House File 2144HOUSE FILE BY DANDEKAR, HEDDENS, MURPHY, BERRY, KELLEY, WENDT, SMITH, MERTZ, KRESSIG, D. OLSON, T. OLSON, ABDUL-SAMAD, SHOMSHOR, ZIRKELBACH, GASKILL, FORD, and T. TAYLOR Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays Approved A BILL FOR 1 An Act relating to the compulsory school attendance age and 2 providing effective dates. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5102HH 82 5 kh/nh/14 PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 299.1A, Code 2007, is amended to read 1 2 as follows: 1 3 299.1A COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE AGE. 1 4 1. a. AExcept as provided in paragraph "b" and section 1 5 299.2, a child who has reached the age of six and is under 1 6sixteeneighteen years of age by September 15 is of compulsory 1 7 attendance age.However, if a child enrolled in a school 1 8 district or accredited nonpublic school reaches the age of 1 9 sixteen on or after September 15, the child remains of 1 10 compulsory age until the end of the regular school calendar.1 11 b. A child who is receiving competent private instruction 1 12 in accordance with the provisions of chapter 299A and who has 1 13 reached the age of six and is under sixteen years of age by 1 14 September 15 is of compulsory attendance age. 1 15 2. a. An individual who reaches the age of eighteen on or 1 16 after September 15 during the school year is not subject to 1 17 compulsory school attendance on or after the date upon which 1 18 the individual attains the age of eighteen if the individual 1 19 files with the board of directors of the school district or 1 20 the accredited nonpublic school of enrollment a formal 1 21 declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment and, to 1 22 the degree possible, participates in an exit interview 1 23 pursuant to paragraph "b" and completes a survey in accordance 1 24 with paragraph "c". The school district or accredited 1 25 nonpublic school shall make every effort to notify the 1 26 individual's parent or guardian of receipt of the individual's 1 27 declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment. An 1 28 individual who has reached the age of eighteen and who has not 1 29 yet graduated from high school or attained a high school 1 30 equivalency diploma is subject to compulsory school attendance 1 31 until the formal declaration is filed with the board of 1 32 directors of the school district or the authorities in charge 1 33 of an accredited nonpublic school. 1 34 b. To the degree possible, a guidance counselor or other 1 35 school personnel designated by the school district or 2 1 accredited nonpublic school shall conduct an exit interview 2 2 with the individual to do all of the following: 2 3 (1) Determine the reasons for the individual's decision to 2 4 terminate school enrollment. 2 5 (2) Discuss actions that could be taken to assist the 2 6 individual to stay in school. 2 7 (3) Inform the individual of opportunities to continue the 2 8 individual's education in a different environment, including 2 9 but not limited to adult education and test preparation 2 10 designed to qualify the individual for a high school 2 11 equivalency diploma. 2 12 c. In addition to meeting the requirements of paragraphs 2 13 "a" and "b", the individual, to the degree possible, shall 2 14 complete a survey in a format prescribed by the department of 2 15 education to provide data on the individual's reasons for 2 16 terminating enrollment and actions taken by the school to keep 2 17 the individual enrolled. The school district or accredited 2 18 nonpublic school shall submit the data from the completed 2 19 surveys to the department of education annually. 2 20 Sec. 2. Section 299.2, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2007, 2 21 is amended to read as follows: 2 22SectionSections 299.1 and 299.1A shall not apply to any 2 23 child: 2 24 Sec. 3. Section 299A.8, Code Supplement 2007, is amended 2 25 to read as follows: 2 26 299A.8 DUAL ENROLLMENT. 2 27 If a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child who is 2 28 receiving competent private instruction under this chapteror 2 29 a child over compulsory age who is receiving private 2 30 instructionsubmits a request, the child shall also be 2 31 registered in a public school for dual enrollment purposes. 2 32 If the child is enrolled in a public school district for dual 2 33 enrollment purposes, the child shall be permitted to 2 34 participate in any academic activities in the district and 2 35 shall also be permitted to participate on the same basis as 3 1 public school children in any extracurricular activities 3 2 available to children in the child's grade or group, and the 3 3 parent, guardian, or legal custodian shall not be required to 3 4 pay the costs of any annual evaluation under this chapter. If 3 5 the child is enrolled for dual enrollment purposes, the child 3 6 shall be included in the public school's basic enrollment 3 7 under section 257.6. A pupil who is participating only in 3 8 extracurricular activities shall be counted under section 3 9 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph "a", subparagraph (6). A pupil 3 10 enrolled in grades nine through twelve under this section 3 11 shall be counted in the same manner as a shared=time pupil 3 12 under section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph "a", subparagraph 3 13 (3). 