Senate Study Bill 1036 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON EVANS) A BILL FOR An Act modifying the earliest possible start date of the school 1 calendar for school districts and accredited nonpublic 2 schools. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 2141XC (1) 91 jda/jh

S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 279.10, subsection 1, Code 2025, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 1. The school year for each school district and accredited 3 nonpublic school shall begin on July 1 and the school calendar 4 shall begin no sooner than August 23 the Monday immediately 5 preceding the last Monday in August and no later than the 6 first Monday in December. The school calendar shall include 7 not less than one hundred eighty days or one thousand eighty 8 hours of instruction during the calendar year, of which not 9 more than five days or thirty hours of instruction may be 10 delivered primarily over the internet except as otherwise 11 provided in section 256.43 or in rules adopted by the state 12 board of education pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 32 . 13 The board of directors of a school district and the authorities 14 in charge of an accredited nonpublic school shall determine the 15 school start date for the school calendar in accordance with 16 this subsection and shall set the number of days or hours of 17 required attendance for the school year as provided in section 18 299.1, subsection 2 , but the board of directors of a school 19 district shall hold a public hearing on any proposed school 20 calendar prior to adopting the school calendar. If the board 21 of directors of a district or the authorities in charge of an 22 accredited nonpublic school extends the school calendar because 23 inclement weather caused the school district or accredited 24 nonpublic school to temporarily close during the regular school 25 calendar, the school district or accredited nonpublic school 26 may excuse a graduating senior who has met district or school 27 requirements for graduation from attendance during the extended 28 school calendar. A school corporation may begin employment 29 of personnel for in-service training and development purposes 30 before the date to begin elementary and secondary school. 31 EXPLANATION 32 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 33 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 34 This bill modifies the earliest possible start date of the 35 -1- LSB 2141XC (1) 91 jda/jh 1/ 2

S.F. _____ school calendar for school districts and accredited nonpublic 1 schools. Current law provides that the school calendar for 2 school districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall begin 3 no sooner than August 23. The bill modifies this provision 4 to provide that the school calendar shall, instead, begin no 5 sooner than the Monday immediately preceding the last Monday 6 in August. 7 -2- LSB 2141XC (1) 91 jda/jh 2/ 2