House File 740 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 243)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the duties and responsibilities of school
2 districts, area education agencies, and the department of
3 education by expanding school district audit requirements,
4 requiring the department to submit an achievement gap report,
5 changing deadlines and adding reporting requirements related
6 to dropout and dropout prevention programs, changing testing
7 requirements for the issuance of high school equivalency
8 diplomas, eliminating certain requirements for school district
9 payments and settlements, authorizing school site sale
10 revenues to be used for physical plant and equipment levy fund
11 expenditures, allowing school districts to establish nonprofit
12 entities or organizations, eliminating Code provisions related
13 to extended school programs and evening and part=time schools,
14 providing for changes to open enrollment requirements,
15 deadlines, and authorizations, repealing a school district
16 lawful fence requirement, providing for the confidentiality of
17 records regarding a child receiving competent private
18 instruction, eliminating a requirement that school bus drivers
19 submit a certificate of physical fitness annually, expanding
20 the penalties for school bus drivers in violation of Code
21 requirements, revising requirements for prior authorization
22 and a certificate of need for local option and services tax
1 for school infrastructure fund use, and reinstating open
2 enrollment eligibility under a certain circumstance related to
3 desegregation plans.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 2925HV 81
6 kh/sh/8
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 11.6, subsection 1, paragraph a,
1 2 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2005, is amended to read as
1 3 follows:
1 4 The financial condition and transactions of all cities and
1 5 city offices, counties, county hospitals organized under
1 6 chapters 347 and 347A, memorial hospitals organized under
1 7 chapter 37, entities organized under chapter 28E having gross
1 8 receipts in excess of one hundred thousand dollars in a fiscal
1 9 year, merged areas, area education agencies, and all school
1 10 offices in school districts, shall be examined at least once
1 11 each year, except that cities having a population of seven
1 12 hundred or more but less than two thousand shall be examined
1 13 at least once every four years, and cities having a population
1 14 of less than seven hundred may be examined as otherwise
1 15 provided in this section. The examination shall cover the
1 16 fiscal year next preceding the year in which the audit is
1 17 conducted. The examination of school offices shall include an
1 18 audit of all school funds, the certified annual financial
1 19 report, and the certified enrollment as provided in section
1 20 257.6, and the revenues and expenditures of any nonprofit
1 21 school organization established pursuant to section 279.60.
1 22 Differences in certified enrollment shall be reported to the
1 23 department of management. The examination of a city that owns
1 24 or operates a municipal utility providing local exchange
1 25 services pursuant to chapter 476 shall include an audit of the
1 26 city's compliance with section 388.10. The examination of a
1 27 city that owns or operates a municipal utility providing
1 28 telecommunications services pursuant to section 388.10 shall
1 29 include an audit of the city's compliance with section 388.10.
1 30 Sec. 2. Section 256.9, Code 2005, is amended by adding the
1 31 following new subsection:
1 32 NEW SUBSECTION. 53. Prepare and submit to the
1 33 chairpersons and ranking members of the senate and house
1 34 education committees a report on the state's progress toward
1 35 closing the achievement gap, including student achievement for
2 1 minority subgroups, and a comprehensive summary of state
2 2 agency and local district activities and practices taken in
2 3 the past year to close the achievement gap.
2 4 Sec. 3. Section 257.38, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2005,
2 5 is amended to read as follows:
2 6 Boards of school districts, individually or jointly with
2 7 boards of other school districts, requesting to use additional
2 8 allowable growth for programs for returning dropouts and
2 9 dropout prevention pursuant to section 257.40, shall annually
2 10 submit comprehensive program plans for the programs and budget
2 11 costs, including requests for additional allowable growth for
2 12 funding the programs, to the department of education as
2 13 provided in this chapter a component of the comprehensive
2 14 school improvement plan submitted to the department pursuant
2 15 to section 256.7, subsection 21. The program plans shall
2 16 include:
2 17 Sec. 4. Section 257.38, unnumbered paragraph 2, Code 2005,
2 18 is amended to read as follows:
2 19 Program plans shall identify the parts of the plan that
2 20 will be implemented first upon approval of the application
2 21 request. If a district is requesting to use additional
2 22 allowable growth to finance the program, it the district shall
2 23 not identify more than five percent of its budget enrollment
2 24 for the budget year as returning dropouts and potential
2 25 dropouts.
