EDUCATION

SENATE FILE 2124 - Education Funding - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
SENATE FILE 2174 - State Board of Regents - Appointment of Student Member
SENATE FILE 2177 - Possession and Administration of Asthma or Other Airway Constricting Disease Medication
SENATE FILE 2202 - Meningococcal Disease - Vaccination Information for Postsecondary Students
HOUSE FILE 2241 - Primary and Secondary Education Standards - Academic Credit for Military Basic Training Completion
HOUSE FILE 2394 - Driver Education Instruction by Teaching Parent - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
HOUSE FILE 2418 - Regents Universities - Final Decisions to Increase Tuition, Fees, or Charges
HOUSE FILE 2419 - School Board Elections - Nomination Petitions - Signatures
HOUSE FILE 2460 - School District Enrollment of Persons Required to Register as a Sex Offender
HOUSE FILE 2559 - Regulation of Postsecondary Education

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 2288 - Federal Block Grant Appropriations

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act appropriates federal block grant and other nonstate moneys to state agencies for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 2004, and ending September 30, 2005, including funding made available to the state for a number of education programs.

SENATE FILE 2295 - School Tuition Organization Tax Credit - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR

SEE TAXATION. This bill would have provided for an individual income tax credit for contributions made to school tuition organizations that are exempt from federal income tax and that provide at least 90 percent of the contributions as educational scholarships or tuition grants to children attending nonpublic elementary or secondary schools or preschools for disabled students.

SENATE FILE 2298 - Government Funding, Administration, and Regulation - Appropriations and Miscellaneous Changes

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. Division III of this Act appropriates moneys from the General Fund of the State to the regents institutions and to pay payroll expenditure refunds under the School-to-Career Program.

Division IV appropriates moneys for FY 2004-2005 from the General Fund of the State to the College Student Aid Commission, the Department for the Blind, the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Education, and the State Board of Regents and its institutions.

Divisions V and VI make appropriations for health and human services and provide numerous related provisions, including a directive for the Department of Human Services to assist school districts in claiming Medicaid reimbursement for school district nursing services.

Division X provides changes in laws related to education and adds new provisions as follows:

• The Iowa Early Intervention Block Grant program is extended for FY 2004-2005.
• The state percent of growth amount is set at 4 percent for FY 2005-2006.
• Code language that restricts school district eligibility for certain budget guarantee provisions is removed.
• State aid to area education agencies is reduced.
• Changes are made with regard to the local option sales and services tax for school infrastructure purposes.
• The State Board of Regents is authorized to issue revenue bonds for a five-year building program at regents universities.
• A repeal is applied to 2004 Iowa Acts, H.F. 2490 (see Business, Banking & Insurance), Section 8, which would have eliminated the requirement that with respect to the acceptance and distribution of electronic records by a government agency, a State Board of Regents institution must conform with national standards as they are developed.
• Additional modified allowable growth is granted to a school district that failed to meet all the requirements for increasing its participation in the Instructional Support Program but did pass a resolution to so participate, and a petition was not filed or the question on such participation was approved at an election.
• The definition of "accredited private institution" is changed for purposes of eligibility for Iowa Tuition Grants.
• An Iowa Learning Technology Initiative is established to assist schools in providing technology for their students. However, the Governor item vetoed portions of the initiative.

Division XI makes appropriations from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund to the State Board of Regents for infrastructure projects and for tuition replacement.

Division XVI extends the period for which workforce training and economic development funds are available for community colleges.

SENATE FILE 2303 - Income Tax Deduction for Private 529 Plans - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR

SEE TAXATION. This bill would have allowed for an individual income tax deduction for contributions made to a qualified tuition program established by one or more educational institutions.

HOUSE FILE 2207 - Substantive Code Corrections

SEE STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act contains statutory corrections that adjust language to reflect current practices, insert earlier omissions, delete redundancies and inaccuracies, delete temporary language, resolve inconsistencies and conflicts, update ongoing provisions, or remove ambiguities. Changes made include deletion of obsolete references concerning a job training program study and changes to a 2003 Act pertaining to area education agency (AEA) reorganizations. The changes relating to AEA reorganizations take effect April 26, 2004, and are retroactively applicable to July 1, 2003.

HOUSE FILE 2350 - Family Investment Program Eligibility Requirements

SEE CHILDREN & YOUTH. This Act relates to Family Investment Program (FIP) eligibility requirements involving motor vehicle equity and required school attendance, and addresses FIP agreements.

