HF 145 (LSB 1339YH (4) 85)

HOUSE FILE 145

BY  PETTENGILL

A BILL FOR

An Act creating an Iowa state board for blind and deaf education with authority over the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  259C.1  Definitions.
   For the purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1.  “Board” means the Iowa state board for blind and deaf education created by this chapter.
   2.  “Director” means the person appointed to serve as the chief administrator for the board and the schools under this chapter.
   3.  “Schools” means both the Iowa school for the deaf at Council Bluffs and the Iowa braille and sight saving school at Vinton.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  259C.2  Iowa state board for blind and deaf education.
   1.  An Iowa state board for blind and deaf education is created with authority over the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school.
   2.  The voting members of the board listed in this subsection shall be appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the senate. These voting members shall be appointed to staggered terms of three years beginning and ending as provided in section 69.19. A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term. The voting members of the board appointed by the governor shall consist of the following:
   a.  The parent of a child with a severe visual impairment.
   b.  The parent of a child with a severe hearing loss.
   c.  An alumnus of the Iowa school for the deaf.
   d.  An alumnus of the Iowa braille and sight saving school.
   e.  An employee of an area education agency.
   f.  An employee of the department of education.
   g.  An employee of the department of human services.
   h.  A representative of the governor’s developmental disabilities council. 
   i.  An employee of a school district who works with the district’s program for pupils with sensory impairments.
   3.  In addition to the voting members listed in subsection 2, the following shall also serve as voting members of the board:
   a.  The superintendent of the Iowa school for the deaf.
   b.  The superintendent of the Iowa braille and sight saving school.
   4.  In addition to the voting members, the following shall serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of the board:
   a.  A designee of the governor’s office.
   b.  Four members of the general assembly, with one representative each appointed by the speaker and the minority leader of the house of representatives, and one senator each appointed by the majority leader and the minority leader of the senate. A legislative member serves for a term as provided in section 69.16B.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  259C.3  Duties of the board.
   The board shall perform the following duties:
   1.  Approve policies and procedures for the schools.
   2.  Adopt rules in accordance with chapter 17A necessary for operation of the schools.
   3.  Approve budgets and exercise control of the schools and the property and other resources connected with the schools.
   4.  Continue the hall of fame for distinguished graduates at the Iowa braille and sight saving school and at the Iowa school for the deaf originally established by the state board of regents pursuant to section 262.9, subsection 21, Code 2013.
    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  259C.4  Director of state board for blind and deaf education.
   1.  The director of the Iowa state board for blind and deaf education shall be appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the senate.
   2.  The duties of the director shall include the following:
   a.  Hiring and supervising the superintendents of the schools.
   b.  Recommending policies and procedures for the schools and ensuring implementation of those that are approved by the board.