2 26 Sec. 5. Section 257.40, Code 2005, is amended to read as
2 27 follows:
2 28 257.40 PLANS FOR RETURNING DROPOUTS AND DROPOUT
2 29 PREVENTION.
2 30 1. The board of directors of a school district requesting
2 31 to use additional allowable growth for programs for returning
2 32 dropouts and dropout prevention shall submit applications a
2 33 request for approval for the programs additional allowable
2 34 growth, including budget costs, to the department not later
2 35 than November 1 December 15 preceding the budget year during
3 1 which the program will be offered. The department shall
3 2 review the program plans request and shall prior to January 15
3 3 either grant approval for the program request or return the
3 4 request for approval with comments of the department included.
3 5 An unapproved request for a program may be resubmitted with
3 6 modifications to the department not later than February 1.
3 7 Not later than February 15, the department shall notify the
3 8 department of management and the school budget review
3 9 committee of the names of the school districts for which
3 10 programs using additional allowable growth for funding have
3 11 been approved and the approved budget of each program listed
3 12 separately for each school district having an approved program
3 13 request.
3 14 2. Beginning January 15, 2006, the department shall submit
3 15 an annual report to the chairpersons and ranking members of
3 16 the senate and house education committees that includes the
3 17 ways school districts are using additional allowable growth
3 18 approved under subsection 1; identifies, by grade level, age,
3 19 and district size, the students in the dropout and dropout
3 20 prevention programs for which the department approves a
3 21 request; describes school district progress toward increasing
3 22 student achievement and attendance for the students in the
3 23 programs; and describes how the school districts are using the
3 24 revenues from the additional allowable growth to improve
3 25 student achievement among minority subgroups.
3 26 Sec. 6. Section 259A.1, Code 2005, is amended to read as
3 27 follows:
3 28 259A.1 TESTS.
3 29 The department of education shall cause to be made
3 30 available for qualified individuals a high school equivalency
3 31 diploma. The diploma shall be issued on the basis of
3 32 satisfactory competence as shown by tests covering: The
3 33 correctness and effectiveness of expression; the
3 34 interpretation of reading materials in the social studies;
3 35 interpretation of reading material in the natural sciences;
4 1 interpretation of literary materials; and general mathematical
4 2 ability language arts, reading; language arts, writing;
4 3 mathematics; science; and social studies.
4 4 Sec. 7. Section 279.30, Code 2005, is amended to read as
4 5 follows:
4 6 279.30 EXCEPTIONS.
4 7 Each warrant payment must be made payable to the person
4 8 entitled to receive the money. The board of directors of a
4 9 school district or an area education agency may by resolution
4 10 authorize the secretary or administrator, in the case of an
4 11 area education agency, to issue warrants payments when the
4 12 board of directors is not in session in payment of freight,
4 13 drayage, express, postage, printing, water, light, and
4 14 telephone rents reasonable and necessary expenses, but only
4 15 upon verified bills filed with the secretary or administrator,
4 16 and for the payment of salaries or wages pursuant to the terms
4 17 of a written contract, and the secretary or administrator
4 18 shall either deliver in person or mail the warrants to the
4 19 payees. In addition, the board of directors may by resolution
4 20 authorize the secretary or administrator, upon approval of the
4 21 president of the board, to issue warrants when the board of
4 22 directors is not in session, but only upon verified bills
4 23 filed with the secretary or administrator, and the secretary
4 24 or administrator shall either deliver in person or mail the
4 25 warrants to the payees employment. Each warrant payment must
4 26 be made payable only to the person performing the service or
4 27 presenting the verified bill, and must state the purpose for
4 28 which the warrant payment is issued. All bills and salaries
4 29 for which warrants payments are issued prior to audit and
4 30 allowance by the board must be passed upon by the board of
4 31 directors at the next meeting and be entered in the regular
4 32 minutes of the secretary.
