H.F. 2499 DIVISION I 1 SCHOOL DISTRICT TRANSPARENCY 2 Section 1. Section 257.17, Code 2022, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 257.17 Aid reduction for early school starts . 5 1. State aid payments made pursuant to section 257.16 for 6 a fiscal year shall be reduced by one one-hundred-eightieth 7 for each day of that fiscal year for which the school district 8 begins school before the earliest school start date specified 9 in section 279.10, subsection 1 . 10 2. This section does Subsection 1 shall not apply to a 11 school district attendance center that has received approval 12 from the department of education under section 279.10, 13 subsection 2 , to maintain a year-round school calendar 14 that commences classes in advance of the school start date 15 established in section 279.10, subsection 1 . The department of 16 management shall prorate the reduction made pursuant to this 17 section subsection 1 to account for an attendance center in 18 a school district that is approved to maintain a year-round 19 school calendar under section 279.10, subsection 2 . 20 3. State aid payments made pursuant to section 257.16 for 21 a fiscal year shall be reduced by the department of education 22 for each day of that fiscal year for which the school district 23 has been found to have intentionally violated a provision of 24 section 279.76. The department of education shall reduce 25 the state aid payments made pursuant to section 257.16 for a 26 fiscal year in an amount the department of education determines 27 is in proportion to the actual damages caused by the school 28 district’s violation of section 279.76. 29 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 279.76 Transparency and state 30 standards. 31 1. The board of directors of each school district shall 32 publish all of the following information related to the current 33 school year prominently on the school district’s internet site: 34 a. A course syllabus or written summary of what material 35 -1- LSB 6167HV (1) 89 jda/jh 1/ 8

H.F. 2499 will be taught in each class in the school district, sortable 1 by subject area, grade level, and teacher. 2 b. How each class in the school district meets or exceeds 3 the educational standards established pursuant to section 4 256.11, sortable by subject area, grade level, and teacher. 5 c. The titles of all textbooks, books, articles, videos, 6 and other educational materials used for student instruction 7 in each class in the school district, or links to the internet 8 sites containing such textbooks, books, articles, or other 9 educational materials. 10 d. The procedures or policies in effect for the 11 documentation, review, and approval of all textbooks, books, 12 articles, outlines, handouts, presentations, videos, and other 13 educational materials used for student instruction. This shall 14 include the procedures or policies applicable to the board of 15 directors of the school district, principals, administrators, 16 teachers, and any committee created by the board of directors, 17 an administrator, or a principal. 18 e. A comprehensive list of all books available to students 19 in libraries operated by the school district. 20 f. A flowchart developed by the department of education 21 showing the procedures or polices in effect for the parent 22 or guardian of a student enrolled in the school district to 23 request the removal of a book that is available to students in 24 a library operated by the school district. 25 2. a. The board of directors of each school district shall 26 update the information required to be published pursuant to 27 subsection 1 on or before August 23 and on or before January 15 28 of each school year. 29 b. The board of directors of each school district shall 30 notify parents and guardians that the information required 31 to be published pursuant to subsection 1 has been updated by 32 publishing notice on the school district’s internet site and 33 providing notice in a newsletter or other written communication 34 that is distributed to parents and guardians. 35 -2- LSB 6167HV (1) 89 jda/jh 2/ 8

H.F. 2499 3. The board of directors of each school district shall 1 maintain the information required to be published pursuant to 2 subsection 1 for at least five years on the school district’s 3 internet site in a manner that is accessible to the public. 4 4. This section shall not be construed to require the board 5 of directors of a school district to do any of the following: 6 a. Reproduce educational materials that were not created by 7 a teacher employed by the board of directors. 8 b. Distribute any educational materials in a manner that 9 would infringe on the intellectual property rights of any 10 person. 11 5. For purposes of this section, unless the context 12 otherwise requires, “used for student instruction” means 13 that a textbook, book, article, syllabus, outline, handout, 14 presentation, video, or other educational material meets any of 15 the following criteria: 16 a. Is or will be assigned, distributed, or otherwise 17 presented to students in a class required pursuant to section 18 256.11. 19 b. Is or will be assigned, distributed, or otherwise 20 presented to students as required by the board of directors of 21 the school district. 22 c. Is or will be created by the board of directors of the 23 school district or a teacher employed by the board. 24 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 279.77 Protocols for the selection, 25 review, reconsideration, and removal of materials from libraries. 26 The board of directors of a school district shall adopt 27 protocols for the selection, review, reconsideration, and 28 removal of materials from libraries operated by the school 29 district. The protocols shall require all of the following: 30 1. A process for the selection, reconsideration, and 31 removal of materials from libraries operated by the school 32 district. 33 2. The lawful and ethical use of information resources, 34 including plagiarism and intellectual property rights. 35 -3- LSB 6167HV (1) 89 jda/jh 3/ 8

