House File 352 - Reprinted HOUSE FILE 352 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 84) (As Amended and Passed by the House March 13, 2013 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to school instructional hours and school 1 instructional days and including effective date provisions. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 HF 352 (5) 85 je/nh/md

H.F. 352 Section 1. Section 256.7, subsection 19, Code 2013, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 19. Define the minimum school day as a day consisting 3 of five and one-half hours of instructional time for grades 4 one through twelve. The minimum hours as time that shall be 5 exclusive of the lunch period, but may include passing time 6 between classes. Time spent on parent-teacher conferences 7 shall be considered instructional time. A school or school 8 district may record a day of school with less than the minimum 9 instructional hours as a minimum school day if any of the 10 following apply: 11 a. If emergency health or safety factors require the late 12 arrival or early dismissal of students on a specific day. 13 b. If the total hours of instructional school time for 14 grades one through twelve for any five consecutive school days 15 equal a minimum of twenty-seven and one-half hours, even though 16 any one day of school is less than the minimum instructional 17 hours because of a staff development opportunity provided for 18 the professional instructional staff or because parent-teacher 19 conferences have been scheduled beyond the regular school day. 20 Furthermore, if the total hours of instructional time for the 21 first four consecutive days equal at least twenty-seven and 22 one-half hours because parent-teacher conferences have been 23 scheduled beyond the regular school day, a school or school 24 district may record zero hours of instructional time on the 25 fifth consecutive school day as a minimum school day. 26 Sec. 2. Section 256F.4, subsection 5, Code 2013, is amended 27 to read as follows: 28 5. A charter school or innovation zone school shall provide 29 instruction for at least the number of days hours required by 30 section 279.10, subsection 1 , or shall provide at least the 31 equivalent number of total hours . 32 Sec. 3. Section 279.10, subsection 1, Code 2013, is amended 33 to read as follows: 34 1. The school year for each school district and accredited 35 -1- HF 352 (5) 85 je/nh/md 1/ 4

H.F. 352 nonpublic school shall begin on the first day of July 1 and 1 each regularly established elementary and secondary school 2 shall begin no sooner than a day during the calendar week 3 in which the first day of September falls but no later than 4 the first Monday in December. However, if the first day of 5 September falls on a Sunday, school may begin on a day during 6 the calendar week which immediately precedes the first day of 7 September. School shall continue for at least one hundred 8 eighty days, except as provided in subsection 3 , and may be 9 maintained The school calendar shall include not less than one 10 thousand eighty hours of instruction during the entire calendar 11 year. However, if The board of directors of a school district 12 and the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic 13 school shall set the number of days of required attendance 14 for the school year as provided in section 299.1, subsection 15 2, but the board of directors of a school district shall 16 hold a public hearing on any proposed school calendar prior 17 to adopting the school calendar. If the board of directors 18 of a district or the authorities in charge of an accredited 19 nonpublic school extends the school calendar because inclement 20 weather caused the school district or accredited nonpublic 21 school to temporarily close school during the regular school 22 calendar, the school district or accredited nonpublic school 23 may excuse a graduating senior who has met district or school 24 requirements for graduation from attendance during the extended 25 school calendar. A school corporation may begin employment 26 of personnel for in-service training and development purposes 27 before the date to begin elementary and secondary school. 28 Sec. 4. Section 279.10, subsection 2, Code 2013, is amended 29 to read as follows: 30 2. The board of directors shall hold a public hearing on any 31 proposal relating to the school calendar prior to submitting it 32 to the department of education for approval. 33 Sec. 5. Section 299.1, subsection 2, Code 2013, is amended 34 to read as follows: 35 -2- HF 352 (5) 85 je/nh/md 2/ 4

H.F. 352 2. The board of directors of a public school district or 1 the governing body of an accredited nonpublic school shall set 2 the number of days hours of required attendance for the schools 3 under its control. The board of directors of a public school 4 district or the governing body of an accredited nonpublic 5 school may, by resolution, require attendance for the entire 6 time when the schools are in session in any school year and 7 adopt a policy or rules relating to the reasons considered to 8 be valid or acceptable excuses for absence from school. 9 Sec. 6. Section 299.4, subsection 1, Code 2013, is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 1. The parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child who 12 is of compulsory attendance age, who places the child under 13 competent private instruction under either section 299A.2 or 14 299A.3 , not in an accredited school or a home school assistance 15 program operated by a school district or accredited nonpublic 16 school, shall furnish a report in duplicate on forms provided 17 by the public school district, to the district by the earliest 18 starting date specified in section 279.10, subsection 1 19 September 1 of the school year in which the child will be under 20 competent private instruction . The secretary shall retain and 21 file one copy and forward the other copy to the district’s 22 area education agency. The report shall state the name and 23 age of the child, the period of time during which the child 24 has been or will be under competent private instruction for 25 the year, an outline of the course of study, texts used, and 26 the name and address of the instructor. The parent, guardian, 27 or legal custodian of a child, who is placing the child under 28 competent private instruction for the first time, shall also 29 provide the district with evidence that the child has had the 30 immunizations required under section 139A.8 , and, if the child 31 is elementary school age, a blood lead test in accordance with 32 section 135.105D . The term “outline of course of study” shall 33 include subjects covered, lesson plans, and time spent on the 34 areas of study. 35 -3- HF 352 (5) 85 je/nh/md 3/ 4

H.F. 352 Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect July 1, 2014. 1 -4- HF 352 (5) 85 je/nh/md 4/ 4