HOUSE FILE 534

BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

(SUCCESSOR TO HF 144)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to school instructional hours and school instructional days and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 256.7, subsection 19, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   19.  Definethe minimum school day as a day consisting of five and one-half hours of instructionaltime for grades one through twelve. The minimum hours as time spent with a licensed teacher that shall be exclusive of the lunch period and parent-teacher conferences, but may include passing time between classes. Time spent on parent-teacher conferences shall be considered instructional time. A school or school district may record a day of school with less than the minimum instructional hours as a minimum school day if any of the following apply:
   a.  If emergency health or safety factors require the late arrival or early dismissal of students on a specific day.
   b.  If the total hours of instructional school time for grades one through twelve for any five consecutive school days equal a minimum of twenty-seven and one-half hours, even though any one day of school is less than the minimum instructional hours because of a staff development opportunity provided for the professional instructional staff or because parent-teacher conferences have been scheduled beyond the regular school day. Furthermore, if the total hours of instructional time for the first four consecutive days equal at least twenty-seven and one-half hours because parent-teacher conferences have been scheduled beyond the regular school day, a school or school district may record zero hours of instructional time on the fifth consecutive school day as a minimum school day.
   Sec. 2.  Section 256F.4, subsection 5, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  A charter school or innovation zone school shall provide instruction for at least the number of days hours required by section 279.10, subsection 1, or shall provide at least the equivalent number of total hours.
   Sec. 3.  Section 279.10, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   279.10  School year ——beginning dateinstructional hours —— exceptions —— pilot programs.
   1.  The school year for each school district and accredited nonpublic school shall begin onthe first day of July 1 and each regularly established elementary and secondary school shall begin no sooner than a day during the calendar week in which the first day of September falls but no later than the first Monday in December. However, if the first day of September falls on a Sunday, school may begin on a day during the calendar week which immediately precedes the first day of September. School shall continue for at least one hundred eighty days, except as provided in subsection 3, and may be maintained end on June 30 and each school calendar shall include not less than one thousand eighty hours of instruction during theentire calendar year. However, if The board of directors of a school district and the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school shall set the number of days of required attendance for the school year as provided in section 299.1, subsection 2, but the board of directors of a school district shall hold a public hearing on any proposed school calendar prior to adopting the school calendar. If the board of directors of a district or the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school extends the school calendar because inclement weather caused the school district or accredited nonpublic school to temporarily closeschool during the regular school calendar, the school district or accredited nonpublic school may excuse a graduating senior who has met district or school requirements for graduation from attendance during the extended school calendar. A school corporation may begin employment of personnel for in-service training and development purposes before the date to begin elementary and secondary school July 1.
   2.  The board of directors shall hold a public hearing on any proposal prior to submitting it to the department of education for approval.
   3.  The board of directors of a school district may request approval from the department of education for a pilot program for an innovative school year. The number of days per year that school is in session may be more or less than those specified in subsection 1, but the innovative school year shall provide for an equivalent number of total hours that school is in session.
   a.  The board shall file a request for approval with the department not later than November 1 of the preceding school year. The request shall include a listing of the savings and goals to be attained under the innovative school year subject to rules adopted by the department under chapter 17A. The department shall notify the districts of the approval or denial of pilot programs not later than the next following January 15.
   b.  A request to continue an innovative school year pilot project after its initial year also shall include an evaluation of the savings and impacts on the educational program in the district.
   c.  Participation in a pilot project shall not modify provisions of a master contract negotiated between a school district and a certified bargaining unit pursuant to chapter 20 unless mutually agreed upon.
   4.  The director of the department of education may grant a request made by a board of directors of a school district stating its desire to commence classes for regularly established elementary and secondary schools prior to the earliest starting date specified in subsection 1. A request shall be based upon the determination that a starting date on or after the earliest starting date specified in subsection 1 would have a significant negative educational impact.
   Sec. 4.  Section 299.4, subsection 1, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child who is of compulsory attendance age, who places the child under competent private instruction under either section 299A.2 or 299A.3, not in an accredited school or a home school assistance program operated by a school district or accredited nonpublic school, shall furnish a report in duplicate on forms provided by the public school district, to the district by the earliest starting date specified in section 279.10, subsection 1 September 1 of the school year in which the child will be under competent private instruction. The secretary shall retain and file one copy and forward the other copy to the district’s area education agency. The report shall state the name and age of the child, the period of time during which the child has been or will be under competent private instruction for the year, an outline of the course of study, texts used, and the name and address of the instructor. The parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child, who is placing the child under competent private instruction for the first time, shall also provide the district with evidence that the child has had the immunizations required under section 139A.8, and, if the child is elementary school age, a blood lead test in accordance with section 135.105D. The term“outline of course of study” shall include subjects covered, lesson plans, and time spent on the areas of study.
   Sec. 5.  REPEAL.  Sections 256.20 and 256.22, Code 2011, are repealed.
   Sec. 6.  REPEAL.  Section 257.17, Code 2011, is repealed. 
   Sec. 7.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect July 1, 2012.
EXPLANATION
   This bill strikes language requiring accredited schools to provide at least 180 instructional days in a school year beginning no sooner than a day during the calendar week in which the first day of September falls but no later than the first Monday in December, and specifying what does and what does not constitute instructional time. The bill replaces the language requiring a 180-day school calendar with a requirement that accredited schools provide at least 1,080 instructional hours during the school calendar in a school year that begins July 1 and ends June 30.
   The school districts and accredited nonpublic schools set the number of days of required attendance for the school year, but school districts must hold a public hearing on a proposed school calendar prior to adopting the school calendar.
   The bill modifies a provision requiring the state board of education to define the minimum school day. Under the bill, instructional time for grades 1 through 12, is still exclusive of the lunch period and may include passing time between classes, but parent-teacher conferences do not qualify as instructional time. The bill strikes language that permits a school or school district to record a day of school with less than the minimum instructional hours as a minimum school day for emergency health or safety factors and for staff development opportunities.
   The bill makes conforming changes, including giving a parent, whose child is under competent private instruction, until September 1 to furnish a report providing information about the child and the competent private instruction to the school district of residence. The bill strikes or repeals language that permits the department of education to approve an innovative school year pilot program, permits the director of the department to grant a waiver to allow schools to start prior to the school calendar earliest start date, permits the state board of education to approve year around school pilot projects, requires the department to establish an extended year school grant program subject to an appropriation, and penalizes school districts that have not received a waiver for beginning school before the earliest start date allowed.
   The bill takes effect July 1, 2012.