3 14 Sec. 4. COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE WORKING GROUP. The 3 15 department of education shall convene a working group 3 16 comprised of the director of the department of education, or 3 17 the director's designee, and other education stakeholders 3 18 appointed by the department to review supports for students 3 19 affected by an increase in the compulsory attendance age from 3 20 sixteen to eighteen years of age. The working group shall 3 21 consider, at a minimum, the necessity of expansion of support 3 22 programs and services for such students, online at=risk 3 23 academy courses, career academies, and current at=risk 3 24 allowable growth provisions, and full funding of the 3 25 instructional support levy. The working group shall submit 3 26 its findings and recommendations, including any proposed 3 27 changes in policy or statute, to the state board of education 3 28 and the general assembly by January 15, 2009. 3 29 Sec. 5. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance 3 30 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring 3 31 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall 3 32 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid 3 33 received by the school district under section 257.16. This 3 34 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed 3 35 to meet all the state funding=related requirements of section 4 1 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be 4 2 necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and 4 3 enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts. 4 4 Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATES. The section of this Act 4 5 providing for a compulsory attendance working group takes 4 6 effect July 1, 2008, and the remainder of the Act takes effect 4 7 July 1, 2009. 4 8 EXPLANATION 4 9 This bill raises the compulsory school attendance age for 4 10 students other than those receiving competent private 4 11 instruction. Those students, other than those who received 4 12 competent private instruction, who reach age 18 on or after 4 13 September 15 during a school year are of compulsory attendance 4 14 age for the rest of the school year unless they file with the 4 15 school district or accredited nonpublic school a formal 4 16 declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment and, to 4 17 the degree possible, participate in an exit interview and 4 18 complete a survey that will provide data annually to the 4 19 department of education regarding the reasons students are 4 20 terminating enrollment. The bill includes technical 4 21 amendments to eliminate a reference to the compulsory 4 22 attendance age for purposes of dual enrollment and to exempt 4 23 children who meet conditions existing in Code section 299.2. 4 24 The bill also directs the department of education to convene a 4 25 compulsory attendance working group. 4 26 The school district or nonpublic school must make every 4 27 effort to notify the individual's parent or guardian of a 4 28 student's intent to terminate enrollment. To the degree 4 29 possible, in conducting the exit interview, school personnel 4 30 must determine the reasons for the individual's decision to 4 31 terminate school enrollment, discuss actions that could be 4 32 taken to assist the individual to stay in school, and inform 4 33 the individual of opportunities to continue the individual's 4 34 education in a different environment, including but not 4 35 limited to adult education and test preparation designed to 5 1 qualify the individual for a high school equivalency diploma. 5 2 The working group is to review supports for affected 5 3 students and to consider the necessity of expanding support 5 4 programs and services, online at=risk academy courses, career 5 5 academies, current at=risk allowable growth provisions, and 5 6 full funding of the instructional support levy. The working 5 7 group must submit a report to the general assembly and the 5 8 department of education by January 15, 2009. 5 9 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code 5 10 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any 5 11 state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school 5 12 district from state school foundation aid received by the 5 13 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification 5 14 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state 5 15 mandate funding=related requirements of Code section 25B.2. 5 16 The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate 5 17 the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any 5 18 state mandates included in the bill. 5 19 The provision relating to the working group takes effect 5 20 July 1, 2008, while the remainder of the bill takes effect 5 21 July 1, 2009. 5 22 LSB 5102HH 82 5 23 kh/nh/14.1