(Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS)

This Act appropriates moneys from the General Fund of the State to the College Student Aid Commission, the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Education, and the State Board of Regents and its institutions. This year's education appropriations Act appropriates a total of $823.4 million and provides 17,507.68 full-time equivalent positions (FTEs), which is approximately $1.7 million and 7.6 FTEs below the Governor's recommendations. The Act exceeds the appropriations made in last year's education appropriations Act (1996 Iowa Acts, Chapter 1215) by approximately $15 million and 27 FTEs.

HOUSE FILE 81 -- Hunter Safety and Ethics Education

(Complete summary under NATURAL RESOURCES & OUTDOOR RECREATION)

This Act allows a person 11 years of age or older to enroll in and successfully complete an approved hunter safety and ethics education course that requires completing 10 hours of training, passing an oral or written examination, and demonstrating safe handling of a firearm. A certification of completion is valid only after the recipient is at least 12 years of age.

HOUSE FILE 313 -- Requirements for Certain Child Day Care Providers

(Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH)

This Act requires criminal and child abuse record checks by the Department of Human Services of otherwise unregistered or unlicensed persons who receive public funding for providing child day care.

HOUSE FILE 544 -- Foster Care and Preadoptive Care

(Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH)

This Act relates to the placement of children for adoption and foster care. The Department of Human Services is to work with various groups in developing standards for placement agreements for preadoptive and family foster care. The placement agreements are to delineate rights and decision-making responsibilities for various aspects of a child's daily living, including education.

HOUSE FILE 715 -- Appropriations — Human Services

(Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS)

This Act makes appropriations to the Department of Human Services and includes a request for a legislative study of juvenile justice issues to involve members of legislative appropriations and standing committees on human services, health, the justice system, and education.

HOUSE FILE 733 -- Appropriations — Infrastructure and Capital Projects

(Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS)

This Act appropriates $70,415,000 over four fiscal years ending with FY 2001 to the State Board of Regents for infrastructure projects. The Act establishes, and appropriates Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund moneys for, the Community College Vocational-Technical Technology Improvement Program to supplement community college budgets for technology projects and acquisitions.

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Last update: Thur July 24, 1997
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