House File 429 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 429 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO HF 17) A BILL FOR An Act relating to school districts, including authorizing 1 the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school 2 district to enroll the student in another attendance 3 center within the same school district in certain specified 4 circumstances, requiring classroom teachers employed 5 by school districts to provide notice to the parents or 6 guardians of students enrolled in the school district if the 7 classroom teacher witnesses the student being physically 8 injured, harassed, or bullied, and including effective date 9 provisions. 10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 11 TLSB 1448HV (2) 90 jda/jh

H.F. 429 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 279.77 Intra-district enrollment. 1 1. A parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school 2 district may enroll the student in another attendance center 3 within the same school district that offers classes at the 4 student’s grade level in the manner provided in this section 5 if the board of directors of the school district reasonably 6 believes that any student enrolled in the school district 7 has harassed or bullied the student. For purposes of this 8 subsection, “harassment” and “bullying” mean the same as defined 9 in section 280.28. 10 2. a. A parent or guardian shall send notification to the 11 board of directors of the school district, on forms prescribed 12 by the department of education, that the parent or guardian 13 intends to enroll the student in another attendance center 14 within the same school district that offers classes at the 15 student’s grade level. 16 b. The board of directors of the school district shall 17 enroll the student in another attendance center within the same 18 school district unless the attendance center has insufficient 19 classroom space for the student. The board of directors of a 20 school district may adopt a policy granting the superintendent 21 of the school district authority to approve requests submitted 22 pursuant to this section. If the request is granted, the board 23 of directors of the school district shall transmit a copy of 24 the form to the parent or guardian within five days after board 25 action. The parent or guardian may withdraw the request at any 26 time prior to the board of directors’ action on the request. 27 A denial of a request by the board of directors is not subject 28 to appeal. 29 c. Each school district shall adopt a policy that defines 30 the term “insufficient classroom space” for that district. 31 3. A request under this section is for a period of not 32 less than one year. A student who attends school in another 33 attendance center pursuant to this section may return to the 34 original attendance center and enroll at any time, once the 35 -1- LSB 1448HV (2) 90 jda/jh 1/ 6

H.F. 429 parent or guardian has notified the board of directors of 1 the school district in writing of the decision to enroll the 2 student in the original attendance center. 3 4. If a request filed under this section is for a student 4 requiring special education under chapter 256B, the request to 5 transfer to another attendance center shall only be granted if 6 all of the following conditions are met: 7 a. The attendance center maintains a special education 8 instructional program that is appropriate to meet the student’s 9 educational needs and the enrollment of the student in the 10 attendance center would not cause the size of the class or 11 caseload in that special education instructional program in the 12 attendance center to exceed the maximum class size or caseload 13 established pursuant to rules adopted by the state board of 14 education. 15 b. If the student would be assigned to a general education 16 class, there is sufficient classroom space for the general 17 education class to which the student would be assigned. 18 5. If a student, for whom a request to transfer has been 19 filed with the board of directors of a school district, has 20 been suspended or expelled in the school district, the student 21 shall not be permitted to transfer until the student has been 22 reinstated. Once the student has been reinstated, however, the 23 student shall be permitted to transfer in the same manner as if 24 the student had not been suspended or expelled. If a student, 25 for whom a request to transfer has been filed with the board 26 of directors of a school district, is expelled in the school 27 district, the student shall be permitted to transfer under this 28 section if the student applies for and is reinstated. However, 29 if the student applies for reinstatement but is not reinstated 30 in the school district, the board of directors of the school 31 district may deny the request to transfer. The decision of 32 the board of directors of the school district is not subject 33 to appeal. 34 6. A student who is enrolled in another attendance center 35 -2- LSB 1448HV (2) 90 jda/jh 2/ 6

H.F. 429 within the same school district pursuant to this section is 1 eligible to participate immediately in varsity interscholastic 2 athletic contests and athletic competitions as a member of a 3 team from the receiving attendance center. 4 7. This section shall not be construed to prohibit a 5 school district from allowing the parent or guardian of a 6 student enrolled in the school district to enroll the student 7 in another attendance center within the same school district 8 that offers classes at the student’s grade level pursuant to a 9 policy adopted by the board of directors of the school district 10 that allows for transfers for reasons in addition to those 11 allowed pursuant to this section. 12 8. The state board of education shall adopt rules pursuant 13 to chapter 17A to administer this section. 14 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 279.78 Notice to parents or guardians 15 related to physical injuries, harassment, or bullying. 16 A classroom teacher employed by a school district shall 17 notify the parents or guardians of a student enrolled in 18 the school district in writing or by electronic mail within 19 twenty-four hours after the classroom teacher witnesses any of 20 the following: 21 1. Any student enrolled in the school district physically 22 injuring the student. 23 2. Any student enrolled in the school district harassing 24 or bullying the student. For purposes of this subsection, 25 “harassment” and “bullying” mean the same as defined in section 26 280.28. 27 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 28 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 29 EXPLANATION 30 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 31 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 32 This bill relates to school districts, including authorizing 33 the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school 34 district to enroll the student in another attendance 35 -3- LSB 1448HV (2) 90 jda/jh 3/ 6