   c.  Recommending rules for adoption by the board.
   d.  Managing the budgets, property, and other resources connected with the schools, as approved by the board.
   e.  Ensuring the schools are operated in accordance with the applicable requirements of the state board of education and the department of education.
   f.  Performing other duties as assigned by the governor and the board.
    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  259C.5  Iowa school for the deaf.
   1.  The Iowa school for the deaf, heretofore established pursuant to chapter 270, Code 2013, in Council Bluffs, shall provide services in accordance with this chapter to eligible pupils.
   2.  For the purposes of this chapter, an “eligible pupil” at the Iowa school for the deaf is a child or young adult resident of this state who is less than age twenty-one, has a hearing loss which is too severe to allow the pupil to acquire an education in public school appropriate to the pupil’s needs, and the pupil’s parent, guardian, or custodian has chosen the school for the pupil.
   3.  The school may provide services to child or young adult residents less than age twenty-one who have additional sensory impairments, developmental disabilities, or physical disabilities.
   4.  A child or young adult who meets the definition in subsection 2 other than residency may be considered an eligible pupil provided the child or young adult pays the costs of the services received as determined by the board. Such cost shall not be less than the average expense of resident eligible pupils and shall be paid in advance.
    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  259C.6  Iowa braille and sight saving school.
   1.  The Iowa braille and sight saving school, heretofore established pursuant to chapter 269, Code 2013, in Vinton, shall provide services in accordance with this chapter to eligible pupils.
   2.  For the purposes of this chapter, an “eligible pupil” at the Iowa braille and sight saving school is a child or young adult resident of this state who is less than age twenty-one, has a visual disability which is too severe to allow the pupil to acquire an education in public school appropriate to the pupil’s needs, and the pupil’s parent, guardian, or custodian has chosen the school for the pupil.
   3.  The school may provide services to child or young adult residents less than age twenty-one who have additional sensory impairments, developmental disabilities, or physical disabilities.
   4.  A child or young adult who meets the definition in subsection 2 other than residency may be considered an eligible pupil provided the child or young adult pays the costs of the services received as determined by the board. Such cost shall not be less than the average expense of resident eligible pupils and shall be paid in advance.
   5.  The school may provide summer programs for adults with a severe visual disability who find the school location to be more convenient than programs offered in other locations.
    Sec. 7.  NEW SECTION.  259C.7  Services provided.
   1.  The services provided at or available through both schools for eligible pupils shall include but are not limited to all of the following:
   a.  Education programs available on a full-time, part-time, or extended-day basis, depending on education need.
   b.  A residential program which incorporates daily living and social skill components as well as residential accommodations. In order to participate in the residential program, the eligible pupil must reside more than twenty-five miles from the school location. The residential program services, activities, and transportation shall be provided at no charge to the eligible pupil’s family except for the pupil’s clothing, toiletries, school supplies, and other personal necessary items as identified by the schools.
   c.  Outreach services which may include any of the following:
   (1)  Orientation and mobility consultation.
   (2)  Addressing the special needs of eligible pupils from birth through age six.
   (3)  Professional development.
   (4)  Transition services for children and young adults who would be eligible to attend or are attending one of the schools and are age fourteen or older.
   (5)  Low vision evaluations.
   (6)  Production of accessible materials that comply with the national instructional materials accessibility standard.
   d.  A summer program for eligible pupils who are age six through twenty. The program shall provide vocational and job experience components.
   e.  A full range of extracurricular activities.
   f.  Supportive services for the parents and family of eligible pupils.
   2.
  a.  If a funding source or program, directed to children and young adults who are less than age twenty-one and have a severe hearing loss or visual disability and may have other disabilities, applies a requirement for the use of the least restrictive environment, the environment at the Iowa school for the deaf at Council Bluffs and the Iowa braille and sight saving school at Vinton, as appropriate for the hearing loss or visual disability, shall be considered to be in compliance with the requirement.
   b.  If an individual resident of this state who is less than age twenty-one has a severe hearing loss or visual disability, the individual education plan developed to address the individual’s needs shall evaluate the extent to which the continuum of services available in the individual’s home school district would be provided in the least restrictive environment available to the individual. The evaluation results shall be provided to the individual’s parent, guardian, or custodian. In order for the individual education plan for the individual to include a recommendation for the services to be provided in the individual’s home school district, the home school district must be able to offer the individual all of the following:
   (1)  The individual will be able to participate fully in school activities.
   (2)  The individual will be able to function at grade level in reading and math and receive daily instruction in the appropriate reading media.
   (3)  The individual will be able to travel independently within the school facilities.
   (4)  The books, materials distributed, and other educational materials will be available in the reading media appropriate for the individual’s special needs.
   (5)  A physical education program will be available to facilitate the individual’s full participation.
   (6)  The individual will have technology available to fully utilize computers and access the internet and will receive instruction in the use of appropriate adaptive computer technology.
   (7)  The individual will be able to interact informally with other children and young adults attending the school.
   (8)  The individual will have opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities.
   (9)  The individual will have opportunities to participate in expanded curriculum during the regular school week.
    Sec. 8.  NEW SECTION.  259C.8  Charges to counties.
   1.  The superintendents of the schools shall certify charges attributable to a county for the services provided to eligible pupils under this chapter with legal settlement in the county that are comparable to the charges levied to a county for services provided to such eligible pupils under chapters 269 and 270, Code 2013.
   2.
  a.  Each superintendent shall, on the first days of June and December of each year, certify to the director of the department of administrative services the amounts due from counties pursuant to subsection 1, and the director of the department of administrative services shall credit the amounts due to the general fund of the state, and charge the amount to the proper county.
   b.  Each superintendent shall, at the time of sending certification to the director of the department of administrative services, send a duplicate copy to the county auditor of the county of the pupil’s residence, who shall, when ordered by the board of supervisors, proceed to collect the same by action if necessary, in the name of the county, and when so collected, shall pay the same into the county treasury.
   c.  The county auditor shall, upon receipt of the copy of the certification, pass the amounts due to the credit of the state, and issue a notice to the county treasurer authorizing the county treasurer to transfer the amounts due to the state, which shall be filed by the treasurer as authority for making the transfer, and the county treasurer shall include the amounts in the next remittance of state taxes to the treasurer of state, designating the fund to which the amounts belong.
   d.  If a county fails to pay the amounts due within sixty days from the date of certification from the superintendent, the director of the department of administrative services shall charge the delinquent county a penalty of three-fourths of one percent per month on and after sixty days from the date of certification until paid. The penalties collected shall be credited to the general fund of the state.
    Sec. 9.  NEW SECTION.  259C.9  Merger requirements.
   The board shall not merge the school for the deaf at Council Bluffs with the Iowa braille and sight saving school at Vinton, or services provided at or by the institutions, or close either of these institutions until all of the following requirements have been met:
   1.  The department of management has presented to the general assembly a comprehensive plan, program, and fiscal analysis of the existing circumstances and the circumstances which would prevail upon the proposed merger or closing, together with data which would support the contention that the merger or closing will be more efficient and effective than continuation of the existing services or facilities. The analysis shall include a detailed study of the educational implications of the merger or closing, the impact on the students, and the opinions and research of nationally recognized experts in the field of the education of visually impaired and deaf students. The comprehensive plan shall further include a study relating to the programming, fiscal consequences, and political implications which would result if either a merger or an agreement under chapter 28E should be implemented between the school for the deaf in Council Bluffs and comparable state programs in the state of Nebraska.
   2.  The general assembly has studied the plans, programs, and fiscal analysis and has reviewed their impact on the programs.
   3.  The general assembly has enacted legislation authorizing either the closing or the merger to take effect not sooner than two years after the enactment of the legislation.
    Sec. 10.  Section 252.16, subsection 6, paragraph c, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  A blind person who is an inpatient or resident of, is supported by, or is receiving treatment or support services from a state resource center created under chapter 222, a state mental health institute created under chapter 226, the Iowa braille and sight saving school administered by the state board of regents
 