4 33 Sec. 8. Section 279.33, Code 2005, is amended to read as
4 34 follows:
4 35 279.33 ANNUAL SETTLEMENTS.
5 1 At a regular or special meeting held on or after August 31
5 2 and prior to the organizational meeting held after the regular
5 3 school election, the board of each school corporation shall
5 4 meet, examine the books of, and settle with the secretary and
5 5 treasurer for the year ending on the preceding June 30, and
5 6 transact other business as necessary. The treasurer at the
5 7 time of settlement shall furnish the board with a sworn
5 8 statement from each depository showing the balance then on
5 9 deposit in the depository. If the secretary or treasurer
5 10 fails to make proper reports for the settlement, the board
5 11 shall take action to obtain the balance information.
5 12 Sec. 9. Section 279.41, Code 2005, is amended to read as
5 13 follows:
5 14 279.41 SCHOOLHOUSES AND SITES SOLD == FUNDS.
5 15 Moneys received from the condemnation, sale, or other
5 16 disposition for public purposes of schoolhouses, school sites,
5 17 or both schoolhouses and school sites, shall be deposited in
5 18 the physical plant and equipment levy fund and may without a
5 19 vote of the electorate be used for the purchase of school
5 20 sites or the erection or repair of schoolhouses, or both
5 21 purposes authorized under section 298.3, as ordered by the
5 22 board of directors of the school district.
5 23 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION. 279.60 NONPROFIT SCHOOL
5 24 ORGANIZATIONS.
5 25 The board of directors of a school district may take action
5 26 to adopt a resolution to establish, and authorize expenditures
5 27 for the operational support of, an entity or organization for
5 28 the sole benefit of the school district and its students that
5 29 is exempt from federal income taxation under section 501(c)(3)
5 30 of the Internal Revenue Code. Prior to establishing such an
5 31 entity or organization, the board of directors shall hold a
5 32 public hearing on the proposal to establish such an entity or
5 33 organization. Such an entity or organization shall maintain
5 34 its records in accordance with chapter 22. The board of
5 35 directors of a school district shall annually report to the
6 1 department of education and to the local community the
6 2 administrative expenditures, revenues, and activities of the
6 3 entity or organization established by the school district
6 4 pursuant to this section. The department shall include in its
6 5 annual condition of education report a statewide summary of
6 6 the expenditures and revenues submitted in accordance with
6 7 this section.
6 8 Sec. 11. Section 282.1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2005,
6 9 is amended to read as follows:
6 10 Persons between five and twenty=one years of age are of
6 11 school age. A board may establish and maintain evening
6 12 schools or an educational program under section 282.1A for
6 13 residents of the corporation regardless of age and for which
6 14 no tuition need be charged. Nonresident children shall be
6 15 charged the maximum tuition rate as determined in section
6 16 282.24, subsection 1, with the exception that those residing
6 17 temporarily in a school corporation may attend school in the
6 18 corporation upon terms prescribed by the board, and boards
6 19 discontinuing grades under section 282.7, subsection 1 or
6 20 subsections 1 and 3, shall be charged tuition as provided in
6 21 section 282.24, subsection 2.
