SF 2367 (LSB 5174SV (1) 90)

SENATE FILE 2367

BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3156)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to education, including modifying provisions related to education data collection and the determination of enrollment, and including effective date and applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

DIVISION I
EDUCATION INFORMATION AND FUNDING

    Section 1.  Section 22.7, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Personal information in records regarding a student, prospective student, or former student maintained, created, collected or assembled by or for a school corporation or educational institution maintaining such records. This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit a postsecondary education institution from disclosing to a parent or guardian information regarding a violation of a federal, state, or local law, or institutional rule or policy governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance if the child is under the age of twenty-one years and the institution determines that the student committed a disciplinary violation with respect to the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance regardless of whether that information is contained in the student’s education records. This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit a school corporation or educational institution from transferring student records electronically to the department of education, an accredited nonpublic school, an attendance center, a school district, or an accredited postsecondary institution in accordance with section 256.9, subsection 44 11.
    Sec. 2.  Section 256.9, subsection 11, Code 2024, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   11.  a.  Approve, coordinate, and supervise the use of electronic data and information processing by school districts, area education agencies, and merged areas, including the procurement or development of a single, comprehensive, statewide, student information system that is required to be used by all school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and area education agencies.
   b.  (1)  The student information system procured or developed shall be designed for the purpose of establishing standardized electronic data collections and reporting protocols that facilitate compliance with state and federal reporting requirements, improve school-to-school and district-to-district information exchanges, and maintain the confidentiality of individual student and staff data.
   (2)  The system shall provide for the electronic transfer of individual student records between attendance centers, school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, area education agencies, postsecondary institutions, merged areas, and the department.
   (3)  The system shall be designed to ensure compatibility with other information or data management systems used or maintained by postsecondary institutions and merged areas as required by law.
   c.  The department shall pay for the procurement or development of the student information system and shall pay for at least the first year of statewide implementation, after which the cost of operating the system may be funded through the collection of a fee by the department from each school district and accredited nonpublic school. The amount of the fee shall be based on a per-student rate, not to exceed twelve dollars per student for the first year of the fee.
   d.  (1)  Subject to subparagraph (2), the student information system shall only be used for the purpose of collecting information from school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and area education agencies required by state or federal law or for preparation of state or federal reports.
   (2)  Notwithstanding subparagraph (1), school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and area education agencies, at their own expense, may use the student information system to complete other functions necessary to manage students, courses, and other school district, accredited nonpublic school, and area education agency functions.
   e.  A school district, accredited nonpublic school, or area education agency shall not duplicate the collection of any information in the student information system.
DIVISION II
STUDENT ENROLLMENT

