HF 2003 (LSB 5170YH (2) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2003

BY  WILLS

A BILL FOR

An Act requiring the department of education to develop and administer a pilot program that requires certain specified school districts to establish attendance centers for students requiring special education and students with behavioral issues.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  256.20  Schools for students requiring special education or students with behavioral issues —— pilot project.
   1.  The department shall develop and administer a pilot program that requires a rural school district and an urban school district to each establish an attendance center to be used to provide educational services, including special education services, to eligible students who are enrolled in the rural school district or urban school district, as applicable.
   2.  The department shall determine the rural school district and urban school district that will be required to participate in the pilot program.
   3.  The department, in consultation with the rural school district and urban school district, shall determine all of the following:
   a.  The courses of study and curricula that the rural school district and urban school district will provide to eligible students as part of the pilot program.
   b.  The instructional facilities that the rural school district and urban school district will use to provide educational services to eligible students as part of the pilot program.
   4.  a.  Annually, on or before June 1 of each year, the rural school district and urban school district shall submit to the department an annual report that contains all of the following:
   (1)  The number of eligible students who participated in the pilot program during the current school year.
   (2)  Information related to the academic performance of eligible students who participated in the pilot program during the current school year.
   (3)  Feedback from eligible students who participated in the pilot program during the current school year related to the effectiveness of the pilot program.
   (4)  Feedback from the parents or guardians of eligible students who participated in the pilot program during the current school year related to the effectiveness of the pilot program.
   (5)  Feedback from teachers who provided educational services to eligible students who participated in the pilot program during the current school year related to the effectiveness of the pilot program.
   (6)  Challenges associated with operating the pilot program.
   (7)  Recommendations related to how to improve the pilot program.
   (8)  Any other information requested by the department that will allow the department to monitor and assess the pilot program.
   b.  Annually, on or before June 30 of each year, the department shall compile the annual reports submitted to the department pursuant to paragraph “a” and shall submit the compilation to the general assembly.
   5.  Notwithstanding section 257.10, subsection 7, for budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2026, not less than forty-eight percent of the ninety percent of funds calculated under section 257.10, subsection 7, and received by the rural school district or urban school district shall be used by the rural school district or urban school district, as applicable, for purposes of the pilot program.
   6.  As used in this section:
   a.  “Eligible student” means any of the following:
   (1)  Children requiring special education, as defined in section 256B.2.
   (2)  A student whose emotional, social, or behavioral needs interfere with the student’s ability to be successful in the regular educational environment, even with the use of supplementary aids and services.
   b.  “Rural school district” means a school district as described in chapter 274 that is located in a county with a population of greater than seventeen thousand five hundred but less than eighteen thousand, and that contains a city with a population of greater than five thousand four hundred, but less than five thousand five hundred, all according to the 2020 federal decennial census.
   c.  “Urban school district” means a school district as described in chapter 274 with a total enrollment of at least seven thousand students.
   7.  This section is repealed July 1, 2031.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires the department of education (DE) to develop and administer a pilot program that requires a rural school district and an urban school district to establish attendance centers to be used to provide educational services to eligible students. DE is responsible for determining the rural school district and urban school district that will be required to participate in the pilot program. In addition, DE, in consultation with the rural school district and urban school district, is required to determine the courses of study and curricula that the rural school district and urban school district will provide to eligible students and the instructional facilities that the rural school district and urban school district will use to provide educational services to eligible students.
   Annually, on or before June 1 of each year, the rural school district and urban school district are required to submit to DE an annual report that contains information related to the pilot program. Additionally, on or before June 30 of each year, DE is required to compile those annual reports and submit the compilation to the general assembly.
   Under current law, not less than 90 percent of funds calculated under Code section 257.10(7) (special education support services district cost) and received by a school district are required be used by the school district for special education support services contracted from an area education agency. The bill requires, instead, that the rural school district and urban school district use not less than 48 percent of that 90 percent of funds for purposes of the pilot program.
   The bill defines “eligible student” to mean children requiring special education, as defined in Code section 256B.2, and a student whose emotional, social, or behavioral needs interfere with the student’s ability to be successful in the regular educational environment. The bill defines “rural school district” as a school district that is located in a county with a population of greater than 17,500 but less than 18,000, and that contains a city with a population of greater than 5,400, but less than 5,500. The bill defines “urban school district” to mean a school district with a total enrollment of at least 7,000 students.
   The bill repeals the Code section establishing the pilot program, Code section 256.20, July 1, 2031.