6 22 Sec. 12. Section 282.18, subsection 2, Code 2005, is
6 23 amended to read as follows:
6 24 2. By January April 1 of the preceding school year for
6 25 students entering grades one through twelve, or by September 1
6 26 of the current school year for students entering kindergarten,
6 27 the parent or guardian shall send notification to the district
6 28 of residence and the receiving district, on forms prescribed
6 29 by the department of education, that the parent or guardian
6 30 intends to enroll the parent's or guardian's child in a public
6 31 school in another school district. If a parent or guardian
6 32 fails to file a notification that the parent intends to enroll
6 33 the parent's or guardian's child in a public school in another
6 34 district by the deadline of January 1 of the previous year
6 35 specified in this subsection, and one of the criteria defined
7 1 in procedures of subsection 4 exists for the failure to meet
7 2 the deadline or if the request is to enroll a child in
7 3 kindergarten in a public school in another district, the
7 4 parent or guardian shall be permitted to enroll the child in
7 5 the other district in the same manner as if the deadline had
7 6 been met apply.
7 7 The board of the receiving district shall enroll the pupil
7 8 in a school in the receiving district for the following school
7 9 year unless the receiving district does not have classroom
7 10 space for the pupil. The board of directors of a receiving
7 11 district may adopt a policy granting the superintendent of the
7 12 school district authority to approve open enrollment
7 13 applications. If the request is granted, the board shall
7 14 transmit a copy of the form to the parent or guardian and the
7 15 school district of residence within five days after board
7 16 action, but not later than March June 1 of the preceding
7 17 school year. The parent or guardian may withdraw the request
7 18 at any time prior to the start of the school year. A denial
7 19 of a request by the board of a receiving district is not
7 20 subject to appeal.
7 21 Sec. 13. Section 282.18, subsection 4, paragraphs a and b,
7 22 Code 2005, are amended to read as follows:
7 23 a. After January April 1 of the preceding school year and
7 24 until the third Friday in September of that calendar year, the
7 25 parent or guardian shall send notification to the district of
7 26 residence and the receiving district, on forms prescribed by
7 27 the department of education, that good cause, as defined in
7 28 paragraph "b", exists for failure to meet the January April 1
7 29 deadline. The board of directors of a school district may
7 30 adopt a policy granting the superintendent of the school
7 31 district authority to approve open enrollment applications
7 32 submitted after the April 1 deadline if good cause exists.
7 33 Upon approval of the resident district, the board of the
7 34 receiving district shall take action to approve the request if
7 35 good cause exists. If the request is granted, the board in
8 1 the resident district shall transmit a copy of the form to the
8 2 parent or guardian and the school receiving district of
8 3 residence within five days after board action. A denial of a
8 4 request by the board of a receiving resident district is not
8 5 subject to appeal to the director of the department of
8 6 education.
8 7 b. For purposes of this section, "good cause" means a
8 8 change in a child's residence due to a change in family
8 9 residence, a change in the state in which the family residence
8 10 is located, a change in a child's parents' marital status, a
8 11 guardianship or custody proceeding, placement in foster care,
8 12 adoption, participation in a foreign exchange program, or
8 13 participation in a substance abuse or mental health treatment
8 14 program, or a similar set of circumstances consistent with the
8 15 definition of "good cause"; or a change in the status of a
8 16 child's resident district such as removal of accreditation by
8 17 the state board, surrender of accreditation, or permanent
8 18 closure of a nonpublic school, revocation of a charter school
8 19 contract as provided in section 256F.8, the failure of
8 20 negotiations for a whole=grade sharing, reorganization,
8 21 dissolution agreement or the rejection of a current whole=
8 22 grade sharing agreement, or reorganization plan, or a similar
8 23 set of circumstances consistent with the definition of "good
8 24 cause". If the good cause relates to a change in status of a
8 25 child's school district of residence, however, action by a
8 26 parent or guardian must be taken to file the notification
8 27 within forty=five days of the last board action or within
8 28 thirty days of the certification of the election, whichever is
8 29 applicable to the circumstances.
