HF 28 (LSB 1243YH (2) 85)

HOUSE FILE 28

BY  HUNTER

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the compulsory school attendance age and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 299.1A, subsection 1, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   1.
  a.  Except as
 
otherwise provided in subsection 2
 
this section and section 299.2, a child who has reached the age of six and is under sixteen
 
through seventeen years of age by September 15 is of compulsory attendance age. However, if a child enrolled in a school district or accredited nonpublic school reaches the age of sixteen on or after September 15, the child remains of compulsory age until the end of the regular school calendar.
   b.  A child who will receive competent private instruction in accordance with chapter 299A and who reaches the age of six by September 15 is of compulsory attendance age. A child receiving such private instruction is of compulsory attendance age until the age of sixteen if the child reaches age sixteen before September 15. A child receiving such private instruction who reaches age sixteen on or after September 15 remains of compulsory attendance age until the end of the school year.
    Sec. 2.  Section 299.1A, Code 2013, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  3.
  a.  An individual who reaches the age of eighteen on or after September 15 during the school year and intends to terminate school enrollment prior to graduation is encouraged to file with the board of directors of the school district or the accredited nonpublic school of enrollment a formal declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment and, to the degree possible, participate in an exit interview pursuant to paragraph “b” and complete a survey in accordance with paragraph “c”. The school district or accredited nonpublic school shall make every effort to notify the individual’s parent or guardian of receipt of the individual’s declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment.
   b.  To the degree possible, a guidance counselor or other school personnel designated by the school district or accredited nonpublic school shall conduct an exit interview with the individual to do all of the following:
   (1)  Determine the reasons for the individual’s decision to terminate school enrollment.
   (2)  Discuss actions that could be taken to assist the individual to stay in school.
   (3)  Inform the individual of opportunities to continue the individual’s education in a different environment, including but not limited to adult education and test preparation designed to qualify the individual for a high school equivalency diploma.
   c.  To the degree possible, the individual and the individual’s parent or guardian are encouraged to complete a survey provided by the school district in a format prescribed by the department of education to provide data on the individual’s reasons for terminating enrollment and actions taken by the school to keep the individual enrolled. The survey shall include an open-ended question asking why the individual is dropping out of school. The school district or accredited nonpublic school shall submit the data from the completed surveys to the department of education annually.
    Sec. 3.  Section 299.2, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   Section
 
Sections 299.1
 
and 299.1A shall not apply to any child:
    Sec. 4.  SCHOOL DISTRICT COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE SUPPORT REVIEW.  The board of directors of each school district shall, during the school year beginning July 1, 2013, convene a working group comprised of educational and community stakeholders to review financial and programmatic supports for students affected by an increase in the compulsory attendance age from sixteen through seventeen. The working group shall consider, at a minimum, the necessity of expansion of support programs and services for such students, Internet-based at-risk academy courses, summer school offerings, credit recovery efforts, mentoring and tutoring services, before and after school supports, career academies, and at-risk allowable growth provisions, and the use of the instructional support levy. The working group shall include in the comprehensive school improvement plan submitted to the department of education in accordance with section 256.7, subsection 21, a plan for addressing the needs of students at risk of dropping out, including any proposed changes to the local program or funding priorities.
    Sec. 5.  COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE WORKING GROUP.  The department of education shall convene a working group comprised of the director of the department of education, or the director’s designee, and other education stakeholders appointed by the department to review supports for students affected by an increase in the compulsory attendance age from sixteen to eighteen years of age. The working group shall consider, at a minimum, the necessity of expansion of support programs and services for such students, online at-risk academy courses, career academies, and current at-risk allowable growth provisions, and full funding of the instructional support levy. The working group shall submit its findings and recommendations, including any proposed changes in policy or statute, to the state board of education and the general assembly by December 15, 2013.
    Sec. 6.  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. 7.  EFFECTIVE DATE.
   1.  Except as provided in subsection 2, this Act takes effect July 1, 2014.
   2.  The section of this Act providing for a compulsory attendance working group takes effect July 1, 2013.
EXPLANATION
   This bill raises the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 17 for students other than those receiving competent private instruction. The bill encourages students, other than those who received competent private instruction, who reach age 18 on or after September 15 and intend to leave school, to file with the school district or accredited nonpublic school a formal declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment and, to the degree possible, participate in an exit interview and complete a survey that will provide data annually to the department of education regarding the reasons students are terminating enrollment.
   The school district or nonpublic school must make every effort to notify the individual’s parent or guardian of a student’s intent to terminate enrollment. To the degree possible, in conducting the exit interview, school personnel must determine the reasons for the individual’s decision to terminate school enrollment, discuss actions that could be taken to assist the individual to stay in school, and inform the individual of opportunities to continue the individual’s education in a different environment, including but not limited to adult education and test preparation designed to qualify the individual for a high school equivalency diploma. The survey must include an open-ended question asking why the student is dropping out.
   The bill directs each school district to convene a working group during the 2013-2014 school year to review financial and programmatic supports for students affected by the increase in the compulsory age of attendance. The working group must include in the school district’s comprehensive school improvement plan a plan for addressing the needs of students at risk of dropping out.
   The bill also directs the department of education to convene a compulsory attendance working group. The working group is to review supports for affected students and to consider the necessity of expanding support programs and services, online at-risk academy courses, career academies, current at-risk allowable growth provisions, and full funding of the instructional support levy. The working group must submit a report to the general assembly and the department of education by December 15, 2013.
   The bill includes a technical amendment to exempt children who meet conditions existing in Code section 299.2.
   The provision relating to the compulsory attendance working group takes effect July 1, 2013, while the remainder of the bill takes effect July 1, 2014.
   The 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.