SSB 1074 (LSB 1118XD (6) 86)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to at-risk, alternative and alternative school, and returning dropout and dropout prevention programs and funding.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 257.10, subsection 5, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  Combined district cost per pupil.  The combined district cost per pupil for a school district is the sum of the regular program district cost per pupil and the special education support services district cost per pupil. Combined district cost per pupil does not include a modified supplemental amount added for school districts that have a negative balance of funds raised for special education instruction programs, a modified supplemental amount granted by the school budget review committee for a single school year, or a modified supplemental amount added for programs for dropout prevention established pursuant to sections 257.38 through 257.41.
    Sec. 2.  Section 257.11, subsection 4, paragraph a, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  In order to provide additional funding to school districts for programs serving at-risk pupils, alternative program and alternative school pupils in secondary schools, and pupils identified as potential dropouts or returning dropouts as defined in section 257.39, a supplementary weighting plan for at-risk such pupils is adopted. A supplementary weighting of forty-eight ten-thousandths per pupil shall be assigned to the percentage of pupils in a school district enrolled in grades one through six, as reported by the school district on the basic educational data survey for the base year, who are eligible for free and reduced price meals under the federal National School Lunch Act and the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. §1751-1785, multiplied by the budget enrollment in the school district; and a supplementary weighting of one hundred fifty-six one-hundred-thousandths per pupil shall be assigned to pupils included in the budget enrollment of the school district. Amounts received as supplementary weighting for at-risk pupils under this subsection shall be utilized by a school district to develop or maintain at-risk pupils’ programs, which may include alternative programs and alternative school programs, and returning dropout and dropout prevention programs approved pursuant to section 257.40.
    Sec. 3.  Section 257.11, subsection 4, Code 2015, is amended by adding the following new paragraphs:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  d.  Up to five percent of the total amount that a school district receives as supplementary weighting pursuant to this subsection or as a modified supplemental amount received under section 257.41, may be used in the budget year for purposes of providing district-wide or building-wide at-risk and dropout prevention programming targeted to pupils who are not deemed at risk.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  e.  Notwithstanding paragraph “d” and section 282.24, if a pupil has been determined by the school district to be likely to inflict self-harm or likely to harm another pupil and all of the following apply, the school district may use amounts received pursuant to paragraph “a” to pay the instructional costs necessary to address the pupil’s behavior during instructional time when those services are not otherwise provided to pupils who do not require special education and the costs exceed the costs of instruction of pupils in a regular curriculum:
   (1)  The pupil does not require special education.
   (2)  The pupil is not in a court-ordered placement under chapter 232 under the care and custody of the department of human services or juvenile court services.
   (3)  The pupil is not in the state training school or the Iowa juvenile home pursuant to a court order entered under chapter 232 under the care and custody of the department of human services.
   (4)  The pupil is not placed in a facility licensed under chapter 135B, 135C, or 135H.
    Sec. 4.  Section 257.38, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   257.38  Programs Funding for at-risk, alternative school, and returning dropouts and dropout prevention programs —— plan.
   1.  Boards of school districts, individually or jointly with boards of other school districts, requesting to use a modified supplemental amount for costs in excess of the amount received under section 257.11, subsection 4, for programs for at-risk students, secondary students who attend alternative programs and alternative schools, and returning dropouts and dropout prevention, shall submit comprehensive program plans for the programs and budget costs, including annual requests for a modified supplemental amount for funding the programs, to the department of education as a component of the comprehensive school improvement plan submitted to the department pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 21. The program plans shall include:
   a.  Program goals, objectives, and activities to meet the needs of children who may drop out of school students identified as at risk, secondary students who attend alternative programs and alternative schools, or potential dropouts or returning dropouts.
   b.  Student identification criteria and procedures.
   c.  Staff in-service education design.
   d.  Staff utilization plans.
   e.  Evaluation criteria and procedures and performance measures.
   f.  Program budget.
   g.  Qualifications required of personnel delivering the program.
   h.  A provision for dropout prevention and integration of dropouts into the educational program of the district for at-risk students.
   i.  A provision for identifying dropouts at-risk students.
   j.  A program for returning dropouts.
   k.  j.  Other factors the department requires.
