H.F. 713 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 256J.1 Short title. 1 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “School 2 Turnaround Act”. 3 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 256J.2 Definitions. 4 For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise 5 requires: 6 1. “Department” means the department of education. 7 2. “Initial remedial year” means the year in which a public 8 school is designated as a public school in need of intervention 9 under section 256J.3. 10 3. “Practitioner” means the same as defined in section 11 272.2. 12 4. “Public school” means a school district as described in 13 chapter 274 and includes public school attendance centers used 14 for instructional purposes for elementary, middle, or secondary 15 school students. 16 5. “Public school in need of intervention” means a public 17 school that has been designated as in need of intervention by 18 the department according to an outcome-based measure pursuant 19 to section 256J.3. 20 6. “School board” means the board of directors of a school 21 district that has a public school in need of intervention 22 designated by the department pursuant to section 256J.3, 23 subsection 3. 24 7. “Statewide assessment” means the summative assessment of 25 student progress administered by school districts pursuant to 26 section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph “b” . 27 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 256J.3 Identification of public 28 schools in need of intervention. 29 1. Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general 30 assembly for this purpose, the department shall establish a 31 school turnaround program to assist schools designated by the 32 department as a public school in need of intervention under 33 this chapter. 34 2. The department shall develop and use outcome-based 35 -1- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 1/ 14

H.F. 713 school performance measures to set criteria for the designation 1 of public schools in need of intervention, and shall determine 2 the performance measures and specific criteria necessary for 3 designated public schools to exit the program. 4 3. No more than one month after school performance 5 measures used in accordance with subsection 2 are made public, 6 the department shall designate the public schools that the 7 department determines to be in need of intervention under the 8 criteria established pursuant to subsection 2. 9 4. The department shall determine the specific criteria a 10 school must meet to exit the program based on the performance 11 measures set forth in accordance with subsection 2. 12 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 256J.4 School turnaround committee —— 13 plan —— school district duties. 14 1. On or before October 1 of an initial remedial year, the 15 school board shall establish a school turnaround committee 16 composed of the following members: 17 a. One member of the school board. 18 b. The school principal if the designated public school 19 in need of intervention is an attendance center or the 20 superintendent if the school district as a whole is designated 21 as a public school in need of intervention. 22 c. Three parents or guardians of students enrolled in the 23 public school in need of intervention who are appointed by the 24 president of the school board. 25 d. Four teachers at the public school in need of 26 intervention who are appointed by the principal or the 27 superintendent as appropriate. 28 2. On or before October 15 of an initial remedial year, the 29 school board shall partner with the school turnaround committee 30 to select an independent school turnaround expert from the 31 experts identified and placed on a list of approved independent 32 school turnaround experts maintained by the department pursuant 33 to section 256J.5. 34 3. An independent school turnaround expert is ineligible to 35 -2- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 2/ 14

H.F. 713 be considered or selected by a school board or committee if the 1 expert meets any of the following conditions: 2 a. Is the school board of the public school in need of 3 intervention. 4 b. Is an employee of the school board or of the public 5 school in need of intervention. 6 4. A school turnaround committee shall partner with the 7 independent school turnaround expert selected pursuant to 8 subsection 2 to develop and implement a school turnaround plan 9 that includes all of the following: 10 a. The findings of the analysis conducted by the independent 11 school turnaround expert described in section 256J.5, 12 subsection 1. 13 b. Recommendations regarding changes to the school’s 14 personnel, culture, curriculum, assessments, instructional 15 practices, digital tools for teaching and learning, governance, 16 leadership, finances, policies, or other areas that may be 17 necessary to implement the school turnaround plan. 18 c. Measurable student achievement goals and objectives. 19 d. A professional development plan that identifies a 20 strategy to address problems of instructional practice. 21 e. A leadership development plan focused on proven 22 strategies to turn around schools in need of intervention that 23 align with the Iowa standards for school administrators adopted 24 pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 27. 25 f. A detailed budget specifying how the school turnaround 26 plan will be funded. 27 g. A plan to assess and monitor progress. 28 h. A plan to communicate and report data on progress to 29 stakeholders. 30 i. A timeline for implementation. 31 5. The school board shall do all of the following to the 32 extent consistent with law: 33 a. Prioritize funding and resources to the public school in 34 need of intervention. 35 -3- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 3/ 14