H.F. 2499 3. A process that allows the parent or guardian of a student 1 enrolled in the school district to request the reconsideration 2 or removal of materials from a library operated by the school 3 district. The process shall require all of the following: 4 a. Within ten business days after a parent’s or guardian’s 5 submission of a request to reconsider or remove materials from 6 a library operated by the school district, or on or before a 7 later date, if the school district and the parent or guardian 8 agree in writing, the school district shall conduct a review 9 of the materials described in the request and respond to the 10 parent or guardian in writing with notice of the disposition of 11 the request for reconsideration or removal. 12 b. The parent or guardian may request that the board of 13 directors of the school district review the school district’s 14 disposition of the request described in paragraph “a” . The 15 board of directors of the school district shall act on the 16 request to review the school district’s disposition of the 17 request described in paragraph “a” at the next regularly 18 scheduled meeting of the board of directors of the school 19 district but no later than twenty business days after the 20 board of directors of the school district receives the request 21 to review the disposition, or on or before a later date, if 22 the board of directors of the school district and the parent 23 or guardian agree in writing. The board of directors of the 24 school district shall respond to the parent or guardian’s 25 request for review of the school district’s disposition by 26 affirming or reversing the school district’s decision. 27 c. The parent or guardian may appeal the decision of the 28 board of directors of the school district under paragraph “b” to 29 the state board of education pursuant to section 290.1. 30 d. If a school district or the board of directors of a 31 school district fails to act on a parent’s or guardian’s 32 request to reconsider or remove materials from a library 33 operated by the school district within the timelines provided 34 in this section, the parent or guardian may appeal the school 35 -4- LSB 6167HV (1) 89 jda/jh 4/ 8

H.F. 2499 district’s or the board of directors of a school district’s 1 failure to the state board of education. The state board 2 of education may direct the school district or the board 3 of directors of a school district to perform the review as 4 prescribed and take any other actions applicable in case of 5 noncompliance with state or federal education laws pursuant to 6 section 256.11, subsection 10, paragraph “c” . 7 Sec. 4. FLOWCHART. The department of education shall create 8 a flowchart that shows the procedure for a parent or guardian 9 of a student enrolled in a school district to request the 10 removal of a book that is available to students in a library 11 operated by the school district as required by section 279.76, 12 as enacted by this division of this Act. The department of 13 education shall provide the flowchart to all school districts. 14 DIVISION II 15 SOCIAL STUDIES INSTRUCTION 16 Sec. 5. Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph b, Code 17 2022, is amended to read as follows: 18 b. (1) Five units of the social studies including 19 instruction in voting statutes and procedures, voter 20 registration requirements, the use of paper ballots and voting 21 systems in the election process, and the method of acquiring 22 and casting an absentee ballot. All students shall complete a 23 minimum of one-half unit of United States government and one 24 unit of United States history. 25 (2) The one-half unit of United States government shall 26 include the all of the following: 27 (a) The voting procedure as described in this lettered 28 paragraph and section 280.9A . The government instruction shall 29 also include a 30 (b) A study of the Constitution of the United States and the 31 Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution and an assessment 32 of a student’s knowledge of the Constitution and the Bill of 33 Rights. 34 (c) (i) An assessment of the student’s knowledge of 35 -5- LSB 6167HV (1) 89 jda/jh 5/ 8

