HF 2615 (LSB 6104HV (2) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2615

BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

(SUCCESSOR TO HF 2347)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to education, including by requiring community colleges to publish information related to graduates, requiring school districts to provide students enrolled in grades eleven and twelve with information related to graduates of community colleges and the average income and student debt of graduates of institutions of higher education governed by the state board of regents, and modifying provisions related to supplementary weighting.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 257.11, subsection 5, paragraph d, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   d.  Supplementary weighting pursuant to this subsection shall be available to a school district during the period commencing with the budget year beginning July 1, 2014, through the budget year beginning July 1, 2034. The maximum amount of additional weighting for which a school district shall be eligible in a budget year is twenty-one additional pupils; provided, however, that for budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2024, the supplementary weighting assigned for a shared operational function in the area of a college and career transition counselor or coordinator shall not count toward this maximum amount. Criteria for determining the qualification of operational functions for supplementary weighting shall be determined by the department by rule, through consideration of increased student opportunities.
    Sec. 2.  Section 260C.14, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  25.  Publish on the community college’s internet site a link to the Iowa student outcomes internet site maintained by the department of education.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  279.84  College and career transition counselors or coordinators —— information related to the completion of postsecondary programs.
   1.  The board of directors of each school district shall provide each student enrolled in the school district in grades eleven and twelve who has expressed an interest in postsecondary education, including in the student’s individual career and academic plan created pursuant to section 279.61, with all of the following:
   a.  The most recent copy of the report published by the state board of regents pursuant to section 262.9, subsection 38.
   b.  A link to the Iowa student outcomes internet site maintained by the department of education.
   2.  If the school district employs a college and career transition counselor or coordinator, the college and career transition counselor or coordinator shall be responsible for providing the information described in subsection 1.
   3.  For purposes of this section, “college and career transition counselor or coordinator” means a licensed school counselor or an appropriately trained individual responsible for providing direct services to students, parents, families, schools, and postsecondary institutions to support college preparation and postsecondary success, such as college preparation, financial aid processing, and transition to postsecondary institution enrollment.
    Sec. 4.  STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED.  In accordance with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under section 257.16. This specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to education, including by requiring community colleges to publish information related to graduates, requiring school districts to provide students enrolled in grades 11 and 12 with information related to graduates of community colleges and the average income and student debt of graduates of institutions of higher education governed by the state board of regents, and modifying provisions related to supplementary weighting.
    The bill requires community colleges to publish a link to the Iowa student outcomes internet site on the community college’s internet site. The Iowa student outcomes internet site contains a compilation of data and information related to student success in secondary school, college readiness, postsecondary education, gainful employment, and adult literacy programs. The bill requires each school district to provide to each student in grades 11 and 12 who has expressed an interest in postsecondary education with a copy of a report prepared by the state board of regents that relates to the income and student loan debt of students who have completed a baccalaureate degree program at an institution of higher education under the control of the state board of regents and a link to the Iowa student outcomes internet site. The bill establishes that, if the school district employs a college and career transition counselor or coordinator, such counselor or coordinator is responsible for providing these materials. The bill defines “college and career transition counselor or coordinator” to mean a licensed school counselor or an appropriately trained individual responsible for providing direct services to students, parents, families, schools, and postsecondary institutions to support college preparation and postsecondary success, such as college preparation, financial aid processing, and transition to postsecondary institution enrollment.
   Current law provides that a school district that shares with a political subdivision one or more operational functions in certain specified areas for at least 20 percent of the school year shall be assigned a supplementary weighting for each shared operational function. The purpose of the supplementary weighting is to provide additional funding to increase student opportunities and redirect more resources to student programming for school districts. Under current law, the supplementary weighting associated with a college and career transition counselor or coordinator is two pupils for the school budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2022, but before July 1, 2035. In addition, under current law the maximum amount of additional weighting for which a school district is eligible in a budget year is 21 additional pupils. The bill provides that the supplementary weighting associated with a shared operational function in the area of a college and career transition counselor or coordinator shall not count toward the maximum amount of additional weighting for budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2024.
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under Code section 257.16. The specification is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state mandates included in the bill.