H.F. 713 b. Grant the school streamlined authority over staff, 1 schedule, policies, budget, and academic programs to implement 2 the school turnaround plan. 3 6. On or before March 1 of an initial remedial year, the 4 school turnaround committee shall submit the school turnaround 5 plan to the school board for approval. 6 7. Except as provided in subsection 8, on or before April 1 7 of an initial remedial year, the school board shall submit the 8 school turnaround plan to the department for approval. 9 8. If the school board disapproves the school turnaround 10 plan submitted under subsection 6, the school turnaround 11 committee may appeal the disapproval to the state board of 12 education in accordance with rules adopted by the state board 13 pursuant to chapter 17A. 14 9. On or before November 30 annually, the department shall 15 submit a report to the general assembly identifying each school 16 district or attendance center designated a public school in 17 need of intervention and summarizing the actions taken by 18 the department, the school districts, and the public schools 19 in need of intervention; summarizing the contracts awarded 20 by the department to independent school turnaround experts; 21 identifying outcomes achieved under such contracts, as well 22 as failures to meet exit criteria and extensions issued under 23 section 256J.7; and detailing distribution and use of moneys 24 awarded or issued under this chapter. 25 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 256J.5 Approved independent school 26 turnaround experts —— approval of plans —— appeals process. 27 1. On or before August 30, annually, the department shall 28 identify two or more approved independent school turnaround 29 experts, through a request for proposals process, that a public 30 school in need of intervention may partner with to do all of 31 the following: 32 a. Collect and analyze data on the school’s student 33 achievement, personnel, culture, curriculum, assessments, 34 instructional practices, digital tools for teaching and 35 -4- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 4/ 14

H.F. 713 learning, governance, leadership, finances, and policies. 1 b. Recommend changes to the school’s culture, curriculum, 2 assessments, instructional practices, governance, finances, 3 policies, or other areas based on data collected under 4 subsection 1. 5 c. Develop and implement, in partnership with the school 6 turnaround committee, a school turnaround plan that meets the 7 requirements of section 256J.4, subsection 4. 8 d. Monitor the effectiveness of a school turnaround plan 9 through reliable means of evaluation, including on-site visits, 10 observations, surveys, analysis of student achievement data, 11 and interviews. 12 e. Provide ongoing implementation support and project 13 management for a school turnaround plan. 14 f. Provide high-quality professional development and 15 coaching personalized for school staff that is designed to 16 build all of the following: 17 (1) Leadership capacity of the school principal. 18 (2) Instructional capacity of school staff. 19 (3) Collaborative practices of teacher and leadership 20 teams. 21 g. Provide job-embedded professional learning and coaching 22 for all instructional staff on at least a weekly basis. 23 h. Provide job-embedded professional learning and coaching 24 for the school principal at least twice monthly, focused on 25 proven strategies to turn around public schools in need of 26 intervention that are aligned with the Iowa teaching standards 27 as set forth in section 284.3, and the Iowa standards for 28 school administrators adopted pursuant to section 256.7, 29 subsection 27. 30 i. Leverage support from community partners to coordinate 31 an efficient delivery of supports to students both inside and 32 outside the classroom. 33 2. Independent school turnaround experts identified by 34 the department pursuant to subsection 1 shall meet all of the 35 -5- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 5/ 14

H.F. 713 following criteria: 1 a. Have a credible track record of improving student 2 academic achievement in public schools with various demographic 3 characteristics, as measured by statewide assessments. 4 b. Have experience designing, implementing, and evaluating 5 data-driven instructional systems in public schools. 6 c. Have experience coaching public school administrators 7 and teachers on designing and implementing data-driven school 8 improvement plans. 9 d. Have experience collaborating with the various education 10 entities that govern public schools. 11 e. Have experience delivering high-quality professional 12 development and coaching in instructional effectiveness to 13 public school administrators and teachers. 14 f. Agree to be compensated for professional services based 15 on performance as described in section 256J.6. 16 g. Agree to partner with any public school in need of 17 intervention in the state, regardless of location. 18 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 256J.6 Contracts —— criteria —— duties 19 of the department —— use of moneys. 20 1. When awarding a contract to an independent school 21 turnaround expert selected by a school board under section 22 256J.4, the department shall ensure that the contract specifies 23 that the department will do all of the following: 24 a. Pay an independent school turnaround expert no more 25 than fifty percent of the expert’s professional fees at the 26 beginning of the independent school turnaround expert’s work 27 for the public school in need of intervention. 28 b. Pay the remainder of the independent school turnaround 29 expert’s professional fees upon the independent school 30 turnaround expert successfully helping a public school in 31 need of intervention meet exit criteria as determined by the 32 department under section 256J.3, subsection 2, within three 33 school years after being designated as a public school in need 34 of intervention. 35 -6- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 6/ 14

