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Senate File 316 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1requesting the establishment of a special education
2interim study committee.
3BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEE — SPECIAL EDUCATION.
21. The legislative council is requested to establish an
3interim study committee to study and make recommendations
4relating to special education program requirements and outcomes
5for students with individualized education programs.
62. The study committee shall review state and federal
7laws relating to students with individualized education
8programs (IEPs); shall determine the ways in which inclusion
9requirements and least restrictive environment placements
10affect the classroom, including but not limited to the teaching
11staff, teacher retention, teacher professional development,
12and student and peer outcomes when children requiring special
13education are placed in a general education classroom; shall
14review evidence-based practices and strategies by which schools
15and teachers can best accommodate students with IEPs who have
16severe emotional, social, and behavioral problems; shall
17develop or identify strategies designed to improve outcomes
18for children requiring special education; and shall develop
19or identify a graduated process for the transfer of a child
20requiring special education from a self-contained classroom to
21a general education classroom.
223. The study committee shall receive input from, at a
23minimum, the department of education, the area education
24agencies, school administrators, special education teachers,
25general education teachers, mental health professionals with
26experience in children’s mental health, parents of children
27requiring special education and parents of children who do not
28require special education, and boards of directors of school
29districts.
304. The study committee shall submit a report with its
31findings and recommendations to the general assembly and to
32each member of Iowa’s congressional delegation on or before
33December 18, 2020.
34EXPLANATION
35The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
-1-1the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
2This bill requests the legislative council to establish
3an interim study committee to study and make recommendations
4relating to special education program requirements and outcomes
5for students with individualized education programs (IEPs).
6The study committee shall review state and federal laws;
7shall determine the ways in which inclusion requirements and
8placements affect classrooms, teachers, and student and peer
9outcomes when children requiring special education are placed
10in a general education classroom; shall review evidence-based
11practices and strategies by which schools and teachers can
12best accommodate students with IEPs who have severe emotional,
13social, and behavioral problems; shall develop or identify
14strategies designed to improve outcomes for children requiring
15special education; and shall develop or identify a graduated
16process for the transfer of a child requiring special education
17from a self-contained classroom to a general education
18classroom.
19The study committee shall receive input from, at a minimum,
20the department of education, the area education agencies,
21and the boards of directors of school districts; school
22administrators; special education teachers; general education
23teachers; parents of children requiring special education and
24parents whose children do not require special education; and
25mental health professionals with experience in children’s
26mental health.
27The study committee shall submit a report with its findings
28and recommendations to the general assembly and to each member
29of Iowa’s congressional delegation on or before December 18,
302020.
-2-kh/jh
2interim study committee.
3BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEE — SPECIAL EDUCATION.
21. The legislative council is requested to establish an
3interim study committee to study and make recommendations
4relating to special education program requirements and outcomes
5for students with individualized education programs.
62. The study committee shall review state and federal
7laws relating to students with individualized education
8programs (IEPs); shall determine the ways in which inclusion
9requirements and least restrictive environment placements
10affect the classroom, including but not limited to the teaching
11staff, teacher retention, teacher professional development,
12and student and peer outcomes when children requiring special
13education are placed in a general education classroom; shall
14review evidence-based practices and strategies by which schools
15and teachers can best accommodate students with IEPs who have
16severe emotional, social, and behavioral problems; shall
17develop or identify strategies designed to improve outcomes
18for children requiring special education; and shall develop
19or identify a graduated process for the transfer of a child
20requiring special education from a self-contained classroom to
21a general education classroom.
223. The study committee shall receive input from, at a
23minimum, the department of education, the area education
24agencies, school administrators, special education teachers,
25general education teachers, mental health professionals with
26experience in children’s mental health, parents of children
27requiring special education and parents of children who do not
28require special education, and boards of directors of school
29districts.
304. The study committee shall submit a report with its
31findings and recommendations to the general assembly and to
32each member of Iowa’s congressional delegation on or before
33December 18, 2020.
34EXPLANATION
35The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
-1-1the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
2This bill requests the legislative council to establish
3an interim study committee to study and make recommendations
4relating to special education program requirements and outcomes
5for students with individualized education programs (IEPs).
6The study committee shall review state and federal laws;
7shall determine the ways in which inclusion requirements and
8placements affect classrooms, teachers, and student and peer
9outcomes when children requiring special education are placed
10in a general education classroom; shall review evidence-based
11practices and strategies by which schools and teachers can
12best accommodate students with IEPs who have severe emotional,
13social, and behavioral problems; shall develop or identify
14strategies designed to improve outcomes for children requiring
15special education; and shall develop or identify a graduated
16process for the transfer of a child requiring special education
17from a self-contained classroom to a general education
18classroom.
19The study committee shall receive input from, at a minimum,
20the department of education, the area education agencies,
21and the boards of directors of school districts; school
22administrators; special education teachers; general education
23teachers; parents of children requiring special education and
24parents whose children do not require special education; and
25mental health professionals with experience in children’s
26mental health.
27The study committee shall submit a report with its findings
28and recommendations to the general assembly and to each member
29of Iowa’s congressional delegation on or before December 18,
302020.
-2-kh/jh