Iowa state board for blind and deaf education, or any community-based provider of treatment or services for an intellectual disability, developmental disabilities, mental health, or substance abuse, does not acquire legal settlement in the county in which the institution, facility, or provider is located, unless the blind person has resided in the county in which the institution, facility, or provider is located for a period of six months prior to the date of commencement of receipt of assistance under the laws of this state or for a period of six months subsequent to the date of termination of assistance under the laws of this state.
    Sec. 11.  Section 256B.2, subsection 2, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  It is the policy of this state to require school districts and state-operated educational programs to provide or make provision, as an integral part of public education, for a free and appropriate public education sufficient to meet the needs of all children requiring special education. This chapter is not to be construed as encouraging separate facilities or segregated programs designed to meet the needs of children requiring special education when the children can benefit from all or part of the education program as offered by the local school district. To the maximum extent possible, children requiring special education shall attend regular classes and shall be educated with children who do not require special education. Whenever possible, hindrances to learning and to the normal functioning of children requiring special education within the regular school environment shall be overcome by the provision of special aids and services rather than by separate programs for those in need of special education. Special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children requiring special education from the regular educational environment, shall occur only when, and to the extent that the nature or severity of the educational disability is such, that education in regular classes, even with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be accomplished satisfactorily. For those children who cannot adapt to the regular educational or home living conditions, and who are attending facilities under chapters
 
259C and 263, 269, and 270, upon the request of the board of directors of an area education agency, the department of human services shall provide residential or detention facilities and the area education agency shall provide special education programs and services. The area education agencies shall cooperate with the board of regents
 
Iowa state board for blind and deaf education to provide the services required by this chapter
 
for children.
    Sec. 12.  Section 261E.6, subsection 4, paragraph a, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  A school district, the Iowa school for the deaf, the Iowa braille and sight saving school, or accredited nonpublic school shall grant high school credit to an eligible student enrolled in a course under this chapter if the eligible student successfully completes the course as determined by the eligible postsecondary institution. The board of directors of the school district, the board of regents
 
