Senate File 386 - Introduced
SENATE FILE
BY McKINLEY
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the minimum hours of instructional time in a
2 school day for school districts, charter schools, and
3 accredited nonpublic schools and including an effective date
4 and applicability provision.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
6 TLSB 1661XS 83
7 kh/rj/5
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 256.7, subsection 19, unnumbered
1 2 paragraph 1, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
1 3 Define the minimum school day as a day consisting of five
1 4 and one=half seven hours of instructional time for grades one
1 5 through twelve. The minimum hours shall be exclusive of the
1 6 lunch period, but may include passing time between classes.
1 7 Time spent on parent=teacher conferences shall be considered
1 8 instructional time. A school or school district may record a
1 9 day of school with less than the minimum instructional hours
1 10 as a minimum school day if any of the following apply:
1 11 Sec. 2. Section 256.7, subsection 19, paragraph b, Code
1 12 2009, is amended to read as follows:
1 13 b. If the total hours of instructional school time for
1 14 grades one through twelve for any five consecutive school days
1 15 equal a minimum of twenty=seven and one=half thirty=five
1 16 hours, even though any one day of school is less than the
1 17 minimum instructional hours because of a staff development
1 18 opportunity provided for the professional instructional staff
1 19 or because parent=teacher conferences have been scheduled
1 20 beyond the regular school day. Furthermore, if the total
1 21 hours of instructional time for the first four consecutive
1 22 days equal at least twenty=seven and one=half thirty=five
1 23 hours because parent=teacher conferences have been scheduled
1 24 beyond the regular school day, a school or school district may
1 25 record zero hours of instructional time on the fifth
1 26 consecutive school day as a minimum school day.
1 27 Sec. 3. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance
1 28 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring
1 29 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall
1 30 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid
1 31 received by the school district under section 257.16. This
1 32 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed
1 33 to meet all the state funding=related requirements of section
1 34 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be
1 35 necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and
2 1 enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts.
2 2 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY. This Act takes
2 3 effect July 1, 2011, and applies to school years beginning on
2 4 or after that date.
2 5 EXPLANATION
2 6 This bill increases the hours in the minimum school day
2 7 from five and one=half hours to seven hours, or from 27.5
2 8 hours per week to 35 hours per week.
2 9 This bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
2 10 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any
2 11 state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school
2 12 district from state school foundation aid received by the
2 13 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification
2 14 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state
2 15 mandate funding=related requirements of Code section 25B.2.
2 16 The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate
2 17 the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any
2 18 state mandates included in the bill.
2 19 The bill takes effect July 1, 2011, for school years
2 20 beginning on or after that date.
2 21 LSB 1661XS 83
2 22 kh/rj/5