Senate File 85
SENATE FILE
BY CONNOLLY
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the approval and administration of pilot
2 community education programs, and making an appropriation.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 2173SS 80
5 kh/cl/14
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 276.4, Code 2003, is amended to read as
1 2 follows:
1 3 276.4 STATE CONSULTANT.
1 4 1. The state consultant of community education shall serve
1 5 district and local advisory councils in accordance with rules
1 6 promulgated adopted by the director of the department of
1 7 education and in compliance with Pub. L. No. 93=380.
1 8 2. The state consultant shall study and evaluate pilot
1 9 programs established pursuant to section 276.6, and shall
1 10 annually submit a summary of pilot project activities to the
1 11 director of the department of education. The summary shall
1 12 highlight and briefly describe innovative and successful uses
1 13 of pilot project funds that have had a positive effect on the
1 14 students, citizens, schools, and communities participating in
1 15 the pilot project. The department shall annually offer the
1 16 summary to school districts.
1 17 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 276.6 PILOT GRANT PROGRAM.
1 18 1. A community education pilot program is established to
1 19 be administered by the department of education to encourage
1 20 schools and communities to work together to provide for
1 21 citizen participation in identifying the wants, needs, and
1 22 concerns of the neighborhood community and to coordinate all
1 23 educational, recreational, and cultural opportunities within
1 24 the community in accordance with this chapter. The program
1 25 shall provide for the establishment of community education
1 26 pilot projects by the school year commencing July 1, 2004,
1 27 which shall be located in at least fifteen public schools,
1 28 five located in large school districts, five located in
1 29 medium=sized school districts, and five located in small
1 30 school districts. For purposes of this section, a large
1 31 school district is a district with an actual enrollment of
1 32 five thousand or more pupils; a medium=sized school district
1 33 is a district with an actual enrollment that is greater than
1 34 one thousand one hundred ninety=nine pupils, but less than
1 35 five thousand pupils; and a small school district is a
2 1 district with an actual enrollment of one thousand one hundred
2 2 ninety=nine or fewer pupils.
2 3 2. The department shall develop the criteria and process
2 4 to be used in selecting school district grant recipients, and
2 5 a pilot project evaluation process. Selection criteria shall
2 6 include a method for prioritizing grant applications based on
2 7 illustrated efforts to meet the community's wants, needs, and
2 8 concerns regarding community education. A school district
2 9 that submits a grant application to the department, in a
2 10 format prescribed by the department, shall agree to provide
2 11 financial support in accordance with section 276.10, in a one=
2 12 to=one match of grant funding, for a community education pilot
2 13 project.
2 14 3. Up to five percent of any funds appropriated by the
2 15 general assembly for the purposes of this section may be used
2 16 for staffing, evaluation, and administration of the program.
2 17 4. Notwithstanding section 8.33, unencumbered or
2 18 unobligated funds remaining on June 30 of the fiscal year for
2 19 which the funds were appropriated shall not revert but shall
2 20 be available for expenditure for the following fiscal year for
2 21 the purposes of this section.
2 22 5. There is appropriated for each fiscal year from the
2 23 general fund of the state to the department of education the
2 24 sum of five hundred thousand dollars for purposes of the
2 25 community education pilot program.
2 26 Sec. 3. Section 276.10, subsection 1, Code 2003, is
2 27 amended to read as follows:
2 28 1. The board of directors of a local school district may
2 29 establish a community education program for schools in the
2 30 district and provide for the general supervision of the
2 31 program. Financial support for the program shall be provided
2 32 from funds raised pursuant to chapter 300 and from any private
2 33 funds and any federal funds made available for the purpose of
2 34 implementing this chapter, or in accordance with the
2 35 provisions of section 276.6 if the program is a pilot project.
3 1 The program, which recognizes that the schools belong to the
3 2 people and which shall be centered in the schools, may include
3 3 but shall not be limited to the use of the school facilities
3 4 day and night, year round, including weekends and regular
3 5 school vacation periods, for educational, recreational,
3 6 cultural, and other community services and programs for all
3 7 age, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups residing in the
3 8 community.
3 9 EXPLANATION
3 10 This bill establishes a community education pilot program
3 11 to be administered by the department of education and
3 12 appropriates $500,000 annually to the program. The program is
3 13 created to encourage schools and communities to work together
3 14 to provide for citizen participation in identifying the wants,
3 15 needs, and concerns of the neighborhood community and to
3 16 coordinate all educational, recreational, and cultural
3 17 opportunities within the community.
3 18 The program shall provide for the establishment of
3 19 community education pilot projects in at least 15 public
3 20 schools by July 1, 2004. The bill requires that five projects
3 21 be located in public schools in school districts with 5,000 or
3 22 more pupils, five projects in public schools within school
3 23 districts with 1,200 to 4,999 pupils, and five projects in
3 24 public schools located in school districts with 1,199 or fewer
3 25 pupils.
3 26 The department is directed to develop the criteria and
3 27 process, and a method for prioritizing grant applications. A
3 28 school district that submits a grant application must agree to
3 29 provide a one=to=one match of grant funding. Under Code
3 30 chapter 276, financial support for a community education
3 31 program is to be provided from the imposition of an
3 32 educational and recreational tax levy, and from any private
3 33 and federal funds made available for community education.
3 34 The state consultant of community education is directed to
3 35 study and evaluate pilot programs, and to annually submit a
4 1 summary of pilot project activities to the director of the
4 2 department of education. The department shall annually offer
4 3 the summary to school districts.
4 4 LSB 2173SS 80
4 5 kh/cl/14