281—97.4(257) Supplementary weighting plan for whole-grade sharing.
	97.4(1) Whole-grade sharing. A school district that participates in a whole-grade sharing arrangement executed pursuant to Iowa Code sections 282.10 to 282.12 and that has adopted a board resolution to study dissolution or has adopted a board resolution jointly with all other affected boards to study reorganization to take effect on or before July 1, 2024, is eligible to assign a weighting of one-tenth of the fraction of the school year during which resident pupils attend classes pursuant to paragraph 97.2(1)“a,”“b,” or “c.” A school district participating in a whole-grade sharing arrangement is eligible for supplementary weighting under this subrule for a maximum of three years. Receipt of supplementary weighting for the second year and for the third year is conditioned upon submission of information resulting from the study to the school budget review committee indicating progress or continued progress toward the objective of dissolution or reorganization on or before July 1, 2024.
	97.4(2) Contiguous districts. School districts that adopt a board resolution jointly with all other affected boards to study reorganization must be contiguous school districts. If two or more of the affected districts are not contiguous to each other, all districts separating those districts must be a party to the whole-grade sharing arrangement and the board resolution adopted jointly to study reorganization.
	97.4(3) Consecutive years. A school district that is eligible to add a supplementary weighting for resident students attending classes under a whole-grade sharing arrangement pursuant to subrule 97.4(1) is not required to utilize consecutive years. However, the final year in which a supplementary weighting may be added on October 1 for this purpose will not be later than the school year that begins July 1, 2024.
	97.4(4) Change in sharing districts. A school district that is eligible to add a supplementary weighting for resident students attending classes under a whole-grade sharing arrangement pursuant to subrule 97.4(1) may enter into a whole-grade sharing arrangement with one or more different districts for its second or third year of eligible weighting by adopting and filing a new joint board resolution pursuant to this subrule. Establishing a new whole-grade sharing arrangement does not extend the maximum number of years for which a school district is eligible.
	97.4(5) Filing board resolutions. Each school district that adopts a board resolution to study dissolution or has adopted a board resolution jointly with all other affected boards to study reorganization will file a copy of the board resolution with the department not later than October 1 on which date the district intends to request supplementary weighting for whole-grade sharing.
	97.4(6) Filing progress reports. Each school district that intends to assign a supplementary weighting to resident students attending class in a whole-grade sharing arrangement in any year following the initial year for which supplementary weighting for whole-grade sharing was approved will file a report of progress toward reorganization with the school budget review committee, on forms developed by the department, no later than August 1 preceding October 1 on which date the district intends to request the second or third year of supplementary weighting for whole-grade sharing.
	a. 	The progress report will include the following information:
	(1)	Names of districts with which the district is studying reorganization.
	(2)	Descriptive information on the whole-grade sharing arrangement.
	(3)	Information on whether a plan for reorganization has been approved by the AEA and an election date has been set.
	b. 	The report must indicate progress toward a reorganization or dissolution to occur on or before July 1, 2024. The indicators of progress include:
	(1)	For the second year of supplementary weighting, establishing a reorganization committee.
	(2)	For the third year of supplementary weighting, having an AEA-approved plan for reorganization and a date set for an election on the proposed reorganization.
	c. 	The school budget review committee will consider each progress report at its first regular meeting of the fiscal year and will accept the progress report or reject the progress report with comments. The reports will be evaluated on demonstrated progress within the past year toward reorganization or dissolution.
	d. 	A school district whose progress report is not accepted will be allowed to submit a revised progress report at the second regular meeting of the school budget review committee. The committee will accept or reject the revised progress report.
	e. 	If the school budget review committee rejects the progress report and the district does not submit a revised progress report or if the school budget review committee rejects the revised progress report, the school district is not eligible for supplementary weighting for whole-grade sharing but may reapply in a subsequent year.
	f. 	In the event that an election on reorganization fails to pass after the school budget review committee has approved a district’s application for whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting and prior to January 1 of the year in which the reorganization was to take effect, a district may rescind the request for whole-grade sharing supplementary weighting by submitting a request to the school budget review committee asking to withdraw the application. The request to withdraw the application must be completed no later than one week prior to the committee’s second regular meeting.
[ARC 7801C, IAB 4/17/24, effective 5/22/24]