SENATE FILE 135

BY  McKINLEY

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the minimum hours of instructional time in a school day for school districts, charter schools, and accredited nonpublic schools and including effective date and applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 256.7, subsection 19, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   Define the minimum school day as a day consisting of five and one-half seven hours of instructional time for grades one through twelve. The minimum hours shall be exclusive of the lunch period, 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:
   Sec. 2.  Section 256.7, subsection 19, paragraph b, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   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 thirty-five 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 thirty-five 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. 3.  STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED.  In accordance with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under section 257.16. This specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed to meet all the state funding-related requirements of section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts.
   Sec. 4.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect July 1, 2013.
   Sec. 5.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to school years beginning on or after July 1, 2013.
EXPLANATION
   This bill increases the hours in the minimum school day from five and one-half hours to seven hours, or from 27.5 hours per week to 35 hours per week for school districts, charter schools, and accredited nonpublic schools.
   This bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under Code section 257.16. The specification is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state mandates included in the bill.
   The bill takes effect July 1, 2013, for school years beginning on or after that date.