8 30 Sec. 14. Section 282.18, subsections 5 and 6, Code 2005,
8 31 are amended to read as follows:
8 32 5. Open enrollment applications filed after January April
8 33 1 of the preceding school year that do not qualify for good
8 34 cause as provided in subsection 4 shall be subject to the
8 35 approval of the board of the resident district and the board
9 1 of the receiving district. The parent or guardian shall send
9 2 notification to the district of residence and the receiving
9 3 district that the parent or guardian seeks to enroll the
9 4 parent's or guardian's child in the receiving district. A
9 5 decision of either board to deny an application filed under
9 6 this subsection involving repeated acts of harassment of the
9 7 student or serious health condition of the student that the
9 8 resident district cannot adequately address is subject to
9 9 appeal under section 290.1. The state board shall exercise
9 10 broad discretion to achieve just and equitable results that
9 11 are in the best interest of the affected child or children.
9 12 6. A request under this section is for a period of not
9 13 less than one year. If the request is for more than one year
9 14 and the parent or guardian desires to have the pupil enroll in
9 15 a different district, the parent or guardian may petition the
9 16 current receiving district by January April 1 of the previous
9 17 school year for permission to enroll the pupil in a different
9 18 district for a period of not less than one year. Upon receipt
9 19 of such a request, the current receiving district board may
9 20 act on the request to transfer to the other school district at
9 21 the next regularly scheduled board meeting after the receipt
9 22 of the request. The new receiving district shall enroll the
9 23 pupil in a school in the district unless there is insufficient
9 24 classroom space in the district or unless enrollment of the
9 25 pupil would adversely affect the court=ordered or voluntary
9 26 desegregation plan of the district. A denial of a request to
9 27 change district enrollment within the approved period is not
9 28 subject to appeal. However, a pupil who has been in
9 29 attendance in another district under this section may return
9 30 to the district of residence and enroll at any time, once the
9 31 parent or guardian has notified the district of residence and
9 32 the receiving district in writing of the decision to enroll
9 33 the pupil in the district of residence.
9 34 Sec. 15. Section 285.11, subsection 9, Code 2005, is
9 35 amended by striking the subsection.
10 1 Sec. 16. Section 297.14, Code 2005, is amended to read as
10 2 follows:
10 3 297.14 BARBED WIRE.
10 4 No fence provided for in section 297.13 built where the
10 5 school grounds adjoin cultivated or improved lands shall be
10 6 constructed of barbed wire, nor shall any barbed wire fence be
10 7 placed within ten feet of any school grounds. Any person
10 8 violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a
10 9 simple misdemeanor.
10 10 Sec. 17. NEW SECTION. 299A.11 STUDENT RECORDS
10 11 CONFIDENTIAL.
10 12 Notwithstanding any provision of law or rule to the
10 13 contrary, personal information in records regarding a child
10 14 receiving competent private instruction pursuant to this
10 15 chapter, which are maintained, created, collected, or
10 16 assembled by or for a state agency shall be kept confidential
10 17 in the same manner as personal information in student records
10 18 maintained, created, collected, or assembled by or for a
10 19 school corporation or educational institution in accordance
10 20 with section 22.7, subsection 1.
10 21 Sec. 18. Section 321.376, subsection 1, Code 2005, is
10 22 amended to read as follows:
10 23 1. The driver of a school bus shall hold a driver's
10 24 license issued by the department of transportation valid for
10 25 the operation of the school bus and a certificate of
10 26 qualification for operation of a commercial motor vehicle
10 27 issued by a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 148 or
10 28 150A, physician's assistant, advanced registered nurse
10 29 practitioner, or chiropractor or any other person identified
10 30 by federal and state law as authorized to perform physical
10 31 examinations, and shall successfully complete an approved
10 32 course of instruction in accordance with subsection 2. A
10 33 person holding a temporary restricted license issued under
10 34 chapter 321J shall be prohibited from operating a school bus.
