House File 2533 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 577)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the statewide preschool program for
2 four=year=old children and funding associated with the program
3 and including effective and applicability date provisions.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 5315HV 82
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 256C.3, subsection 1, Code Supplement
1 2 2007, is amended to read as follows:
1 3 1. ELIGIBLE CHILDREN. A child who is a resident of Iowa
1 4 and is four years of age by on or before September 15 of a
1 5 school year shall be eligible to enroll in the preschool
1 6 program under this chapter. If space and funding are
1 7 available, a school district approved to participate in the
1 8 preschool program may enroll a younger or older child in the
1 9 preschool program; however, the child shall not be counted for
1 10 state funding purposes.
1 11 Sec. 2. Section 256C.4, subsection 1, Code Supplement
1 12 2007, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
1 13 NEW PARAGRAPH. f. The receipt of funding by a school
1 14 district for the purposes of this chapter, the need for
1 15 additional funding for the purposes of this chapter, or the
1 16 enrollment count of eligible students under this chapter,
1 17 shall not be considered to be unusual circumstances, create an
1 18 unusual need for additional funds, or qualify under any other
1 19 circumstances that may be used by the school budget review
1 20 committee to grant supplemental aid to or establish modified
1 21 allowable growth for a school district under section 257.31.
1 22 Sec. 3. Section 256C.5, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code
1 23 Supplement 2007, is amended to read as follows:
1 24 b. For budget years subsequent to the initial school year
1 25 for which a school district approved to participate in the
1 26 preschool program receives that initial approval and
1 27 implements the preschool program, the funding for the
1 28 preschool foundation aid payable to that school district shall
1 29 be paid from the appropriation made in section 257.16.
1 30 Continuation of a school district's participation in the
1 31 preschool program for a second or subsequent budget year is
1 32 subject to the approval of the department based upon the
1 33 school district's compliance with accountability provisions
1 34 and the department's on=site review of the school district's
1 35 implementation of the preschool program.
2 1 Sec. 4. Section 256C.6, subsection 1, Code Supplement
2 2 2007, is amended to read as follows:
2 3 1. PHASE=IN. For the initial fiscal year in which a
2 4 school district participates in the preschool program pursuant
2 5 to an appropriation provided in subsection 2, the department
2 6 shall apply a modified set of the requirements of the
2 7 provisions of this chapter relating to preschool program
2 8 implementation, preschool enrollment reporting, and
2 9 distribution of funding as necessary to begin the distribution
2 10 in that fiscal year and additional program implementation in
2 11 the next fiscal year. For each month after September 1, in
2 12 the initial fiscal year that a school district approved to
2 13 participate in the preschool program begins programming, the
2 14 department shall reduce the preschool foundation aid payable
2 15 to the school district by one=tenth of the amount that would
2 16 otherwise have been payable to the school district for the
2 17 full school year.
2 18 Sec. 5. Section 256C.6, subsection 2, Code Supplement
2 19 2007, is amended by adding the following new unnumbered
2 20 paragraph:
2 21 NEW UNNUMBERED PARAGRAPH. Notwithstanding section 8.33,
2 22 moneys appropriated in this subsection that remain
2 23 unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year
2 24 shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure
2 25 for the purposes designated until the close of the succeeding
2 26 fiscal year.
2 27 Sec. 6. Section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code
2 28 Supplement 2007, is amended by adding the following new
2 29 subparagraph:
2 30 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH. (7) Unless counted under another
2 31 subparagraph, resident children who are five years of age or
2 32 older by September 15 and attending a school district's local
2 33 preschool program for four=year=old children approved by the
2 34 department under chapter 256C.
2 35 Sec. 7. 2007 Iowa Acts, chapter 214, section 6, subsection
3 1 13, is amended by adding the following new unnumbered
3 2 paragraph:
3 3 NEW UNNUMBERED PARAGRAPH. Notwithstanding section 8.33,
3 4 moneys appropriated in this subsection that remain
3 5 unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year
3 6 shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure
3 7 for the purposes designated until the close of the succeeding
3 8 fiscal year.
3 9 Sec. 8. APPLICABILITY. The section of this Act amending
3 10 section 257.6 applies retroactively to September 15, 2007, to
3 11 children who were five years of age or older by that date and
3 12 attending a school district's local preschool program for
3 13 four=year=old children approved by the department under
3 14 chapter 256C. If such children were not included in the
3 15 enrollment certified by the school district under section
3 16 257.6 by October 15, 2007, the school district may amend the
3 17 certified enrollment to include such children.
3 18 Sec. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of
3 19 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
3 20 EXPLANATION
3 21 This bill relates to the statewide preschool program for
3 22 four=year=old children and funding associated with the
3 23 program.
3 24 Code section 256C.3, relating to the program requirements,
3 25 is amended to specify that a child must be age four on or
3 26 before September 15 of a school year to enroll in the program.
3 27 Code section 256C.4, relating to the general funding
3 28 provisions for the program, is amended to provide that the
3 29 receipt of funding for purposes of the program, the need for
3 30 funding for the program, or the enrollment count of eligible
3 31 students cannot be used to grant supplemental aid to or
3 32 establish modified allowable growth for a school district.
3 33 Code section 256C.5, relating to the funding formula for
3 34 the preschool program, is amended. Current law provides that
3 35 the funding for the initial year of participation is paid from
4 1 a standing limited appropriation and in subsequent years the
4 2 funding is paid from the standing appropriation for state aid
4 3 to schools. The bill provides that continuation of a school
4 4 district's participation for a second or subsequent year is
4 5 subject to the approval of the department of education.
4 6 Code section 256C.6, relating to phase=in of the program,
4 7 is amended to strike authority for monthly proration of
4 8 preschool foundation aid for school districts that are
4 9 approved to participate in the program, for each month after
4 10 September 1 that the programming begins. The bill includes
4 11 nonreversion provisions to allow carry forward of unexpended
4 12 amounts from the appropriations made for initial year
4 13 participation in the program by school districts for fiscal
4 14 year 2007=2008 in 2007 Iowa Acts, ch. 214, and for fiscal
4 15 years 2008=2009, 2009=2010, and 2010=2011 in Code section
4 16 256C.6.
4 17 Code section 257.6, relating to school enrollment counts
4 18 used for purposes of the school aid formula, is amended to
4 19 include in the enrollment count the children residing in a
4 20 school district who are five years of age by September 15 and
4 21 attending a school district's local preschool program for
4 22 four=year=old children. The children cannot be counted under
4 23 any other provision of the enrollment count law. The bill
4 24 includes an applicability provision so that a school district
4 25 may amend its certified enrollment to include the children who
4 26 were five years of age by September 15, 2007, and attending a
4 27 school district local program.
4 28 The bill takes effect upon enactment.
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