Iowa state board for blind and deaf education for the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school, or authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school shall determine the number of high school credits that shall be granted to an eligible student who successfully completes a course. Eligible students may take up to seven semester hours of credit during the summer months when school is not in session and receive credit for that attendance, if the student pays the cost of attendance for those summer credit hours.
    Sec. 13.  Section 261E.6, subsection 6, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  Definition.  For purposes of this section and section 261E.7, unless the context otherwise requires, “eligible student” means a student classified by the board of directors of a school district, by the state board of regents
 
Iowa state board for blind and deaf education for pupils of the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school, or by the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school as a ninth or tenth grade student who is identified according to the school district’s gifted and talented criteria and procedures, pursuant to section 257.43, as a gifted and talented child, or an eleventh or twelfth grade student, during the period the student is participating in the postsecondary enrollment options program.
    Sec. 14.  Section 261E.7, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   Not later than June 30 of each year, a school district shall pay a tuition reimbursement amount to a postsecondary institution that has enrolled its resident eligible students under this chapter, unless the eligible student is participating in open enrollment under section 282.18, in which case, the tuition reimbursement amount shall be paid by the receiving district. However, if a child’s residency changes during a school year, the tuition shall be paid by the district in which the child was enrolled as of the date specified in section 257.6, subsection 1, or the district in which the child was counted under section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (6). For students enrolled at the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school, the state board of regents
 
Iowa state board for blind and deaf education shall pay a tuition reimbursement amount by June 30 of each year. The amount of tuition reimbursement for each separate course shall equal the lesser of:
    Sec. 15.  Section 262.7, subsections 4 and 5, Code 2013, are amended by striking the subsections.
    Sec. 16.  Section 262.9, subsection 2, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Elect a president of each of the institutions of higher learning; a superintendent of each of the other institutions; a treasurer and a secretarial officer for each institution annually; professors, instructors, officers, and employees; and fix their compensation. Sections 279.12 through 279.19 and section 279.27 apply to employees of the Iowa braille and sight saving school and the state school for the deaf, who are licensed pursuant to chapter 272. In following those sections in chapter 279, the references to boards of directors of school districts shall be interpreted to apply to the board of regents.
    Sec. 17.  Section 262.9, subsection 21, Code 2013, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 18.  Section 262.43, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   262.43  Students residing on state-owned land.
   The state board of regents shall pay to the local school boards the tuition payments and transportation costs, as otherwise authorized by statutes for the elementary or high school education of students residing on land owned by the state and under the control of the state board of regents. Such payments for the three institutions of higher learning, the state university of Iowa, the Iowa state university of science and technology, and the university of northern Iowa, shall be made from the funds of the respective institutions other than state appropriations, and for the two noncollegiate institutions, the Iowa braille and sight saving school and the state school for the deaf, the payments and costs shall be paid from moneys appropriated to the state board of regents.
    Sec. 19.  Section 263.12, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   263.12  Payment by counties.
   The provisions of sections 270.4 to 270.8, inclusive,
 
section 259C.8 are hereby made applicable to the university of Iowa hospitals and clinics’ center for disabilities and development.
    Sec. 20.  Section 263.21, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   263.21  Transfer of patients from state institutions.
   The director of the department of human services, in respect to institutions under the director’s control, the administrator of any of the divisions of the department, in respect to the institutions under the administrator’s control, the director of the department of corrections, in respect to the institutions under the department’s control, and the state board of regents
 
Iowa state board for blind and deaf education, in respect to the Iowa braille and sight saving school and the Iowa school for the deaf, may send any inmate, student, or patient of an institution, or any person committed or applying for admission to an institution, to the university of Iowa hospitals and clinics for treatment and care. The department of human services, the department of corrections, and the state board of regents
 
Iowa state board for blind and deaf education shall respectively pay the traveling expenses of such patient, and when necessary the traveling expenses of an attendant for the patient, out of funds appropriated for the use of the institution from which the patient is sent.
    Sec. 21.  Section 331.381, subsection 9, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   9.  Comply with chapters 269 and 270
 
chapter 259C in regard to the payment of costs for pupils at the Iowa braille and sight saving school and the
 