10 35 The department of education shall revoke or refuse to issue an
11 1 authorization to operate a school bus to any person who, after
11 2 notice and opportunity for hearing, is determined to have
11 3 committed any of the acts proscribed under section 321.375,
11 4 subsection 2. The department of education shall take adverse
11 5 action against any person who, after notice and opportunity
11 6 for hearing, is determined to have committed any of the acts
11 7 proscribed under section 321.375, subsection 2, paragraphs "a"
11 8 through "d", or is determined not to be physically or mentally
11 9 competent under section 321.375, subsection 2, paragraph "e",
11 10 unless the person was qualified to operate a school bus as
11 11 provided in section 321.375, subsection 3. Notwithstanding
11 12 section 321.375, subsection 2, such action may include a
11 13 reprimand or warning to the person or the suspension or
11 14 revocation of the person's authorization to operate a school
11 15 bus. The department of education shall recommend, and the
11 16 state board of education shall adopt under chapter 17A, rules
11 17 and procedures for issuing, suspending, and revoking
11 18 authorization to operate a school bus in this state. Rules
11 19 and procedures adopted shall include, but are not limited to,
11 20 provisions for the suspension or revocation of, or refusal to
11 21 issue, authorization to persons who are determined to have
11 22 committed any of the acts proscribed under section 321.375,
11 23 subsection 2.
11 24 Sec. 19. Section 423E.4, subsection 6, unnumbered
11 25 paragraph 1, Code 2005, is amended to read as follows:
11 26 A school district with a certified enrollment of fewer than
11 27 two hundred fifty pupils in the entire district or certified
11 28 enrollment of fewer than one hundred pupils in high school
11 29 shall not expend the supplemental school infrastructure amount
11 30 received for new construction or for payments for bonds issued
11 31 for new construction against the supplemental school
11 32 infrastructure amount without prior application to the
11 33 department of education and receipt of a certificate of need
11 34 pursuant to this subsection. However, a certificate of need
11 35 is not required for the payment of outstanding bonds issued
12 1 for new construction pursuant to section 296.1, before April
12 2 1, 2003. A certificate of need is also not required for
12 3 repairing schoolhouses or buildings, equipment, technology, or
12 4 transportation equipment for transporting students as provided
12 5 in section 298.3, or for construction necessary for compliance
12 6 with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act pursuant to
12 7 42 U.S.C. } 12101==12117. In determining whether a
12 8 certificate of need shall be issued or denied, the department
12 9 shall consider all of the following:
12 10 Sec. 20. REINSTATEMENT OF OPEN ENROLLMENT ELIGIBILITY ==
12 11 DESEGREGATION PLAN. Notwithstanding section 282.18, a child
12 12 who participated in open enrollment prior to 1997 and prior to
12 13 the adoption of a voluntary desegregation plan on December 10,
12 14 2001, by the child's school district of residence and who
12 15 returns to the district of residence shall be eligible to
12 16 participate in open enrollment in a district other than the
12 17 district of residence once the parent or guardian has notified
12 18 the district of residence and the receiving district in
12 19 writing of the decision to enroll the pupil in a district
12 20 other than the district of residence. The request submitted
12 21 shall be for at least one year, but may be for more than one
12 22 year.
12 23 Sec. 21. Sections 282.1A and 297.13, Code 2005, are
12 24 repealed.
12 25 Sec. 22. Chapters 288 and 289, Code 2005, are repealed.
12 26 EXPLANATION
12 27 This bill amends numerous Code sections relating to school
12 28 districts, including the contents of school district annual
12 29 audits, the confidentiality of personal information in records
12 30 regarding students receiving competent private instruction,
12 31 school aid reduction for early school starts, payments the
12 32 board of directors of a school district or an area education
12 33 agency authorizes the secretary or administrator to issue when
12 34 the board of directors is not in session, the annual
12 35 examination by a school board of district books, the books of
13 1 the school district's secretary and treasurer, the purposes
13 2 for which moneys deposited in the physical plant and equipment
13 3 levy fund may be used, authorizing school boards to establish
13 4 entities or organizations for the support of the school
13 5 district, open enrollment applications, deadlines, and
13 6 appeals, expanding the department of education's options when
13 7 a school bus driver is found to have violated certain Code
13 8 provisions, and providing that a restriction on local option
13 9 sales tax revenues for school infrastructure purposes applies
13 10 only to districts with fewer than 250 students in the
13 11 elementary and secondary schools or fewer than 100 students in
13 12 a high school.
