HF 2212 (LSB 5926YH (2) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2212

BY  STONE

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to school districts and area education agencies that share bachelor social workers as part of an operational sharing agreement, and including applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 257.11, subsection 5, paragraph a, subparagraph (1), Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   (1)  In order to provide additional funding to increase student opportunities and redirect more resources to student programming for school districts that share operational functions, a district that shares with a political subdivision one or more operational functions of a curriculum director, bachelor social worker, master social worker, independent social worker, work-based learning coordinator, special education director, mental health professional who holds a statement of recognition issued by the board of educational examiners, college and career transition counselor or coordinator, school resource officer, or school counselor, or one or more operational functions in the areas of superintendent management, business management, human resources, transportation, or operation and maintenance for at least twenty percent of the school year shall be assigned a supplementary weighting for each shared operational function. A school district that shares an operational function in the area of superintendent management shall be assigned a supplementary weighting of nine pupils for the function. A school district that shares an operational function in the area of business management, human resources, transportation, or operation and maintenance shall be assigned a supplementary weighting of five pupils for the function. A school district that shares the operational functions of a curriculum director; a bachelor social worker, master social worker, or an independent social worker licensed under chapters 147 and 154C; a work-based learning coordinator; a special education director; a mental health professional who holds a statement of recognition issued by the board of educational examiners; a college and career transition counselor or coordinator; a school resource officer; or a school counselor shall be assigned a supplementary weighting of three pupils for the function. The additional weighting shall be assigned for each discrete operational function shared. However, a school district may receive the additional weighting under this subsection for sharing the services of an individual with a political subdivision or another school district even if the type of operational function performed by the individual for the school district and the type of operational function performed by the individual for the political subdivision or another school district are not the same operational function, so long as either both operational functions are eligible for weighting under this subsection or the operational function the individual performs for the school district is special education director. In either case, the school district shall be assigned the additional weighting for the type of operational function that the individual performs for the school district, and the school district shall not receive additional weighting for any other function performed by the individual. The operational function sharing arrangement does not need to be a newly implemented sharing arrangement to receive supplementary weighting under this subsection.
    Sec. 3.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to school budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2025, subject to the school budget year limitations of section 257.11, subsection 5.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   Pursuant to Code section 257.11, in order to provide additional funding to increase student opportunities and redirect resources to student programming that share operational functions, a school district or area education agency that shares with another political subdivision one or more specified operational functions is assigned a supplementary weighting for each shared operational function. This bill adds a bachelor social worker licensed by the state to the eligible shared operational functions. By operation of Code section 257.11(5)(b)(2), a bachelor social worker is assigned a supplementary weighting of two pupils under the bill.
   The bill applies to school budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2025, subject to the limitation of Code section 257.11(5), which sunsets the availability of supplementary weighting following the school budget year beginning July 1, 2034.