HOUSE FILE 2431 - Educational Institutions Under University-Based Research Utilization Program

SEE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. This Act relates to educational institutions under the University-Based Research Utilization Program.

HOUSE FILE 2549 - Waste Tire Management Fund Appropriations

SEE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. This Act repeals programs awarding moneys to regents institutions for using tire-related fuel and to end-users of processed waste tires.

HOUSE FILE 2553 - Iowa Educational Savings Plan Trust Revisions

SEE TAXATION. This Act makes several technical and substantive changes regarding operation of the Iowa Educational Savings Plan Trust pursuant to Code Chapter 12D. The Act takes effect April 15, 2004.

EDUCATION

SENATE FILE 2124 - Education Funding - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This bill would have established a state percent of growth of 2 percent for purposes of the State School Foundation Program for the school budget year beginning July 1, 2005.

The bill provided that for the budget year beginning July 1, 2006, and each subsequent budget year, the state percent of growth would be established by statute and enacted within 30 days of the submission of the Governor's budget in the base year. Currently, the Code provides that the enactment shall be within 30 days of the submission of the Governor's budget in the year preceding the base year. The effect of this change would be to establish the state percent of growth during the regular legislative session immediately preceding the start of the July 1 budget year, rather than during the regular legislative session in the previous year.

The bill also provided for appropriations for the payment of state foundation aid and supplementary aid. The bill appropriated for the 2004-2005 fiscal year from the General Fund of the State the sum of $1,881,688,628 to pay state foundation aid and supplementary aid, and appropriated from the General Fund of the State for the 2005-2006 fiscal year the sum of $1,926,512,994 to pay state foundation aid and supplementary aid. The bill provided that of the amount appropriated for the fiscal years beginning July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005, $10 million would be used by school districts to assist with the purchase of public school textbooks and supplies.

The bill provided that if the amounts appropriated were less than the amounts otherwise required to pay state foundation aid and supplementary aid, the difference would be deducted from the payments that otherwise would have been made to each school district in the same ratio that the budget enrollment of the school district for the appropriate budget year bears to the total budget enrollment in the state for that budget year.

The bill provided that for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004, and succeeding fiscal years, the state aid for area education agencies (AEAs) and the portion of the combined district cost calculated for AEAs would be reduced by the Department of Management by $11,798,703, and that the reduction for each AEA would be equal to the reduction that the agency received in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003. The bill allowed AEAs to use available funds and unreserved fund balances for media services or education services in a manner the agency determined appropriate to best maintain the level of required AEA special education services.

The bill included an exemption to the Code language which states that the establishment of the state percent of growth for a budget year shall be the only subject matter of the bill which enacts it.

SENATE FILE 2174 - State Board of Regents - Appointment of Student Member (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act requires the Governor, prior to appointing the ninth or student member of the State Board of Regents, to consult with the student body government of the university at which a prospective appointee is enrolled. Also, if the student member of the State Board of Regents graduates or is no longer enrolled in a regents university, the student member's term expires a year from the date on which the student graduates or is no longer enrolled in a regents university. However, if the student member reenrolls in a regents university, the student's six-year term continues in effect.

SENATE FILE 2177 - Possession and Administration of Asthma or Other Airway Constricting Disease Medication (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act requires school districts and accredited nonpublic schools to allow a student to possess and self-administer asthma, or other airway constricting disease, medication while in school, at school-sponsored activities, under the supervision of school personnel, and before or after normal school activities, if the student's parent or guardian submits written authorization, along with the name and purpose of the medication, the prescribed dosage, and the times at which or the special circumstances under which the medication is to be administered.

The parents or guardians must indemnify and hold harmless the school district or nonpublic school and its employees and agents against any claims, except a claim based on gross negligence, arising out of the self-administration of medication by the student.

The permission for self-administration of medication is effective for the school year, though the parent or guardian must immediately notify the school of any changes in the circumstances relating to the self-administration of the medication. If the student misuses the privilege, permission may be withdrawn.

SENATE FILE 2202 - Meningococcal Disease - Vaccination Information for Postsecondary Students (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act requires institutions of higher education that have on-campus residence halls or dormitories to provide students with meningococcal disease vaccination information on student health forms.

The forms are to include space for the student to indicate whether or not the student has received the vaccination and are also to include recommendations issued by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the disease.

Data obtained by the institutions shall be submitted annually to the Iowa Department of Public Health in such a manner that no individual person can be identified. The department is directed to review the requirements of the Act and to submit its recommendations in a report to the General Assembly by January 15, 2010, and every five years thereafter.