13 13 SCHOOL DISTRICT AUDITS. The bill requires that an
13 14 examination of school offices shall include the revenues and
13 15 expenditures of any organized nonprofit school organization
13 16 that exists for the sole benefit of the school district.
13 17 CONFIDENTIAL STUDENT RECORDS. The bill makes confidential
13 18 the personal information in records regarding a child
13 19 receiving competent private instruction that are maintained,
13 20 created, collected, or assembled by or for a state agency
13 21 maintaining such records.
13 22 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENT GAP REPORT. The
13 23 department is directed to prepare and submit to the
13 24 chairpersons and ranking members of the senate and house
13 25 education committees a report on the state's progress toward
13 26 closing the achievement gap.
13 27 DROPOUT AND DROPOUT PREVENTION PROGRAMS. The bill provides
13 28 that plans and budgets for dropout and dropout prevention
13 29 programs, for which school districts are seeking additional
13 30 allowable growth authority from the school budget review
13 31 committee, must be submitted to the department of education as
13 32 a component of the comprehensive school improvement plan that
13 33 school districts must annually submit to the department. The
13 34 bill also delays the date by which requests for additional
13 35 allowable growth for those programs must be submitted from
14 1 November 1 to December 15. Beginning January 15, 2006, the
14 2 department must submit an annual report to the chairpersons
14 3 and ranking members of the senate and house education
14 4 committees that includes the ways school districts are using
14 5 such additional allowable growth approved; identifies, by
14 6 grade level, age, and district size, the students in the
14 7 dropout and dropout prevention programs; describes school
14 8 district progress toward increasing student achievement and
14 9 attendance for those students; and describes how the school
14 10 districts are using the revenues from the additional allowable
14 11 growth to improve student achievement among minority
14 12 subgroups.
14 13 HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY DIPLOMA. The bill changes the
14 14 criteria for evidence of satisfactory competence necessary for
14 15 issuance of a high school equivalency diploma. The bill
14 16 requires that a diploma be issued on the basis of satisfactory
14 17 competence as shown by tests covering language arts, including
14 18 reading and writing, mathematics, science, and social studies.
14 19 SCHOOL DISTRICT PAYMENTS AND SETTLEMENTS. Currently, the
14 20 Code lists the purposes for which a secretary or administrator
14 21 of a school district may make payments while the school board
14 22 is not in session. This bill replaces the list with general
14 23 permission to issue payments for reasonable and necessary
14 24 expenses.
14 25 The bill also strikes language that requires the school
14 26 district's treasurer to furnish the board with a sworn
14 27 statement showing each depository balance and providing that
14 28 if the secretary or treasurer fails to make proper reports for
14 29 a settlement, the board must take action to obtain balance
14 30 information.
14 31 AUTHORIZED PPEL EXPENDITURES. The bill permits moneys
14 32 received from the sale of school sites that are deposited in
14 33 the physical plant and equipment levy (PPEL) fund to be used
14 34 for the same purposes for which revenues from the PPEL levies
14 35 may be used.
15 1 NONPROFIT SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS. The bill allows school
15 2 boards to establish and authorize expenditures for the
15 3 operational support of a nonprofit entity or organization for
15 4 the sole benefit of the school district and its students after
15 5 holding a public hearing on the proposal. Such an entity or
15 6 organization shall maintain its records in accordance with
15 7 Code chapter 22. The school district must annually report to
15 8 the department of education and the local community the
15 9 administrative expenditures, revenues, and activities of the
15 10 entity or organization. The department must include a
15 11 statewide summary of the expenditures and revenues in its
15 12 annual condition of education report.
