281—35.3(282) Establishing an appropriate educational program. A children’s residential facility may accept any child of school age or a child who is eligible to receive special education services only after it has been issued a certificate of approval by the department of health and human services and has established an appropriate educational program and services under this chapter.
	35.3(1) A private facility will establish an appropriate educational program using one of the options provided in Iowa Code section 282.34(1).
	35.3(2) Any contract established by the private facility with a school district or accredited nonpublic school is to include, at a minimum, the physical location of the educational program and educational services; the parties involved; the purpose of the contract; the program description in detail; the powers, duties and authority of each party to the contract; the jurisdiction of each party to the contract; the dispute resolution procedure; specifications of the services that are contracted, if any, and how costs are to be calculated; billing procedures; how each legal, testing, and reporting obligation will be met; ownership of property belonging to the party that paid the cost or contributed the item; contract amendment procedures; contract approval procedures; contract renewal and termination procedures; duration of the contract; cross indemnification; application of laws, rules and regulations; binding effect; severability; assurances; and signature of the school board with legal power to authorize the terms of the contract. Any contract developed under this rule is to be submitted to the department of education for review and approval by the director of the department prior to enactment. A contract that fails to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter is void.
	35.3(3) Children residing in a private facility who need treatment or security throughout the day shall have classrooms made available at the site of the private facility at no cost to the school district providing the instructional program or instructional supervision. The classroom is to meet the requirements for educational space for children in accordance with the Iowa Code, administrative rules, and state fire marshal regulations.
	35.3(4) Nothing included in this chapter regulates religious education curricula of any private facility.
[ARC 7656C, IAB 3/6/24, effective 4/10/24]