H.F. 713 2. In negotiating a contract with an independent school 1 turnaround expert, the department shall offer all of the 2 following: 3 a. An average of five hundred thousand dollars per school 4 for the entirety of the project. 5 b. Differentiated amounts of funding based on student 6 enrollment. 7 c. A higher amount of funding for schools that are in the 8 lowest-performing one percent of schools statewide according to 9 outcomes-based measures established pursuant to section 256J.3, 10 subsection 2. 11 3. The department shall perform all of the following duties: 12 a. Review a school turnaround plan submitted for approval 13 under section 256J.4, subsection 7, within thirty days of 14 submission. 15 b. Approve a school turnaround plan that meets all of the 16 following criteria: 17 (1) Is timely. 18 (2) Is well-developed. 19 (3) Meets the requirements of section 256J.4, subsection 4. 20 c. Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general 21 assembly for this purpose, provide moneys to a public school 22 in need of intervention for interventions identified in an 23 approved school turnaround plan if the school board provides 24 matching funds or an in-kind contribution of goods or services 25 in an amount equal to the funding the public school in need of 26 intervention would receive from the department. 27 4. The state board of education shall adopt rules under 28 chapter 17A to establish an appeals process for the following: 29 a. A public school in need of intervention that is not 30 granted approval from the school board under section 256J.4, 31 subsection 6. If the public school in need of intervention 32 submits an appeal to the state board of education on a timely 33 basis, the state board shall resolve the appeal on or before 34 April 1 of the initial remedial year. 35 -7- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 7/ 14

H.F. 713 b. A school board that is not granted approval for a school 1 turnaround plan from the department under subsection 3. If the 2 school board submits an appeal to the state board of education 3 on a timely basis, the state board shall resolve the appeal on 4 or before May 15 of the initial remedial year. 5 5. The department shall balance the need to prioritize 6 funding appropriated by the general assembly pursuant to this 7 section to contract with highly qualified independent school 8 turnaround experts with the need to set aside funding for all 9 of the following: 10 a. Interventions to facilitate the implementation of a 11 school turnaround plan under section 256J.4. 12 b. The school recognition and reward program created under 13 section 256J.8. 14 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 256J.7 Failure to improve —— 15 extensions —— consequences. 16 1. A public school in need of intervention that does not 17 meet the exit criteria determined pursuant to section 256J.3, 18 within three school years after being designated as a public 19 school in need of intervention, may petition the department 20 for an extension to continue school improvement efforts for up 21 to two years. The department shall grant an extension only 22 if the public school in need of intervention has demonstrated 23 at least fifty percent of the improvement necessary to exit 24 the turnaround process or submits an appeal to the department. 25 A public school in need of intervention that is granted an 26 extension under this subsection may continue to receive moneys 27 pursuant to section 256J.6. 28 2. The department may extend the contract of an independent 29 school turnaround expert of a public school in need of 30 intervention that is granted an extension under subsection 1. 31 3. The state board of education shall adopt rules pursuant 32 to chapter 17A establishing consequences for a public school 33 in need of intervention that meets either of the following 34 criteria: 35 -8- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 8/ 14

