SF 2231 (LSB 5898SV (3) 91)

SENATE FILE 2231

BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

(SUCCESSOR TO SF 2060)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to eligibility and participation requirements for certain education programs, preschool programs, and tax provisions, and including retroactive applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 256C.3, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  (1)  Subject to implementation of chapter 28E agreements between a school district and community-based providers of services to four-year-old children, a four-year-old child who is enrolled in a child care center or child development home licensed or registered under chapter 237A, or in an existing public or private preschool program, shall be eligible for services provided by the school district’s local preschool program.
   (2)  Upon the request of a community-based provider, a school district shall enter into a chapter 28E agreement with a community-based provider to allow the community-based provider to provide high-quality instruction as part of the approved local program.
   (3)  A chapter 28E agreement entered into pursuant to this paragraph shall not limit the number of eligible students who may receive high-quality instruction from a community-based provider as part of the approved local program.
   (4)  (a)  This paragraph shall not be construed to authorize the state or any political subdivision of the state to exercise authority over any community-based provider or construed to require a community-based provider to modify its academic standards for admission or educational program in order to receive preschool foundation aid pursuant to section 256C.4, subsection 1, paragraph “h”.
   (b)  This paragraph shall not be construed to expand the authority of the state or any political subdivision of the state to impose regulations upon any community-based provider that are not necessary to implement the community-based provider’s participation in the preschool program.
   (c)  A community-based provider that accepts preschool foundation aid pursuant to section 256C.4, subsection 1, paragraph “h”, is not an agent of this state or of a political subdivision of this state.
   (d)  Rules adopted by the state board to implement this chapter that impose an undue burden on a community-based provider are invalid.
   (e)  A community-based provider that accepts preschool foundation aid pursuant to section 256C.4, subsection 1, paragraph “h”, shall be given the maximum freedom possible to provide for the educational needs of the children participating in the community-based provider’s program, consistent with state and federal law.
    Sec. 2.  Section 261A.34, subsection 4, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  “Property” means the real estate upon which a project is or will be located, including equipment, machinery, and other similar items necessary or convenient for the operation of the project in the manner for which its use is intended, but not including such items as fuel, supplies, or other items that are customarily deemed to result in a current operation charge. Property does not include property used or to be used primarily for sectarian instruction or study, or as a place for devotional activities or religious worship, or any property which is used or to be used primarily in connection with any part of the program of a school or department of divinity for any religious denomination or the training of ministers, priests, rabbis, or other professional persons in the field of religion.
    Sec. 3.  Section 261E.6, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  Authorization.  To participate in this program, an eligible student shall make application to an eligible postsecondary institution to allow the eligible student to enroll for college credit in a nonsectarian course offered at the institution. A comparable course, as defined in rules adopted by the board of directors of the school district consistent with department administrative rule, must not be offered by the school district or accredited nonpublic school the student attends. A course is ineligible for purposes of this section if the school district has a contractual agreement with the eligible postsecondary institution under section 261E.8 that meets the requirements of section 257.11, subsection 3, and the course may be delivered through such an agreement in accordance with section 257.11, subsection 3. If the postsecondary institution accepts an eligible student for enrollment under this section, the institution shall send written notice to the student, the student’s parent or legal guardian in the case of a minor child, and the student’s school district or accredited nonpublic school and the school district in the case of a nonpublic school student, or the Iowa school for the deaf. The notice shall list the course, the clock hours the student will be attending the course, and the number of hours of college credit that the eligible student will receive from the eligible postsecondary institution upon successful completion of the course.
    Sec. 4.  Section 261E.8, subsections 1 and 3, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  A district-to-community college sharing or concurrent enrollment program is established to be administered by the department to promote rigorous academic or career and technical pursuits and to provide a wider variety of options to high school students to enroll in eligible nonsectarian courses at or through community colleges established under chapter 260C.  The program shall be made available to all resident students in grades nine through twelve. Notice of the availability of the program shall be included in a school district’s student registration handbook and the handbook shall identify which courses, if successfully completed, generate college credit under the program. A student and the student’s parent or legal guardian shall also be made aware of this program as a part of the development of the student’s career and academic plan in accordance with section 279.61.
   3.  A student may make application to a community college and the school district to allow the student to enroll for college credit in a nonsectarian course offered by the community college. A comparable course, as defined in rules adopted by the board of directors of the school district, must not be offered by the school district or accredited nonpublic school which the student attends. The school board shall annually approve courses to be made available for high school credit using locally developed criteria that establishes which courses will provide the student with academic rigor and will prepare the student adequately for transition to a postsecondary institution. If a community college accepts a student for enrollment under this section, the school district, in collaboration with the community college, shall send written notice to the student, the student’s parent or legal guardian in the case of a minor child, and the student’s school district. The notice shall list the course, the clock hours the student will be attending the course, and the number of hours of college credit that the student will receive from the community college upon successful completion of the course.