HOUSE FILE 2241 - Primary and Secondary Education Standards - Academic Credit for Military Basic Training Completion (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act permits school districts and nonpublic schools to award credit toward graduation to a student who successfully completes National Guard or United States military basic training.

HOUSE FILE 2394 - Driver Education Instruction by Teaching Parent - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This bill would have allowed a parent, guardian, or legal custodian who is providing competent private instruction to a student to teach the student driver education, provided the person has a valid driver's license that permits unaccompanied driving and has a clear driving record for the previous two years. The classroom instruction requirements prescribed for the alternative course of instruction were substantially the same as for an approved course of instruction offered by a public school district or private or commercial driver education school, with additional requirements for 40, rather than 20, hours of street or highway driving, including night driving. The curriculum was to be approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) by rule and utilize driver education materials meeting or exceeding standards established for driver education courses approved for public or private schools.

The bill would have required the teaching parent to document substantial compliance with the driver education course requirements and furnish an affidavit to IDOT attesting to the student's satisfactory completion of the coursework and street or highway driving. The student would have had to pass a driving test administered by IDOT and meet the other qualifications for licensure to be eligible for an intermediate license.

HOUSE FILE 2418 - Regents Universities - Final Decisions to Increase Tuition, Fees, or Charges (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act strikes any reference to a date by which the State Board of Regents must make its final decision on an increase in tuition or mandatory fees charged to all students at a regents university. The Act instead requires that the final decision be made at a regular meeting of the board and prohibits the board from holding the meeting during a period in which classes have been suspended for university holiday or break.

HOUSE FILE 2419 - School Board Elections - Nomination Petitions - Signatures (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act establishes a limit on the number of eligible electors needed to sign the nomination petition for a school district board of directors candidate for an at-large seat or a seat which is voted for only by the voters of a director district.

Under current Code, the petitions must be signed by at least 10 eligible electors or a number of eligible electors equal in number to not less than 1 percent of the registered voters of the school district, whichever is more. The Act provides that this number need not be more than 50, and strikes a provision that sets the maximum at 100 signatures.

HOUSE FILE 2460 - School District Enrollment of Persons Required to Register as a Sex Offender (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act requires the board of directors of a school district, prior to knowingly enrolling an individual who is required to register as a sex offender under Code Chapter 692A, but who is otherwise eligible to enroll, to determine the educational placement of the individual. Similarly, if the board receives notice that a student enrolled in the district is on the Sex Offender Registry, the Act requires that the board determine the educational placement of the student. The tentative agenda for the school board meeting at which the board will consider the enrollment or educational placement must specifically state that the board is considering such enrollment or educational placement.

If the board denies enrollment, the school district of residence must provide the individual with educational services in an alternative setting. The Act requires the county sheriff to provide school districts located within the county with the name of any individual under the age of 21 who is required to register as a sex offender.

HOUSE FILE 2559 - Regulation of Postsecondary Education (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS. This Act relates to the approval or registration of postsecondary schools by the Department of Education, the College Student Aid Commission, and the Secretary of State.

The Act requires that practitioner preparation programs offered by out-of-state schools be approved by the State Board of Education and authorizes the state board to collect an amount equivalent to the department's necessary travel and actual expenses incurred while engaged in the approval of out-of-state practitioner preparation programs.

The Act directs the College Student Aid Commission to adopt rules to establish standards for the approval of postsecondary schools that are required to register with the Secretary of State; to establish an advisory committee to make recommendations regarding the applications; and to apply administrative wage garnishment procedures for all delinquent loans incurred by defaulters who are financially capable of paying but fail to enter into a payment agreement. The Act authorizes the commission to require schools seeking registration to provide copies of their application to the Iowa Coordinating Council for Post-High School Education and permits the commission to consider the council's comments.

The Act strikes language that requires postsecondary schools to register with the Secretary of State annually, and instead requires the schools to register once every four years or upon any substantive change in program offerings, location or accreditation.

The Act directs the Secretary of State to establish registration and renewal fees for postsecondary schools required to register with the secretary. Currently, the Code sets the fee for initial registration at $1,000, with annual renewals at $500. Moneys collected by the department for expenses and by the secretary in the form of fees must be deposited in the General Fund of the State.

The Act strikes a requirement that the Secretary of State utilize the State Advisory Committee for Postsecondary School Registration in reviewing new and continuing registrations.