H.F. 713 a. Does not meet the predetermined exit criteria established 1 under section 256J.3 within three school years after the day on 2 which the public school in need of intervention was designated 3 as such, and is not granted an extension under subsection 1. 4 b. Is granted an extension under subsection 1 and does not 5 meet the predetermined exit criteria established under section 6 256J.3 within three school years after the day on which the 7 public school in need of intervention is granted an extension 8 under subsection 1. 9 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 256J.8 School recognition and reward 10 program. 11 1. As used in this section, “eligible school” means a public 12 school in need of intervention that meets any of the following 13 criteria: 14 a. Meets predetermined exit criteria under section 256J.3 15 within three school years after the day on which the public 16 school in need of intervention was designated as such under 17 section 256J.3. 18 b. Has been granted an extension under section 256J.7 and 19 meets predetermined exit criteria within the extension period. 20 2. Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general 21 assembly for this purpose, the department shall establish a 22 school recognition and reward program to provide incentives to 23 schools and educators to improve the public school in need of 24 intervention. 25 3. The department, pursuant to rules adopted by the 26 state board under chapter 17A, may determine and distribute 27 rewards, financial or otherwise, for eligible schools or the 28 practitioners employed at eligible schools. 29 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 256J.9 School intervention fund. 30 There is established in the state treasury a school 31 intervention fund that is under the control of and administered 32 by the department of education. The department may accept 33 gifts, grants, bequests, and other private contributions, as 34 well as state or federal funds, and shall deposit the moneys in 35 -9- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 9/ 14

H.F. 713 the fund to be used for purposes of this chapter. Moneys in the 1 fund are appropriated to the department and shall be used for 2 the purposes of this chapter. Notwithstanding section 8.33, 3 moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at 4 the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain 5 available for expenditure for the purposes designated until the 6 close of the succeeding fiscal year. Notwithstanding section 7 12C.7, subsection 2, interest earned on moneys in the school 8 intervention fund shall be credited to the fund. 9 EXPLANATION 10 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 11 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 12 This bill establishes the “School Turnaround Act”, which 13 includes a school turnaround program and a school recognition 14 and reward program within the department of education, subject 15 to an appropriation by the general assembly, and a school 16 intervention fund in the state treasury that is under the 17 control of and administered by the department. 18 The purpose of the Code chapter is to provide a process 19 for the designation of public schools in need of intervention 20 using outcomes-based criteria, for the development of a school 21 turnaround plan which must be approved by the state board of 22 education, and for the identification of independent school 23 turnaround experts with whom the department may enter into 24 a contract for the provision of interventions identified 25 in an approved school turnaround plan designed to achieve 26 predetermined outcomes at the designated public school in need 27 of intervention. 28 The bill provides definitions, including “initial remedial 29 year”; “public school in need of intervention”, which means 30 a public school district or public school attendance center 31 that has been designated as in need of intervention by the 32 department; and “public school”. 33 In addition to developing and using outcome-based school 34 performance measures to set criteria for the designation of 35 -10- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 10/ 14

H.F. 713 public schools in need of intervention, the department must 1 determine the criteria necessary for designated public schools 2 to exit the program. 3 The bill establishes timelines for the process of 4 designating schools, the establishment of school turnaround 5 committees by the board of directors of the school district, 6 the establishment of partnerships between such committees and 7 the school board, the submission of a school turnaround plan 8 by the committee to the school board for approval, submission 9 of the plan to the department for approval, for the annual 10 identification of two or more approved independent school 11 turnaround experts by the department, and for the time by which 12 an exit criteria must be met or by which a petition must be 13 submitted to the department for an extension to continue school 14 turnaround efforts. 15 The school turnaround committee the school board must 16 appoint must be comprised of a school board member; the 17 principal of an attendance center or the superintendent of 18 the school district, as appropriate; parents or guardians of 19 students enrolled in the designated public school; and teachers 20 appointed by a school administrator. 21 The school board partners with the school turnaround 22 committee to select an independent school turnaround expert 23 from the experts identified and placed on a list of approved 24 independent school turnaround experts maintained by the 25 department. 26 An independent school turnaround expert is ineligible to be 27 considered or selected by a school board or committee if the 28 expert is on the school board or is an employee of the school 29 board or the designated school. 30 The school turnaround committee must partner with the 31 independent school turnaround expert selected to develop and 32 implement a school turnaround plan. The plan must include the 33 findings of the analysis of the independent school turnaround 34 expert, recommendations regarding changes to the designated 35 -11- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 11/ 14