15 13 EXTENDED SCHOOL PROGRAMS == EVENING AND PART=TIME SCHOOLS
15 14 REPEAL. The bill repeals a provision related to extended
15 15 school programs, which are identified in the Code as programs
15 16 school districts may voluntarily establish for residents of
15 17 the school district who are over 21 years of age, do not
15 18 possess a high school diploma or a high school equivalency
15 19 diploma under Code chapter 259A, and are enrolled in an
15 20 education program in the district. Residents attending such a
15 21 program are counted in the district's basic enrollment and
15 22 attend on a tuition=free basis. The bill also repeals two
15 23 Code chapters that authorize evening and part=time schools.
15 24 The Code chapters require school districts to establish an
15 25 evening school when 10 or more persons over age 16 express a
15 26 desire for instruction at an evening school for not less than
15 27 two hours each evening for at least two evenings each week for
15 28 not less than three months of each school year; and, in cities
15 29 of 12,000 or more, to establish and maintain part=time schools
15 30 when 15 or more children residing in the district who are
15 31 between 14 and 16 years of age cease to attend the full=time
15 32 day school. The bill includes a conforming amendment.
15 33 OPEN ENROLLMENT. The bill moves the application deadline
15 34 for open enrollment from January 1 to April 1 of the preceding
15 35 school year for students entering grades 1 through 12, and to
16 1 September 1 of the current school year for students entering
16 2 kindergarten. The bill expands the exception that allows
16 3 parents to miss the deadline, by allowing "good cause" to
16 4 include a similar set of circumstances consistent with the
16 5 definition of "good cause". The bill also allows a school
16 6 board to grant a superintendent the authority to approve "good
16 7 cause" applications and allows a receiving district to grant a
16 8 superintendent the authority to approve a timely filed
16 9 application. The bill requires the resident district to
16 10 approve a good cause application before the receiving district
16 11 takes action on the request, and permits a denial by the
16 12 resident district to be appealed to the department of
16 13 education.
16 14 FENCING NEAR SCHOOL GROUNDS. The bill repeals a provision
16 15 that requires school boards to maintain a lawful fence between
16 16 school grounds and adjoining cultivated or improved lands.
16 17 However, the bill maintains language that prohibits such land
16 18 to be fenced using barbed wire.
16 19 SCHOOL BUS DRIVER FITNESS CERTIFICATION AND GROUNDS FOR
16 20 SUSPENSION. The bill eliminates a provision that requires
16 21 school bus drivers to present a certificate of physical
16 22 fitness each year before being permitted to operate any
16 23 vehicles transporting children to and from school. The bill
16 24 expands the department of education's options when a school
16 25 bus driver is found to have violated certain Code provisions,
16 26 by allowing the department to take adverse action, which may
16 27 include a reprimand or warning, rather than an immediate
16 28 suspension.
16 29 LOCAL OPTION AND SERVICES TAX FOR SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE
16 30 PURPOSES == FUND USE PROHIBITION. Revenues collected under
16 31 the local sales and services tax for school infrastructure are
16 32 deposited in the secure an advanced vision for education fund
16 33 for school infrastructure purposes or property tax relief.
16 34 The Code requires that a school district receive prior
16 35 authorization and a certificate of need from the department of
17 1 education before expending the supplemental school
17 2 infrastructure amount received for new construction or for
17 3 payments for bonds issued for new construction against the
17 4 amount. Under the bill, only a school district with a
17 5 certified enrollment of fewer than 250 pupils in the entire
17 6 school district, or fewer than 100 high school pupils, need
17 7 meet these requirements.
17 8 REINSTATEMENT OF OPEN ENROLLMENT ELIGIBILITY ==
17 9 DESEGREGATION PLAN. The bill provides that under a very
17 10 limited circumstance, a student who once participated in open
17 11 enrollment prior to 1997, from a school district that on
17 12 December 10, 2001, adopted a voluntary desegregation plan, may
17 13 have their open enrollment status reinstated to allow the
17 14 student to open enroll to a district other than their district
17 15 of residence.
17 16 LSB 2925HV 81
17 17 kh:nh/sh/8