SSB 3146 (LSB 6046XC (3) 91)

SENATE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON EVANS)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to incentives for whole grade sharing and school district reorganization or dissolution.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 257.3, subsection 2, paragraph d, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   d.  For purposes of this section, a reorganized school district is one which absorbs at least thirty percent of the enrollment of the school district affected by a reorganization or dissolved during a dissolution and in which action to bring about a reorganization or dissolution is initiated by a vote of the board of directors or jointly by the affected boards of directors to take effect on or after July 1, 2007, and on or before July 1, 2024 2031. Each district which initiated, by a vote of the board of directors or jointly by the affected boards, action to bring about a reorganization or dissolution to take effect on or after July 1, 2007, and on or before July 1, 2024 2031, shall certify the date and the nature of the action taken to the department of education by January 1 of the year in which the reorganization or dissolution takes effect. 
    Sec. 2.  Section 257.11, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  Pupils attending class for all or a substantial portion of a school day pursuant to a whole grade sharing agreement executed under sections 282.10 through 282.12 shall be eligible for supplementary weighting pursuant to this subsection. A school district which executes a whole grade sharing agreement and which adopts a resolution jointly with other affected boards to study the question of undergoing a reorganization or dissolution to take effect on or before July 1, 2024 2031, shall receive a weighting of one-tenth of the percentage of the pupil’s school day during which the pupil attends classes in another district, attends classes taught by a teacher who is jointly employed under section 280.15, or attends classes taught by a teacher who is employed by another school district. A district shall be eligible for supplementary weighting pursuant to this paragraph for a maximum of three years. Receipt of supplementary weighting for a second and third year shall be conditioned upon submission of information resulting from the study to the school budget review committee indicating progress toward the objective of reorganization on or before July 1, 2024 2031.
    Sec. 3.  Section 257.11A, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  In determining weighted enrollment under section 257.6, if the board of directors of a school district has approved a contract for sharing pursuant to section 257.11 and the school district has approved an action to bring about a reorganization to take effect on and after July 1, 2007, and on or before July 1, 2024 2031, the reorganized school district shall include, for a period of three years following the effective date of the reorganization, additional pupils added by the application of the supplementary weighting plan, equal to the pupils added by the application of the supplementary weighting plan in the year preceding the reorganization. For the purposes of this subsection, the weighted enrollment for the period of three years following the effective date of reorganization shall include the supplementary weighting in the base year used for determining the combined district cost for the first year of the reorganization. However, the weighting shall be reduced by the supplementary weighting added for a pupil whose residency is not within the reorganized district.
   2.  For purposes of this section, a reorganized district is one in which the reorganization was approved in an election pursuant to sections 275.18 and 275.20 and takes effect on or after July 1, 2007, and on or before July 1, 2024 2031. Each district which initiates, by a vote of the board of directors or jointly by the affected boards, action to bring about a reorganization or dissolution to take effect on or after July 1, 2007, and on or before July 1, 2024 2031, shall certify the date and the nature of the action taken to the department of education by January 1 of the year in which the reorganization or dissolution takes effect.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill extends certain incentives for whole grade sharing by school districts and for school district reorganization or dissolution from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2031.
   The bill provides for a reduced uniform levy as an incentive for school districts that reorganize on or before July 1, 2031.
   School districts that execute a whole grade sharing agreement and adopt a resolution to study the effect of undergoing a reorganization or dissolution to take effect on or before July 1, 2031, are allowed to receive a weighting of one-tenth of the percentage of a student’s school day during which the student attends classes in another district, is taught by a teacher jointly employed, or attends classes taught by a teacher employed by another district. This supplementary weighting is available for not more than three years. However, a school district that reorganizes before July 1, 2031, is eligible, for up to three years following reorganization, to continue to receive supplementary weighting in an amount that is equal to the funding that the district received in the year preceding the effective date of its reorganization.
   The bill does not affect the combined maximum total six-year limitation on a school district’s eligibility for supplementary weighting.