H.F. 501 Section 1. Section 275.18, subsection 1, Code 2025, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 1. When the boundaries of the territory to be included in 3 a proposed school corporation and the number and method of 4 the election of the school directors of the proposed school 5 corporation have been determined as provided in this chapter , 6 the area education agency administrator with whom the petition 7 is filed shall give written notice of the election to the 8 county commissioner of elections of the county in the proposed 9 school corporation which has the greatest taxable base. The 10 question shall be submitted to the voters at an election held 11 on a date specified in section 39.2, subsection 4 , paragraph 12 “c” in the calendar year prior to the calendar year in which 13 the reorganization will take effect ; provided, however, that if 14 the question relates to the merger or consolidation of school 15 districts, the question shall be submitted to the voters at an 16 election held on a date determined by the county commissioner 17 of elections that is in the calendar year prior to the calendar 18 year in which the merger or consolidation will take effect . 19 Sec. 2. Section 275.53, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended 20 to read as follows: 21 1. a. The Within one year after the date of the 22 organizational meeting of the commission, the commission 23 shall send a copy of its agree upon and develop a dissolution 24 proposal or shall inform the board that it cannot agree upon a 25 dissolution proposal not later than one year following the date 26 of the organizational meeting of the commission and send a copy 27 of the dissolution proposal to the department of education for 28 approval . The department of education shall either approve the 29 dissolution proposal or recommend changes to the dissolution 30 proposal. If the department of education recommends changes 31 to the dissolution proposal, the commission shall make such 32 changes and send the revised dissolution proposal to the 33 department of education for approval. Once the department of 34 education has approved the dissolution proposal, the commission 35 -1- LSB 2414YH (2) 91 jda/jh 1/ 4

H.F. 501 shall file a copy of the dissolution proposal with the board. 1 b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a” , if the commission cannot 2 agree upon a dissolution proposal within one year after the 3 date of the organizational meeting of the commission, the 4 commission shall inform the board that it cannot agree upon a 5 dissolution proposal. 6 c. If the dissolving school district has outstanding bonds 7 issued under section 423E.5 or 423F.4 , the proposal shall 8 require each school district receiving territory from the 9 dissolving district to assume liability for the payment of a 10 portion of such bonds that is equal to the percentage of the 11 total number of resident pupils from the dissolving district 12 who lived in the territory received during the last year of the 13 dissolving district’s existence. 14 d. The commission shall also send a copy of the approved 15 dissolution proposal to the boards of directors of all school 16 districts to which area of the dissolving school district 17 will be attached. If the board of a district to which area 18 of the dissolving school district will be attached objects 19 to the attachment, within ten days following receipt of the 20 dissolution proposal the board shall send its objections 21 in writing to the commission department of education . The 22 commission may department of education shall consider the 23 objections and may direct the commission to modify the 24 dissolution proposal if the department of education determines 25 that the objections are reasonable . If the dissolution 26 proposal is modified, the commission shall notify the boards 27 of directors of all school districts to which area of the 28 dissolving school district will be attached. 29 Sec. 3. Section 275.55, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended 30 to read as follows: 31 1. After the final hearing on the dissolution proposal, 32 the board of the school district shall submit the proposition 33 to the voters at the next election held on a date specified 34 in section 39.2, subsection 4 , paragraph “c” an election held 35 -2- LSB 2414YH (2) 91 jda/jh 2/ 4

H.F. 501 on a date determined by the county commissioner of elections . 1 However, the date of the final hearing on the dissolution 2 proposal must be not less than thirty nor more than sixty days 3 before the election. The proposition submitted to the voters 4 residing in the school district shall describe each separate 5 area to be attached to a contiguous school district and shall 6 name the school district to which it will be attached. In 7 addition to the description, a map may be included in the 8 summary of the question on the ballot. 9 EXPLANATION 10 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 11 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 12 This bill relates to school districts, including by 13 modifying provisions related to school district dissolution 14 proposals and election dates for school district mergers, 15 consolidations, or dissolutions. 16 Current law requires that elections related to school 17 district mergers, consolidations, or dissolutions must be held, 18 in odd-numbered years, on the first Tuesday in March, the 19 second Tuesday in September, or the first Tuesday after the 20 first Monday in November, and in even-numbered years, on the 21 first Tuesday in March, or the second Tuesday in September. 22 The bill modifies these provisions to provide that elections 23 related to school district mergers or consolidations must 24 be held on a date determined by the county commissioner of 25 elections that is in the calendar year prior to the calendar 26 year in which the merger or consolidation will take effect, 27 and that elections related to school district dissolutions 28 must be held on a date determined by the county commissioner 29 of elections. 30 Current law requires a school district dissolution 31 commission to send a copy of its dissolution proposal to the 32 board of directors of the school district, or inform the 33 board that it cannot agree upon a dissolution proposal, not 34 later than one year following the date of the commission’s 35 -3- LSB 2414YH (2) 91 jda/jh 3/ 4

H.F. 501 organizational meeting. Current law also requires the 1 commission to send a copy of the proposal to the boards 2 of directors of all school districts to which area of the 3 dissolving school district will be attached, and if the 4 board to which area of the dissolving school district will be 5 attached objects to the attachment, the board is required to 6 send its objections in writing to the commission. The bill 7 modifies this provision to provide that, within one year after 8 the date of the organizational meeting of the commission, the 9 commission is required to agree upon and develop a dissolution 10 proposal and send a copy of the proposal to the department of 11 education (DE) for approval. DE is required to either approve 12 the proposal or recommend changes. Once DE has approved the 13 proposal, the bill requires the commission to file a copy 14 of the proposal with the board of directors of the school 15 district and send a copy of the approved proposal to the boards 16 of directors of all school districts to which area of the 17 dissolving school district will be attached. If the commission 18 cannot agree upon a proposal within one year after the date 19 of the organizational meeting, the commission is required to 20 inform the board of directors of the school district that it 21 cannot agree. If the board of directors of a district to which 22 area of the dissolving school district will be attached objects 23 to the attachment, the board is required to send its objections 24 in writing to DE, and DE is required to consider the objections 25 and may direct the commission to modify the proposal if DE 26 determines that the objections are reasonable. 27 -4- LSB 2414YH (2) 91 jda/jh 4/ 4