H.F. 713 school, measurable student achievement goals and objectives, 1 a professional development and leadership plan, a detailed 2 budget, plans to assess and monitor progress, and a timeline 3 for implementation. 4 The school board must prioritize funding and resources, and 5 grant the school streamlined authority to implement the plan. 6 If the school board disapproves the plan, the committee may 7 appeal the disapproval to the state board of education. 8 On or before November 30 annually, the department shall 9 submit a report to the general assembly that includes 10 information regarding the schools designated, the outcomes 11 and any failures, and the contracts awarded and the moneys 12 distributed and used. 13 Under the program, designated schools may partner with 14 an independent school turnaround expert from the list 15 maintained by the department, to collect and analyze school 16 data; recommend changes; develop and implement a school 17 turnaround plan in partnership with the school turnaround 18 committee; monitor the effectiveness of a plan; provide 19 ongoing implementation support and project management; provide 20 high-quality professional development and coaching personalized 21 for school staff; provide job-embedded professional learning 22 and coaching for instructional and administrative staff; and 23 leverage support from community partners. 24 Independent school turnaround experts identified by the 25 department must meet criteria specified in the bill, including 26 having a credible track record of improving student academic 27 achievement; experience designing, implementing, and evaluating 28 data-driven instructional systems in public schools; experience 29 coaching public school practitioners on designing and 30 implementing data-driven school improvement plans; experience 31 with entities that govern public schools; experience delivering 32 high-quality professional development and coaching; agree to 33 be compensated for professional services based on performance 34 measures; and agree to partner with any public school in need 35 -12- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 12/ 14

H.F. 713 of intervention in the state, regardless of location. 1 The bill directs the department to ensure that a contract 2 entered into by the department and the expert will pay the 3 expert no more than 50 percent of the expert’s professional 4 fees at the beginning of the work for the designated school, 5 with the remainder to be paid upon successfully helping the 6 designated school meet exit criteria, as determined by the 7 department, within three school years. 8 In negotiating the contract, the department must offer an 9 average of $500,000 per school for the entirety of the project, 10 differentiated amounts of funding based on student enrollment, 11 and a higher amount of funding for schools that are in the 12 lowest performing 1 percent of schools statewide. 13 In addition, the department is directed to review a school 14 turnaround plan within 30 days of submission; approve a school 15 turnaround plan that is timely, is well-developed, and meets 16 the department’s outcomes-based criteria; and, subject to 17 an appropriation of funds by the general assembly, provide 18 moneys to a designated school for interventions identified 19 in an approved school turnaround plan if the school board 20 provides matching funds or an in-kind contribution of goods or 21 services in an amount equal to the funding the school in need 22 of intervention would receive from the department. 23 The state board of education must adopt rules to establish 24 appeals processes for a designated school not granted approval 25 from the school board and for a school board that is not 26 granted approval from the department. 27 The department must balance the need to prioritize funding 28 to contract with highly qualified independent school turnaround 29 experts with the need to set aside funding for interventions to 30 facilitate the implementation of a school turnaround plan and 31 the school recognition and reward program. 32 A designated school that does not meet the exit criteria 33 within three school years after designation may petition 34 the department for an extension for up to two years. The 35 -13- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 13/ 14

H.F. 713 department must grant the extension only if the school has 1 demonstrated at least 50 percent of the improvement necessary 2 to exit the turnaround process or submits an appeal to the 3 department. The department may extend the contract of an 4 independent school turnaround expert of a designated school 5 that is granted an extension. 6 The state board of education must adopt rules establishing 7 consequences for a designated school that does not meet the 8 predetermined exit criteria within three school years or is 9 granted an extension and does not meet the predetermined exit 10 criteria within three school years after the day on which the 11 school was granted an extension. 12 Subject to an appropriation of funds by the general 13 assembly, the department must establish a school recognition 14 and reward program to provide incentives to schools and 15 educators to improve the public school in need of intervention. 16 The department may determine and distribute rewards, financial 17 or otherwise, for eligible schools or the practitioners 18 employed at eligible schools. “Eligible school” is defined 19 as a designated school that meets predetermined exit criteria 20 within three school years or meets predetermined exit criteria 21 within the extension period. 22 The bill establishes a school intervention fund in the state 23 treasury that is under the control of and administered by the 24 department of education. Moneys in the fund do not revert at 25 the end of a fiscal year and interest earned on moneys in the 26 fund are credited to the fund. 27 -14- LSB 2563YH (6) 89 kh/jh 14/ 14