H.F. 429 center within the same school district in certain specified 1 circumstances and requiring classroom teachers employed by 2 school districts to provide notice to the parents or guardians 3 of students enrolled in the school district if the classroom 4 teacher witnesses the student being physically injured, 5 harassed, or bullied. 6 The bill enacts new Code section 279.77, which provides that 7 a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school district 8 may enroll the student in another attendance center within the 9 same school district that offers classes at the student’s grade 10 level in the manner provided in new Code section 279.77 if the 11 board of directors of the school district reasonably believes 12 that any student enrolled in the school district has harassed 13 or bullied the student. The bill defines “harassment” and 14 “bullying”. 15 The bill requires a parent or guardian to send a request 16 to the board of directors indicating that the parent or 17 guardian intends to enroll the student in another attendance 18 center within the same school district. Additionally, the 19 bill requires the board of directors to enroll the student 20 in another attendance center within the same school district 21 unless the attendance center has insufficient classroom space 22 for the student. The bill authorizes the board of directors 23 to adopt a policy granting the superintendent the authority 24 to approve these requests. The bill requires the board 25 of directors to transmit a copy of the form to the parent 26 or guardian within five days after board action. The bill 27 authorizes the parent or guardian to withdraw the request 28 at any time prior to the board of directors’ action on the 29 request. 30 The bill provides that these requests are for a period of 31 not less than one year. The bill also provides that a student 32 who attends school in another attendance center pursuant to 33 new Code section 279.77 may return to the original attendance 34 center and enroll at any time, once the parent or guardian has 35 -4- LSB 1448HV (2) 90 jda/jh 4/ 6

H.F. 429 notified the board of directors of the decision to enroll the 1 student in the original attendance center. 2 The bill provides that, if a request filed pursuant to 3 new Code section 279.77 is for a student requiring special 4 education, the request to transfer to another attendance center 5 shall only be granted if the attendance center maintains a 6 special education instructional program that is appropriate to 7 meet the student’s educational needs and the enrollment of the 8 student in the attendance center would not cause the size of 9 the class or caseload in that special education instructional 10 program in the attendance center to exceed the maximum class 11 size or caseload established pursuant to rules adopted by the 12 state board of education, and, if the student would be assigned 13 to a general education class, there is sufficient classroom 14 space for the general education class to which the student 15 would be assigned. 16 The bill provides that if a student for whom a request to 17 transfer has been filed with the board of directors has been 18 suspended or expelled in the school district, the student 19 shall not be permitted to transfer until the student has been 20 reinstated. The bill also provides that, once the student 21 has been reinstated, the student is permitted to transfer in 22 the same manner as if the student had not been suspended or 23 expelled. The bill establishes that if a student for whom a 24 request to transfer has been filed with the board of directors 25 is expelled, the student shall be permitted to transfer if the 26 student applies for and is reinstated. The bill provides that 27 if the student applies for reinstatement but is not reinstated 28 in the school district, the board of directors may deny the 29 request to transfer. 30 The bill provides that a student who is enrolled in 31 another attendance center within the same school district 32 pursuant to new Code section 279.77 is eligible to participate 33 immediately in varsity interscholastic athletic contests and 34 athletic competitions as a member of a team from the receiving 35 -5- LSB 1448HV (2) 90 jda/jh 5/ 6

H.F. 429 attendance center. 1 The bill prohibits new Code section 279.77 from being 2 construed to prohibit a school district from allowing the 3 parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the school district 4 to enroll the student in another attendance center within the 5 same school district that offers classes at the student’s grade 6 level pursuant to a policy adopted by the board of directors 7 of the school district that allows for transfers for reasons 8 in addition to those allowed pursuant to the bill. The 9 bill requires the state board of education to adopt rules to 10 administer the new Code section. 11 The bill enacts new Code section 279.78, which requires 12 a classroom teacher employed by a school district to notify 13 the parents or guardians of a student enrolled in the school 14 district in writing or by electronic mail within 24 hours after 15 the classroom teacher witnesses any student enrolled in the 16 school district physically injuring, harassing, or bullying the 17 student. 18 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 19 -6- LSB 1448HV (2) 90 jda/jh 6/ 6