House File 779 - Introduced HOUSE FILE BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO HF 6) 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 1326HV 82 5 kh/gg/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 4AExcept as provided in section 299.2, a child who has 1 5 reached the age of six and is undersixteeneighteen years of 1 6 age by September 15 is of compulsory attendance age. However, 1 7ifa child who is receiving competent private instruction and 1 8 who is under sixteen years of age by September 15 or who 1 9 reaches the age of sixteen on or after September 15 is of 1 10 compulsory attendance age. If a child enrolled in a school 1 11 district or accredited nonpublic school reaches the age of 1 12sixteeneighteen on or after September 15, the child remains 1 13 of compulsory age until the end of the regular school 1 14 calendar. 1 15 Sec. 2. Section 299.2, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2007, 1 16 is amended to read as follows: 1 17SectionSections 299.1 and 299.1A shall not apply to any 1 18 child: 1 19 Sec. 3. Section 299A.8, Code 2007, is amended to read as 1 20 follows: 1 21 299A.8 DUAL ENROLLMENT. 1 22 If a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child who is 1 23 receiving competent private instruction under this chapteror 1 24 a child over compulsory age who is receiving private 1 25 instructionsubmits a request, the child shall also be 1 26 registered in a public school for dual enrollment purposes. 1 27 If the child is enrolled in a public school district for dual 1 28 enrollment purposes, the child shall be permitted to 1 29 participate in any academic activities in the district and 1 30 shall also be permitted to participate on the same basis as 1 31 public school children in any extracurricular activities 1 32 available to children in the child's grade or group, and the 1 33 parent, guardian, or legal custodian shall not be required to 1 34 pay the costs of any annual evaluation under this chapter. If 1 35 the child is enrolled for dual enrollment purposes, the child 2 1 shall be included in the public school's basic enrollment 2 2 under section 257.6. A pupil who is participating only in 2 3 extracurricular activities shall be counted under section 2 4 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph "f". A pupil enrolled in 2 5 grades nine through twelve under this section shall be counted 2 6 in the same manner as a shared=time pupil under section 257.6, 2 7 subsection 1, paragraph "c". 2 8 Sec. 4. COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE WORKING GROUP. The 2 9 department of education shall convene a working group 2 10 comprised of the director of the department of education, or 2 11 the director's designee, and other education stakeholders 2 12 appointed by the department to review supports for students 2 13 affected by an increase in the compulsory attendance age from 2 14 sixteen to eighteen years of age. The working group shall 2 15 consider, at a minimum, the necessity of expansion of support 2 16 programs and services for such students, online at=risk 2 17 academy courses, career academies, and current at=risk 2 18 allowable growth provisions, and full funding of the 2 19 instructional support levy. The working group shall submit 2 20 its findings and recommendations, including any proposed 2 21 changes in policy or statute, to the state board of education 2 22 and the general assembly by January 14, 2008. 2 23 Sec. 5. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance 2 24 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring 2 25 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall 2 26 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid 2 27 received by the school district under section 257.16. This 2 28 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed 2 29 to meet all the state funding=related requirements of section 2 30 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be 2 31 necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and 2 32 enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts. 2 33 Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATES. The section of this Act 2 34 providing for a compulsory attendance working group takes 2 35 effect July 1, 2007, and the remainder of the Act takes effect 3 1 July 1, 2008. 3 2 EXPLANATION 3 3 This bill raises the compulsory school attendance age from 3 4 16 to 18 years of age for students other than those receiving 3 5 competent private instruction. The bill includes technical 3 6 amendments to eliminate a reference to the compulsory 3 7 attendance age for purposes of dual enrollment and to exempt 3 8 children who meet conditions existing in Code section 299.2. 3 9 The bill also directs the department of education to convene a 3 10 compulsory attendance working group. 3 11 The working group is to review supports for affected 3 12 students and to consider the necessity of expanding support 3 13 programs and services, online at=risk academy courses, career 3 14 academies, current at=risk allowable growth provisions, and 3 15 full funding of the instructional support levy. The working 3 16 group must submit a report to the general assembly and the 3 17 department of education by January 15, 2008. 3 18 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code 3 19 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any 3 20 state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school 3 21 district from state school foundation aid received by the 3 22 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification 3 23 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state 3 24 mandate funding=related requirements of Code section 25B.2. 3 25 The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate 3 26 the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any 3 27 state mandates included in the bill. 3 28 The provision relating to the working group takes effect 3 29 July 1, 2007, while the remainder of the bill takes effect 3 30 July 1, 2008. 3 31 LSB 1326HV 82 3 32 kh:nh/gg/14