Iowa school for the deaf.
    Sec. 22.  Section 331.424, subsection 1, paragraph a, subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (c), Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   (c)  Clothing, transportation, medical, or other services provided persons attending the Iowa braille and sight saving school, the Iowa school for the deaf, or the university of Iowa hospitals and clinics’ center for disabilities and development for children with severe disabilities at Iowa City, for which the county becomes obligated to pay pursuant to sections
 
259C.8 and 263.12, 269.2, and 270.4 through 270.7.
    Sec. 23.  Section 331.502, subsection 17, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   17.  Carry out duties relating to the collection and payment of funds for educating and supporting deaf students as provided in sections 270.6 and 270.7
 
section 259C.8.
    Sec. 24.  Section 331.552, subsection 13, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   13.  Make transfer payments to the state for school expenses for blind and deaf children and support of persons with mental illness as provided in sections 230.21, 269.2, and 270.7
 
and 259C.8.
    Sec. 25.  REPEAL.  Chapter 269, Code 2013, is repealed.
    Sec. 26.  REPEAL.  Chapter 270, Code 2013, is repealed.
    Sec. 27.  TRANSITION.
   1.  The state board of regents shall administer the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school in accordance with the requirements of this Act until the Iowa state board for blind and deaf education and that board’s director are appointed. Upon order of the governor following the appointments, the administrative responsibilities shall be transferred to the Iowa state board for blind and deaf education and that board’s director.
   2.  Appropriations made for purposes of the Iowa school for the deaf, the Iowa braille and sight saving school, and the Iowa state board for blind and deaf education for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013, shall be administered by the department of management until the governor’s transfer order under subsection 1 is issued.
   3.  Until the Iowa state board for blind and deaf education has adopted administrative rules and procedures to implement the provisions of chapter 259C, as enacted by this Act, the relevant rules and procedures for the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school adopted under authority of the state board of regents shall continue to apply. Any contracts relating to the two schools entered into prior to July 1, 2013, shall continue in accordance with the terms of those contracts until expiration of the contracts.
    Sec. 28.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection 3, shall not apply to this Act.
EXPLANATION
   This bill creates an Iowa state board for blind and deaf education with authority over the Iowa school for the deaf and the Iowa braille and sight saving school in place of the state board of regents.
   New Code section 259C.1 provides definitions.
   New Code section 259C.2 creates the Iowa state board for blind and deaf education, with voting members appointed by the governor, with the superintendents of the schools as voting members, and with a representative of the governor’s office and legislators as nonvoting members. The governor’s voting member appointees are subject to senate confirmation.
   New Code section 259C.3 specifies the board’s duties.
   New Code section 259C.4 provides for appointment of a director for the board and specifies duties.
   New Code section 259C.5 addresses the Iowa school for the deaf in Council Bluffs, as established pursuant to Code chapter 270, Code 2013. The school is required to provide services to eligible pupils, as defined in the Code section.
   New Code section 259C.6 addresses the Iowa braille and sight saving school in Vinton, as established pursuant to Code chapter 269, Code 2013. The school is required to provide services to eligible pupils, as defined in the Code section.
   New Code section 259C.7 lists services required to be provided at the schools and provides that the school environments are to be considered in compliance with requirements for the provision of services in the least restrictive environment. In addition, if an individual education plan developed for an individual resident of this state who is less than age 21 and has a severe hearing loss or visual disability, the plan developed to address the individual’s needs must evaluate the extent to which the continuum of services available in the individual’s home school district would be provided in the least restrictive environment available to the individual and provides a list of criteria for that purpose.
   New Code section 259C.8 provides procedures for charges to counties for eligible pupils with legal settlement. The charges are required to be comparable to those charged for services at the schools under current law.
   New Code section 259C.9 prohibits the board from merging the two schools or services provided at or by the two schools or closing the two schools unless various requirements are met, including enactment of legislation authorizing the merger or closure.
   Conforming amendments are made to various Code provisions to reflect the change in administrative responsibility for the schools and internal references. Code chapter 269, relating to the Iowa braille and sight saving school, and Code chapter 270, relating to the Iowa school for the deaf, are repealed.
   A transition provision requires the state board of regents to administer the schools in accordance with the bill until the governor appoints the new board and director and orders transfer of the administrative responsibility, provides for administration of appropriations for the schools by the department of management pending the appointments, continues rules and procedures until replaced, and continues contracts.
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with any state mandate included in the bill.