HF 352 (LSB 1066HV (4) 85)

HOUSE FILE 352

BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 84)

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 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   19.  Define the minimum school day as a day consisting of five and one-half hours of instructional time for grades one through twelve. The minimum hours
 
as time spent under the direction of 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 2013, 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, subsection 1, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The school year
 
for each school district and accredited nonpublic school shall begin on the 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
 
The school calendar shall include not less than one thousand eighty hours of instruction during the entire 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 close school 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.
    Sec. 4.  Section 279.10, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2013, are amended by striking the subsections.
    Sec. 5.  Section 299.4, subsection 1, Code 2013, 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. 6.  REPEAL.  Section 256.22, Code 2013, is repealed.
    Sec. 7.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect July 1, 2014.
EXPLANATION
   This bill strikes language requiring accredited schools to provide at least 180 instructional days in a school year 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.
   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 and language that requires the department to establish an extended year school grant program subject to an appropriation.
   The bill takes effect July 1, 2014.