   2.  Program plans shall identify the parts of the plan that will be implemented first upon approval of the request. If a district is requesting to use a modified supplemental amount to finance the program, the school district shall not identify more than five percent of its budget enrollment for the budget year as returning dropouts and potential dropouts.
    Sec. 5.  Section 257.40, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   257.40  Approval of programs for at-risk pupils, alternative programs and schools, and returning dropouts and dropout prevention —— annual report.
   1.  The board of directors of a school district requesting to use a modified supplemental amount for costs in excess of the funding received under section 257.11, subsection 4, for programs for at-risk students, secondary students who attend alternative programs and alternative schools, or returning dropouts and dropout prevention shall submit requests for a modified at-risk supplemental amount, including budget costs, to the department not later than December 15 of the year preceding the budget year during which the program will be offered. The department shall review the request and shall prior to January 15 either grant approval for the request or return the request for approval with comments of the department included. An unapproved request for a program may be resubmitted with modifications to the department not later than February 1. Not later than February 15, the department shall notify the department of management and the school budget review committee of the names of the school districts for which programs using a modified supplemental amount for funding have been approved and the approved budget of each program listed separately for each school district having an approved request.
   2.  Beginning January 15, 2007, the department shall submit an annual report to the chairpersons and ranking members of the senate and house education committees that includes the ways school districts in the previous school year used modified supplemental amounts approved under subsection 1; identifies, by grade level, age, and district size, the students in the dropout and dropout prevention programs for which the department approves a request; describes school district progress toward increasing student achievement and attendance for the students in the programs; and describes how the school districts are using the revenues from the modified supplemental amounts to improve student achievement among minority subgroups.
    Sec. 6.  Section 257.41, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2015, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  Budget.  The budget of an approved program for at-risk students, secondary students who attend alternative programs or alternative schools, or returning dropouts and dropout prevention for a school district, after subtracting funds received under section 257.11, subsection 4, paragraphs “a” through “c”, and from other sources for that purpose, including any previous carryover, shall be funded annually on a basis of one-fourth or more from the district cost of the school district and up to three-fourths through establishment of a modified supplemental amount. Annually, the department of management shall establish a modified supplemental amount for each such school district equal to the difference between the approved budget for the program for returning dropouts and dropout prevention for that district and the sum of the amount funded from the district cost of the school district plus funds received under section 257.11, subsection 4, and from other sources for that purpose, including any previous carryover.
   2.  Appropriate uses of funding.  Appropriate uses of the returning dropout and dropout prevention program funding for an approved program include but are not limited to the following:
   a.  Salary and benefits for instructional staff, instructional support staff, and school-based youth services staff who are working with students who are participating in at-risk or dropout prevention programs, alternative programs, and alternative schools, in a traditional or alternative setting, if the staff person’s time is dedicated to working with returning dropouts or such students who are deemed, at any time during the school year, to be at risk of dropping out, in order to provide services beyond those which are provided by the school district to students who are not identified as at risk of dropping out participating in such programs or alternative schools. However, if the staff person works part-time with students who are participating in returning dropout and dropout prevention programs, alternative programs, and alternative schools a program or alternative school and the staff person has another unrelated staff assignment, only the portion of the staff person’s time that is related to the returning dropout and dropout prevention program, alternative program, or alternative school may be charged to the program or school. For purposes of this paragraph, if an alternative setting is necessary to provide for a program which is offered at a location off school grounds and which is intended to serve student needs by improving relationships and connections to school, decreasing truancy and tardiness, providing opportunities for course credit recovery, or helping students identified as at risk of dropping out to accelerate through multiple grade levels of achievement within a shortened time frame, the tuition costs for a student identified as at risk of dropping out shall be considered an appropriate use of the returning dropout and dropout prevention program funding under this section. 
   b.  Professional development for all teachers and staff working with at-risk students and programs involving dropout prevention strategies under a program or an alternative school setting.
   c.  Research-based resources, materials, software, supplies, and purchased services that meet all of the following criteria:
   (1)  Meets the needs of kindergarten through grade twelve students identified as at risk of dropping out and of returning dropouts.