    Sec. 5.  Section 301.1, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Textbooks adopted and purchased by a school district shall, to the extent funds are appropriated by the general assembly, be made available to pupils attending accredited nonpublic schools upon request of the pupil or the pupil’s parent under comparable terms as made available to pupils attending public schools. If the general assembly appropriates moneys for purposes of making textbooks available to accredited nonpublic school pupils, the department of education shall ascertain the amount available to a school district for the purchase of nonsectarian, nonreligious textbooks for pupils attending accredited nonpublic schools. The amount shall be in the proportion that the basic enrollment of a participating accredited nonpublic school bears to the sum of the basic enrollments of all participating accredited nonpublic schools in the state for the budget year. For purposes of this section, a “participating accredited nonpublic school” means an accredited nonpublic school that submits a written request on behalf of the school’s pupils in accordance with this subsection, and that certifies its actual enrollment to the department of education by October 1, annually. By November 1, annually, the department of education shall certify to the director of the department of administrative services the annual amount to be paid to each school district, and the director of the department of administrative services shall draw warrants payable to school districts in accordance with this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, an accredited nonpublic school’s enrollment count shall include only students who are residents of Iowa. The costs of providing textbooks to accredited nonpublic school pupils as provided in this subsection shall not be included in the computation of district cost under chapter 257, but shall be shown in the budget as an expense from miscellaneous income. Textbook expenditures made in accordance with this subsection shall be kept on file in the school district. In the event that a participating accredited nonpublic school physically relocates to another school district, textbooks purchased for the nonpublic school with funds appropriated for purposes of this chapter shall be transferred to the school district in which the nonpublic school has relocated and may be made available to the nonpublic school. Funds distributed to a school district for purposes of purchasing textbooks in accordance with this subsection which remain unexpended and available for the purchase of textbooks for the nonpublic school that relocated in the fiscal year in which the funds were distributed shall also be transferred to the school district in which the nonpublic school has relocated.
    Sec. 6.  Section 331.901, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 7.  Section 331.901, subsection 7, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   7.  A county officer, deputy officer, or employee who violates subsection 4 or 5 is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
    Sec. 8.  Section 422.12, subsection 1, paragraphs e and f, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   e.  “Textbooks” means books and other instructional materials and equipment used in elementary and secondary schools in teaching only those subjects legally and commonly taught in public elementary and secondary schools in this state and does not include instructional books and materials used in the teaching of religious tenets, doctrines, or worship, the purpose of which is to inculcate those tenets, doctrines, or worship. “Textbooks” includes books or materials used for extracurricular activities including sporting events, musical or dramatic events, speech activities, driver’s education, or programs of a similar nature.
   f.  “Tuition” means any charges for the expenses of personnel, buildings, equipment, and materials other than textbooks, and other expenses of elementary or secondary schools which relate to the teaching only of those subjects legally and commonly taught in public elementary and secondary schools in this state and which do not relate to the teaching of religious tenets, doctrines, or worship, the purpose of which is to inculcate those tenets, doctrines, or worship. “Tuition” includes those expenses which relate to extracurricular activities including sporting events, musical or dramatic events, speech activities, driver’s education, or programs of a similar nature.
    Sec. 9.  Section 422.12C, subsection 2, paragraph b, subparagraph (2), Code 2026, is amended by striking the subparagraph.
    Sec. 10.  RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.  The following sections of this Act apply retroactively to January 1, 2026, for tax years beginning on or after that date: 
   1.  The section of this Act amending section 422.12, subsection 1, paragraphs “e” and “f”.
   2.  The section of this Act amending section 422.12C, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, subparagraph (2).
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 eligibility and participation requirements for certain education programs, preschool programs, and tax provisions.
   Under current law, a school district may enter into a Code chapter 28E agreement with a community-based provider with respect to the statewide preschool program for four-year-old children. If a school district does so, pupils enrolled in the school district’s approved local program may receive services from the community-based provider, and not less than 95 percent of the per pupil amount paid to the school district under the statewide preschool program must be passed through to the community-based provider. The bill requires a school district, upon the request of a community-based provider, to enter into a Code chapter 28E agreement with the provider to allow the provider to deliver high-quality instruction as part of the district’s approved local preschool program. The bill specifies that a Code chapter 28E agreement entered into under the bill shall not limit the number of eligible students who may receive high-quality instruction from a community-based provider.
   The bill provides limitations on state and political subdivision authority with respect to community-based providers participating in the preschool program. Specifically, the bill provides that a community-based provider’s participation in the preschool program shall not be construed to authorize the state or a political subdivision to exercise authority over a community-based provider or to require a provider to modify its academic standards, admissions, or educational program as a condition of receiving preschool foundation aid. The bill provides that a community-based provider’s participation in the preschool program shall not be construed to expand the authority of the state or a political subdivision to impose regulations on a community-based provider that are not necessary to implement the provider’s participation in the preschool program.
   The bill provides that a community-based provider that accepts preschool foundation aid is not an agent of the state or of a political subdivision of the state. Rules adopted by the state board that impose an undue burden on a community-based provider are invalid. The bill also provides that a community-based provider accepting preschool foundation aid shall be given the maximum freedom possible to meet the educational needs of participating children, consistent with state and federal law.
   The bill amends the higher education facilities program by removing the exclusion of property used for sectarian study from the definition of eligible property.
   The bill amends the postsecondary enrollment options program and the district-to-community college sharing or concurrent enrollment program by removing the nonsectarian course requirement.
   The bill amends textbook assistance for accredited nonpublic schools by removing religious limitations on the type of textbooks that may be purchased.
   The bill strikes duties of county officers that prohibit the appropriation, grant, or loan of public funds to certain institutions or entities under ecclesiastical or sectarian management or control and makes a conforming change as result of the strike.
   The bill removes exclusions of sectarian books and expenses that relate to the teaching of religion from the definitions of textbooks and tuition for purposes of the tuition and textbook tax credit. This provision of the bill applies retroactively to January 1, 2026, for tax years beginning on or after that date.
   Lastly, the bill strikes exclusions of certain religious services, materials, or activities from the definition of “early childhood development expenses” for purposes of the early childhood development tax credit. This provision of the bill applies retroactively to January 1, 2026, for tax years beginning on or after that date.