    Sec. 3.  Section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph a, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   Actual enrollment is determined annually by calculating the average of the sum of all of the following on October 1, or the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, and includes all of the following and the sum of all of the following on March 1 immediately succeeding the October determination, or the succeeding Monday if March 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday:
    Sec. 4.  Section 257.6, subsection 3, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  Additional enrollment because of special education.
   a.  A school district shall determine its additional enrollment because of special education, as defined in this section, by November October 1 of each year, or by the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, and shall certify its additional enrollment because of special education to the department of education by November October 15 of each year, or by the succeeding Monday if October 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, and the department shall promptly forward the information to the department of management.
   b.  For the purposes of this chapter, “additional enrollment because of special education” is determined by calculating the average of the following: 
   (1)  An amount determined by multiplying the weighting of each category of child under section 256B.9 times the number of children in each category totaled for all categories minus the total number of children in all categories, as determined on March 1 immediately succeeding the October determination under subparagraph (2), or the succeeding Monday if March 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
   (2)  An amount determined by multiplying the weighting of each category of child under section 256B.9 times the number of children in each category totaled for all categories minus the total number of children in all categories, as determined on October 1 of each year, or the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
    Sec. 5.  Section 257.6, subsection 5, paragraph a, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Weighted enrollment is the budget enrollment plus the district’s additional enrollment because of special education calculated by November 1 in October of the base year under subsection 3 plus additional pupils added due to the application of the supplementary weighting as determined under subsection 5A.
    Sec. 6.  Section 257.6, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5A.  Pupils added due to application of supplementary weighting.
   a.  A school district shall determine its pupils added due to application of supplementary weighting by October 1 of each year, or by the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, and shall certify its pupils added due to the application of supplementary weighting to the department of education by October 15 of each year, or by the succeeding Monday if October 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, and the department shall promptly forward the information to the department of management.
   b.  For the purposes of this chapter, “pupils added due to application of supplementary weighting” is determined by calculating the average of the following:
   (1)  The sum of the number of additional pupils assigned to a student or to the school district under section 257.11 or 280.4, or other provision of law providing for supplementary weighting, but excluding those under subsection 1, as determined on March 1 immediately succeeding the October determination under subparagraph (2), or the succeeding Monday if March 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
   (2)  The sum of the number of additional pupils assigned to a student or to the school district under section 257.11 or 280.4, or other provision of law providing for supplementary weighting, but excluding those under subsection 1, as determined on October 1 of each year, or the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
    Sec. 7.  Section 261E.7, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   Not later than June 30 of each year, a school district shall pay a tuition reimbursement amount to a postsecondary institution that has enrolled its resident eligible students under this chapter, unless the eligible student is participating in open enrollment under section 282.18, in which case, the tuition reimbursement amount shall be paid by the receiving district. However, if a child’s residency changes during a school year, the tuition shall be paid by the district in which the child was enrolled as of the October date specified in section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, or the district in which the child was counted under section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (6), as of the October date specified in section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”. For students enrolled at the Iowa school for the deaf, the department of education shall pay a tuition reimbursement amount by June 30 of each year. The amount of tuition reimbursement for each separate course shall equal the lesser of:
    Sec. 8.  Section 273.5, subsection 5, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  Provide Annually provide each school district within the area served and the department of education with a special education weighted enrollment count, including the additional enrollment because of special education for December 1 of each year.
    Sec. 9.  Section 279.60, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Each school district shall administer the teaching strategies gold early childhood assessment to every resident prekindergarten or four-year-old child whose parent or guardian enrolls the child in the district, and shall administer a valid and reliable universal screening instrument, as prescribed by the department of education, to every kindergarten student enrolled in the district not later than the October date specified in section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”. The assessment shall be aligned with state early learning standards and preschool programs shall be encouraged to administer the assessment at least at the beginning and end of the preschool program, with the assessment information entered into the statewide longitudinal data system. The department shall work to develop agreements with head start programs to incorporate similar information about four-year-old children served by head start into the statewide longitudinal data system.
    Sec. 10.  Section 282.12, subsection 4, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  The number of pupils participating in a whole grade sharing agreement shall be determined on the October date specified in section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, and on the second Friday of January of each year.
    Sec. 11.  Section 282.18, subsection 7, paragraph a, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  If a parent or guardian of a child, who is participating in open enrollment under this section, moves to a different school district during the course of either district’s academic year, the child’s first district of residence as determined on the October date specified in section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, shall be responsible for payment of the cost per pupil plus weightings or special education costs to the receiving school district for the balance of the school year in which the move took place. The new district of residence shall be responsible for the payments during succeeding years.
    Sec. 12.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This division of this Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
    Sec. 13.  APPLICABILITY.  This division of this Act applies to actual enrollment determinations for school budget years beginning on or after the effective date of this division of this Act.
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 modifying provisions related to education data collection and the determination of enrollment.
   DIVISION I —— EDUCATION INFORMATION AND FUNDING. Division I of the bill modifies and consolidates language regarding electronic data and information duties of the director of the department of education. Under the bill, the director is required to approve, coordinate, and supervise the use of electronic data and information processing by school districts, area education agencies, and merged areas, including the procurement or development of a single, comprehensive, statewide, student information system that is required to be used by all school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and area education agencies. The student information system procured or developed must be designed for the purpose of establishing standardized electronic data collections and reporting protocols that facilitate compliance with state and federal reporting requirements, improve school-to-school and district-to-district information exchanges, and maintain the confidentiality of individual student and staff data.
   The department of education is required to pay for the procurement or development of the student information system and shall pay for at least the first year of statewide implementation, after which the cost of operating the system may be funded through the collection of a fee by the department from each school district and accredited nonpublic school. The amount of the fee shall be based on a per-student rate, not to exceed $12 per student for the first year of the fee.
   DIVISION II —— STUDENT ENROLLMENT. Code section 257.6(1)(a) provides that each school district’s actual enrollment is determined annually on October 1, or the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Division II of the bill amends methodology for determining the actual enrollment each year. Under the bill, actual enrollment is determined annually by calculating the average of the count on October 1, or the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, and the count on March 1 immediately succeeding the October determination, or the succeeding Monday if March 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
   Division II makes similar changes to the provisions of Code section 257.6 governing the calculation of each school district’s additional enrollment because of special education and each school district’s pupils added due to application of supplementary weighting, by requiring an average of such amounts determined on two specified dates.
   Division II makes corresponding changes to other provisions of law.
   Division II of the bill takes effect upon enactment and applies to actual enrollment determinations for school budget years beginning on or after the effective date of division II of the bill.