   (2)  Are beyond those provided by the regular school program.
   (3)  Are necessary to provide the services listed in the school district’s dropout prevention plan submitted pursuant to section 257.38.
   (4)  Will remain with the kindergarten through grade twelve at-risk program, alternative program or alternative school, or returning dropout and dropout prevention program.
   d.  Up to five percent of the total budgeted amount received pursuant to subsection 1 may be used for purposes of providing district-wide or building-wide returning dropout and dropout prevention programming targeted to students who are not deemed at risk of dropping out.
    Sec. 7.  Section 257.41, Code 2015, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  Other uses.  Notwithstanding subsection 2 and section 282.24, if a student has been determined by the school district to be likely to inflict self-harm or likely to harm another student and all of the following apply, the school district may use the modified supplemental amount established under subsection 1 to pay the instructional costs necessary to address the student’s behavior during instructional time when those services are not otherwise provided to students who do not require special education and the costs exceed the costs of instruction of students in a regular curriculum:
   (1)  The student does not require special education.
   (2)  The student is not in a court-ordered placement under chapter 232 under the care and custody of the department of human services or juvenile court services.
   (3)  The student is not in the state training school or the Iowa juvenile home pursuant to a court order entered under chapter 232 under the care and custody of the department of human services.
   (4)  The pupil is not placed in a facility licensed under chapter 135B, 135C, or 135H.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill makes changes relating to at-risk programs, alternative programs and alternative schools, and returning dropout and dropout prevention programs and funding for the schools and programs.
   The bill modifies a provision that establishes supplementary weighting for programs serving at-risk pupils and alternative school pupils in secondary schools to add alternative programs for secondary school pupils and programs for returning dropouts and dropout prevention.
   The bill authorizes a school district to use, in the budget year, up to 5 percent of the total supplementary weighting amounts received pursuant to Code section 257.11, subsection 4, or up to 5 percent of a modified supplemental amount received pursuant to Code section 257.41 for at-risk pupils, alternative program and alternative school pupils, or pupils in returning dropout and dropout prevention programs, for purposes of providing district-wide or building-wide at-risk and dropout prevention programming targeted to students who are not deemed at risk.
   The bill strikes a provision that allows a school district to use up to 5 percent of its total budgeted amount received for an approved program for returning dropouts and dropout prevention to be used for purposes of providing district-wide or building-wide returning dropout and dropout prevention programming targeted to students who are not deemed at risk of dropping out.
   The bill provides that when a student who does not require special education and who is not in a court-ordered placement under the care and custody of the department of human services or juvenile court services and who is not in the state training school or the Iowa juvenile home and who is not placed in a hospital, health care facility, or psychiatric medical institution for children and who has been determined by the school district to be likely to inflict self-harm or likely to harm another student, the school district may use the supplementary weighting amounts and the modified supplemental amounts received for at-risk, alternative program and school, or returning dropout and dropout prevention programs to pay the instructional costs necessary to address the student’s behavior during instructional time when those services are not otherwise provided to students who do not require special education and the costs exceed the costs of instruction of pupils in a regular curriculum.
   The modified supplemental amount which a school district may request must be for costs in excess of the supplementary weighting amounts received by the school district for at-risk students, alternative program and school students, and potential or returning dropouts.
   The bill makes conforming changes relating to the submission of comprehensive program plans to the department of education by school districts requesting to use a modified supplemental amount for costs in excess of the supplementary weighting received for at-risk, alternative school, and returning dropouts and dropout prevention; and relating to budgets for programs funded with modified supplemental amounts and to allowable uses of program funding.
   The bill strikes a provision requiring the department to submit an annual report to the general assembly describing the ways school districts used modified supplemental amounts for returning dropout and dropout prevention programs in the prior school year.