H.F. 2499 United States government and civics that includes the nature, 1 purpose, structure, function, and history of the United States 2 government, the rights and responsibilities of citizens of 3 the United States, and important United States government and 4 civic leaders. The most recent version of the civics test 5 developed by the United States citizenship and immigration 6 services shall be used as the assessment required by this 7 subparagraph division. On or before June 30 of each year, each 8 school district and nonpublic school shall submit the results 9 of the assessment required by this subparagraph division to the 10 department. 11 (ii) The school district or nonpublic school may modify 12 the civics test developed by the United States citizenship and 13 immigration services for a student who has an individualized 14 education program. 15 (iii) A student shall answer at least seventy percent of 16 the questions on the civics test developed by the United States 17 citizenship and immigration services correctly as a condition 18 of graduation. A student who fails to answer at least seventy 19 percent of the questions on the civics test correctly may 20 retake the civics test as many times as necessary. 21 EXPLANATION 22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 23 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 24 This bill relates to education, including requiring the 25 boards of directors of school districts to publish certain 26 specified information and modifying provisions related to 27 required social studies instruction. 28 DIVISION I —— SCHOOL DISTRICT TRANSPARENCY. The bill 29 creates new Code section 279.76, which requires the board of 30 directors of each school district to publish on the school 31 district’s internet site a syllabus or written summary of what 32 material will be taught in each class in the school district, 33 how each class in the school district meets or exceeds the 34 educational standards established pursuant to Code section 35 -6- LSB 6167HV (1) 89 jda/jh 6/ 8

H.F. 2499 256.11, information related to all educational materials used 1 for student instruction in each class in the school district, 2 the procedures for the review and approval of all educational 3 materials used for student instruction, a list of all books 4 available to students in libraries operated by the school 5 district, and a flowchart developed by the department of 6 education showing the procedures for the parent or guardian 7 of a student enrolled in the school district to request the 8 removal of a book that is available to students in a library 9 operated by the school district. The bill also requires the 10 board of directors to update this information periodically and 11 notify parents and guardians that the information has been 12 updated. The bill provides that the board of directors shall 13 maintain this information for at least five years on the school 14 district’s internet site. 15 The bill provides that state aid payments made pursuant 16 to Code section 257.16 for a fiscal year shall be reduced in 17 an amount determined by the department of education for each 18 day of that fiscal year for which the school district has been 19 found to have intentionally violated a provision of new Code 20 section 279.76. The bill provides that the department shall 21 make the reduction in an amount the department determines 22 is in proportion to the actual damages caused by the school 23 district’s violation of new Code section 279.76. 24 The bill requires the board of directors of a school district 25 to adopt protocols for the selection, review, reconsideration, 26 and removal of materials from libraries operated by the 27 school district. The bill establishes what the protocols 28 shall require, which includes a process for the selection, 29 reconsideration, and removal of materials from libraries 30 operated by the school district, the lawful and ethical use of 31 information resources, including plagiarism and intellectual 32 property rights, and a process that allows the parent or 33 guardian of a student enrolled in the school district to 34 request the reconsideration or removal of materials from a 35 -7- LSB 6167HV (1) 89 jda/jh 7/ 8

H.F. 2499 library operated by the school district. 1 DIVISION II —— SOCIAL STUDIES INSTRUCTION. Under current 2 law, the educational program established pursuant to Code 3 section 256.11 is required to include, in grades 9 through 12, 4 five units of social studies, one-half unit of which is to 5 consist of instruction in United States government. The bill 6 provides that this one-half unit of United States government 7 shall include an assessment of the student’s knowledge of 8 United States government and civics. The bill provides that 9 the most recent version of the civics test developed by the 10 United States citizenship and immigration services shall be 11 used as the assessment. The bill requires each school district 12 and nonpublic school to submit the results of the civics test 13 to the department of education by June 30 of each year. The 14 bill authorizes a school district or nonpublic school to 15 modify the civics test for a student who has an individualized 16 education program. The bill provides that a student must 17 answer at least 70 percent of the questions correctly on the 18 civics test as a condition of graduation. The bill authorizes 19 a student who fails to answer at least 70 percent of the 20 questions on the civics test correctly to retake the civics 21 test. 22 -8- LSB 6167HV (1) 89 jda/jh 8/ 8