House File 268 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 268 BY HANSON , WINCKLER , KACENA , HUNTER , BROWN-POWERS , McCONKEY , LENSING , and GASKILL (COMPANION TO SF 138 BY MCCOY) A BILL FOR An Act relating to private instruction by adding a reporting 1 requirement and requiring school districts to conduct health 2 and safety visits for the protection of children placed 3 under competent private instruction or private instruction. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 1697HH (3) 87 kh/nh

H.F. 268 Section 1. Section 299.4, subsection 1, Code 2017, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 1. The parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child 3 who is of compulsory attendance age, who places the child 4 under competent private instruction under section 299A.2 , or 5 private instruction under section 299A.3, not in an accredited 6 school or a home school assistance program operated by a school 7 district or accredited nonpublic school, shall furnish to the 8 school district of residence a report in duplicate on forms 9 provided in the form and manner prescribed by the public school 10 district, to the district by September 1 of the school year in 11 which the child will be under competent private instruction 12 or private instruction . The secretary shall retain and file 13 one copy and forward the other copy to the district’s area 14 education agency. The report shall state the name and age 15 of the child, the period of time during which the child has 16 been or will be under competent private instruction or private 17 instruction for the year, an outline of the course of study, 18 texts used, and the name and address of the instructor. The 19 parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child, who is placing 20 the child under competent private instruction or private 21 instruction for the first time, shall also provide the district 22 with evidence that the child has had the immunizations required 23 under section 139A.8 , and, if the child is elementary school 24 age, a blood lead test in accordance with section 135.105D . 25 The term “outline of course of study” shall include subjects 26 covered, lesson plans, and time spent on the areas of study. 27 Sec. 2. Section 299A.3, Code 2017, is amended to read as 28 follows: 29 299A.3 Private instruction by nonlicensed person. 30 1. A parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child of 31 compulsory attendance age providing private instruction to 32 the child shall complete and send, in a timely manner, the 33 report required under section 299.4 to the school district of 34 residence of the child. 35 -1- LSB 1697HH (3) 87 kh/nh 1/ 4

H.F. 268 2. A parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child of 1 compulsory attendance age providing private instruction to the 2 child may meet all either of the following requirements: 3 1. Complete and send, in a timely manner, the report 4 required under section 299.4 to the school district of 5 residence of the child. 6 2. a. Ensure that the child under the parent’s, guardian’s, 7 or legal custodian’s instruction is evaluated annually to 8 determine whether the child is making adequate progress, as 9 defined in section 299A.6 . 10 3. b. Ensure that the results of the child’s annual 11 evaluation are reported to the school district of residence 12 of the child and to the department of education by a date not 13 later than June 30 of each year in which the child is under 14 private instruction. 15 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 299A.13 Health and safety visits. 16 1. The board of directors of a school district shall 17 conduct quarterly home visits to check on the health and safety 18 of children located within the district who are receiving 19 competent private instruction or private instruction. 20 2. Home visits shall take place in the child’s residence 21 with the consent of the parent, guardian, or legal custodian 22 and an interview or observation of the child may be conducted. 23 If permission to enter the home to interview or observe the 24 child is refused, the juvenile court or district court upon 25 a showing of probable cause may authorize the person making 26 the home visit to enter the home and interview or observe the 27 child. 28 3. The superintendent of the school district shall 29 designate a person to carry out the duties assigned to the 30 school district under this section. The person designated 31 shall be a mandatory reporter, as defined in section 232.69, 32 subsection 1. The school district may collaborate with the 33 department of human services, including the local, county, and 34 service area officers of the department, in conducting the home 35 -2- LSB 1697HH (3) 87 kh/nh 2/ 4

H.F. 268 visits required under this section. 1 4. The department of education, in collaboration with the 2 department of human services, shall provide guidelines to 3 school districts for implementation of this section. 4 Sec. 4. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance 5 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring 6 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall 7 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid 8 received by the school district under section 257.16. This 9 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed 10 to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of 11 section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding 12 shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act 13 by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school 14 districts. 15 EXPLANATION 16 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 17 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 18 This bill requires the parent, guardian, or legal custodian 19 who places a child in private instruction to submit the same 20 report to the school district of residence that is required for 21 a child placed in competent private instruction, and requires 22 school districts to conduct quarterly home visits to check 23 on the health and safety of children placed under competent 24 private instruction or private instruction. 25 The parent, guardian, or legal custodian placing a child 26 under private instruction must furnish, by September 1 of the 27 academic year to the school district of residence, in the form 28 and manner prescribed by the school, a report that includes the 29 name and age of the child, the period of time during which the 30 child has been or will be under private instruction for the 31 year, an outline of the course of study, texts used, and the 32 name and address of the instructor. 33 As currently required for persons filing reports for a child 34 placed in competent private instruction, the first time such 35 -3- LSB 1697HH (3) 87 kh/nh 3/ 4

H.F. 268 a report is filed by a person on behalf of a child placed in 1 private instruction, the person must also provide the district 2 with evidence that the child has had the immunizations required 3 under Code section 139A.8, and, if the child is elementary 4 school age, a blood lead test. The term “outline of course of 5 study” includes subjects covered, lesson plans, and time spent 6 on the areas of study. 7 The home visits shall take place in the child’s residence 8 with the consent of the parent, guardian, or legal custodian 9 and an interview or observation of the child may be conducted. 10 If permission to enter the home to interview or observe the 11 child is refused, the juvenile court or district court upon 12 a showing of probable cause may authorize the person making 13 the home visit to enter the home and interview or observe the 14 child. 15 The superintendent of the school district shall designate a 16 person to carry out the duties assigned to the school district. 17 The person designated shall be a mandatory reporter of child 18 abuse. The school district may collaborate with the department 19 of human services, including the local, county, and service 20 area officers of the department. The department of education, 21 in collaboration with the department of human services, shall 22 provide guidelines to school districts for implementation of 23 the home visits for health and safety. 24 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code 25 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of 26 any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school 27 district from state school foundation aid received by the 28 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification 29 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate 30 funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The 31 inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the 32 requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state 33 mandates included in the bill. 34 -4- LSB 1697HH (3) 87 kh/nh 4/ 4