S.F. 2136 Section 1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION —— 21st CENTURY SCHOOL 1 SYSTEM TASK FORCE. 2 1. The department of education shall convene a task force 3 to study and plan for the creation of a 21st century school 4 system. 5 2. The task force shall consist of the following members 6 who, except as provided in paragraph “e”, shall be appointed by 7 the director of the department of education: 8 a. Six parents or guardians of school-age children. Two 9 of the parents or guardians appointed shall each have a child 10 enrolled in a rural school district, two of the parents or 11 guardians appointed shall each have a child enrolled in a 12 suburban school district, and two of the parents or guardians 13 appointed shall each have a child enrolled in an urban school 14 district. 15 b. Three superintendents of school districts, one of whom 16 shall be employed by a rural school district, one of whom shall 17 be employed by a suburban school district, and one of whom 18 shall be employed by an urban school district. 19 c. Three school board members, one of whom shall be 20 elected as a member of the board of directors of a rural school 21 district, one of whom shall be elected as a member of the board 22 of directors of a suburban school district, and one of whom 23 shall be elected as a member of the board of directors of an 24 urban school district. 25 d. Four business leaders, two of whom shall represent small 26 businesses and two of whom shall represent large businesses. 27 e. The chairpersons and ranking members of the joint 28 appropriations subcommittee on education. 29 3. The task force shall study all of the following: 30 a. Changing the school calendar, including but not limited 31 to the length of the school year and the feasibility of moving 32 to a statewide year around school calendar. The task force 33 shall review research regarding school calendars utilized in 34 other states and countries. 35 -1- LSB 5672XS (3) 83 kh/sc 1/ 3

S.F. 2136 b. Changing the length of the school day to accommodate more 1 teacher preparation time as well as more instructional time 2 for students, giving due consideration to making the school 3 calendar family-friendly and parent work hours and school hours 4 more compatible. 5 c. Beginning the kindergarten through grade eight 6 instructional day before the high school instructional day. 7 d. Increasing the amount of instructional time for students 8 who are not at grade level in reading, writing, mathematics, 9 and grammar skills, in order to allow these students to 10 advance successfully to the next grade level and avoid social 11 promotion. 12 e. Increasing the minimal requirements for graduation from 13 high school. 14 f. Whether the Iowa core curriculum is rigorous, supports 15 best practices, and meets student needs for success as a 16 citizen and in the global economy. 17 g. The merits of regional high school academies to meet the 18 academic needs of students. 19 4. The task force shall not take into consideration costs, 20 transportation, or athletics when making recommendations 21 relating to student achievement and citizenship, though such 22 barriers shall be studied to form separate recommendations for 23 measures to avoid or manage these barriers. 24 5. The task force shall submit its findings and 25 recommendations in a report to the general assembly and the 26 governor by November 15, 2010. 27 EXPLANATION 28 This bill directs the department of education to convene a 29 task force to study and plan for the creation of a 21st century 30 school system. 31 The task force shall consist of parents and guardians, 32 school district superintendents, school board members from 33 rural, suburban, and urban school districts, business leaders 34 representing small and large businesses, and the chairpersons 35 -2- LSB 5672XS (3) 83 kh/sc 2/ 3

S.F. 2136 and ranking members of the joint appropriations subcommittee 1 on education. 2 The task force shall study changing the school calendar, 3 length of the school year, and the feasibility of moving to 4 a statewide year around school calendar; changing the length 5 of the school day to accommodate more teacher preparation time 6 and instructional time for students, giving due consideration 7 to making the school calendar family-friendly and parent 8 work hours and school hours more compatible; beginning the 9 K-8 instructional day before high school starts; additional 10 instructional time for students who are not at grade level 11 to allow these students to advance successfully to the next 12 grade level and avoid social promotion; increasing the minimal 13 requirements for graduation from high school; whether the Iowa 14 core curriculum is rigorous, supports best practices, and 15 meets student needs for success as a citizen and in the global 16 economy; and the merits of regional high school academies to 17 meet the academic needs of students. 18 The task force shall not take into consideration costs, 19 transportation, or athletics when making recommendations 20 relating to student achievement and citizenship, though such 21 barriers shall be studied to form separate recommendations for 22 measures to avoid or manage these barriers. 23 The task force shall submit its findings and recommendations 24 in a report to the general assembly and the governor by 25 November 15, 2010. 26 -3- LSB 5672XS (3) 83 kh/sc 3/ 3