HOUSE FILE 580

BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

(SUCCESSOR TO HF 379)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the provision of competent private instruction to school-age children.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 299A.2, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   299A.2  Competent private instruction by licensed practitioner.
   If a licensed practitioner provides competent instruction to a school-age child of compulsory attendance age, the practitioner shall possess a valid license or certificate which has been issued by the state board of educational examiners under chapter 272 and which is appropriate to the ages and grade levels of the children to be taught. Competent private instruction may include, but is not limited to, a home school assistance program which provides instruction or instructional supervision offered through an accredited nonpublic school or public school district by a teacher, who is employed by the accredited nonpublic school or public school district, who assists and supervises a parent, guardian, or legal custodian in providing instruction to a child. If competent private instruction is provided through a public school district, the child shall be enrolled and included in the basic enrollment of the school district as provided in section 257.6. Sections 299A.3 through 299A.7 do not apply to competent private instruction provided by a licensed practitioner under this section. However, the reporting requirement contained in section 299A.3, subsection 1, shall apply to competent private instruction provided by licensed practitioners that is not part of a home school assistance program offered through an accredited nonpublic school or public school district.
   Sec. 2.  Section 299A.8, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   299A.8  Dual enrollment.
   If a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a school-age child who is receiving competent private instruction under this chapter or a child over compulsory age who is receiving private instruction submits a request, the child shall also be registered in a public school for dual enrollment purposes. If the child is enrolled in a public school district for dual enrollment purposes, the child shall be permitted to participate in any academic activities in the district and shall also be permitted to participate on the same basis as public school children in any extracurricular activities available to children in the child’s grade or group, and the parent, guardian, or legal custodian shall not be required to pay the costs of any annual evaluation under this chapter. If the child is enrolled for dual enrollment purposes, the child shall be included in the public school’s basic enrollment under section 257.6. A pupil who is participating only in extracurricular activities shall be counted under section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (6). A pupil enrolled in grades nine through twelve under this section shall be counted in the same manner as a shared-time pupil under section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (3).
EXPLANATION
   This bill permits children receiving competent private instruction to qualify for dual enrollment provided through a school district and competent private instruction, including home school assistance programs, if the children are of school age, rather than of compulsory attendance age.