Amend House File 215 as follows:
   1.  Page 1, by striking lines 2 through 33 and inserting: 

<IOWA LEARNING ONLINE INITIATIVE —— APPROPRIATIONS
   Section 1.  Section 256.7, subsection 32, paragraph a, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Adopt rules for online learning in accordance with sections 256.41, 256.42, and 256.43, and criteria for waivers granted pursuant to section 256.42
 
273.28.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  273.28  Iowa learning online initiative.
   1.  An Iowa learning online initiative is established to be administered by the area education agencies to partner with school districts and accredited nonpublic schools to provide distance education to high school students statewide. The area education agencies shall utilize a variety of content repositories, including those maintained by the public broadcasting division, in administering the initiative.
   2.  The initiative shall include an online learning program model designed to prepare teachers to meet the needs of students in an online learning environment, including but not limited to building community interaction and support, developing strategies for working with virtual students, and assessing virtual students.
   3.  Coursework offered under the initiative shall be taught by a teacher licensed under chapter 272 who has completed an online-learning-for-Iowa-educators-professional-

development project offered by area education agencies, a teacher preservice program, or comparable coursework.
   4.  Each participating school district and accredited nonpublic school shall submit its online curricula to its area education agency for review. Each participating school district and accredited nonpublic school shall include in its comprehensive school improvement plan submitted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 21, a list and description of the online coursework offered by the district.
   5.  Under the initiative, students must be enrolled in a participating school district or accredited nonpublic school, which is responsible for recording grades received for initiative coursework in a student’s permanent record, awarding high school credit for initiative coursework, and issuing high school diplomas to students enrolled in the district or school who participate and complete coursework under the initiative. Each participating school shall identify a site coordinator to serve as a student advocate and as a liaison between the initiative staff and teachers and the school district or accredited nonpublic school.
   6.  Coursework offered under the initiative shall be rigorous and high quality, and the area education agencies shall annually evaluate the quality of the courses, ensure that coursework is aligned with the state’s core curriculum and core content requirements and standards, as well as national standards of quality for online courses issued by an internationally recognized association for kindergarten through grade twelve online learning.
   7.  The department may waive for one year the provisions of section 256.11, subsection 5, which require that specified subjects be offered and taught by professional staff of a school district or school, if the school district or school makes every reasonable and good faith effort to employ a teacher licensed under chapter 272 for such a subject, and the school district or school proves to the satisfaction of the department that the school district or school is unable to employ such a teacher. The specified subject shall be provided by the initiative.
   8.  There is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the department, for the following fiscal years, the following amounts, to be transferred to the area education agencies to be used for administering this section:
   a.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013, and ending June 30, 2014, the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars.
   b.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014, and ending June 30, 2015, the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars.
   c.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, and ending June 30, 2016, the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars.
   Sec. 2.  REPEAL.  Section 256.42, Code 2013, is repealed.>
   2.  By renumbering as necessary.

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MASCHER of Johnson