HOUSE FILE 2072

BY  WILLEMS and COWNIE

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for the adjustment of state foundation aid amounts payable to school districts based on a district’s advanced placement program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 257.7, subsection 1, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Budgets.  School districts are subject to chapter 24. The authorized expenditures of a school district during a base year shall not exceed the lesser of the budget for that year certified under section 24.17 plus any allowable amendments permitted in this section, or the authorized budget, which is the sum of the combined district cost for that year
 
including any adjustments required by section 257.16B, the actual miscellaneous income received for that year, and the actual unspent balance from the preceding year.
    Sec. 2.  Section 257.10, subsection 8, paragraph a, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   a.
  (1)  Combined district cost is the sum of the regular program district cost per pupil multiplied by the weighted enrollment, the special education support services district cost, the total teacher salary supplement district cost, the total professional development supplement district cost, and the total early intervention supplement district cost, plus the sum of the additional district cost allocated to the district to fund media services and educational services provided through the area education agency, the area education agency total teacher salary supplement district cost and the area education agency total professional development supplement district cost.
   (2)  For budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2014, each school district’s combined district cost for the purposes of determining a school district’s authorized expenditures under section 257.7 shall be adjusted to reflect the adjustment to the school district’s state foundation aid under section 257.16B.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  257.16B  State foundation aid adjustment —— advanced placement students.
   1.  For budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2014, the department of management shall, following the determination of the total amount of state foundation aid payable to each school district pursuant to section 257.16, subsection 1, adjust the total amount of state foundation aid payable to each school district as follows:
   a.  Each school district’s total amount of state foundation aid shall be reduced by an amount equal to the school district’s weighted enrollment divided by the total statewide weighted enrollment, and then multiplied by fifteen million dollars.
   b.  Following the reduction in paragraph “a”, each school district’s resulting total amount of state foundation aid shall be increased by an amount equal to the school district’s total number of advanced placement students divided by the total number of advanced placement students in the state, and then multiplied by fifteen million dollars.
   2.  The department of management shall notify each school district of the amount of the adjustment to state foundation aid under this section. Except for the adjustment to a school district’s combined district cost for the purposes of determining a school district’s authorized expenditures under section 257.7, this section shall not result in the recalculation of other state aid amounts or the recalculation of any property tax levy for the budget year.
   3.  For purposes of this section, “advanced placement student” means a student who was enrolled in the school district during the school year preceding the base year, who was enrolled in one or more advanced placement courses during such school year as provided under section 261E.4, and who also achieved a score on the advanced placement examination for at least one such course of three or higher on the advanced placement five-point scale.
   4.  The department of education shall adopt rules under chapter 17A necessary to implement this section, including rules that prescribe all necessary reporting requirements for school districts.
EXPLANATION
   This bill provides for an adjustment of state foundation aid amounts to school districts based on participation in a district’s advanced placement program.
   Under the bill, for budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2014, the department of management is required to adjust the total amount of state foundation aid payable to each school district under the school foundation funding formula. Each school district’s total amount of state foundation aid is first reduced by an amount equal to the school district’s weighted enrollment divided by the total statewide weighted enrollment, and then multiplied by $15 million. Each school district’s resulting total amount of state foundation aid is then increased by an amount equal to the school district’s total number of advanced placement students divided by the total number of advanced placement students in the state, and then multiplied by $15 million.
   The bill defines “advanced placement student” to mean a student who was enrolled in the school district during the school year preceding the base year, who was enrolled in one or more advanced placement courses during such school year through direct instruction on-site, collaboration with another school district, or through the online Iowa advanced placement academy, and who also achieved a score on the advanced placement examination for at least one such course of three or higher on the advanced placement five-point scale.
   The bill includes a requirement that each school district be notified of the adjustments made under the bill and states that except for the adjustment to a school district’s combined district cost for the purposes of determining a school district’s authorized expenditures under Code section 257.7, the adjustments to state foundation aid do not result in the recalculation of other state aid amounts or the recalculation of any property tax levy for the budget year.
   The bill requires the department of education to adopt rules under Code chapter 17A necessary to implement the bill, including rules that prescribe all necessary reporting requirements for school districts.