Senate File 602 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to incentives for whole grade sharing and
2school district reorganization or dissolution.
3BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  Section 257.3, subsection 2, paragraph d, Code
22019, is amended to read as follows:
   3d.  For purposes of this section, a reorganized school
4district is one which absorbs at least thirty percent of the
5enrollment of the school district affected by a reorganization
6or dissolved during a dissolution and in which action to bring
7about a reorganization or dissolution is initiated by a vote
8of the board of directors or jointly by the affected boards of
9directors to take effect on or after July 1, 2007, and on or
10before July 1, 2019 2024. Each district which initiated, by
11a vote of the board of directors or jointly by the affected
12boards, action to bring about a reorganization or dissolution
13to take effect on or after July 1, 2007, and on or before July
141, 2019 2024, shall certify the date and the nature of the
15action taken to the department of education by January 1 of the
16year in which the reorganization or dissolution takes effect.
17   Sec. 2.  Section 257.11, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code
182019, is amended to read as follows:
   19c.  Pupils attending class for all or a substantial portion
20of a school day pursuant to a whole grade sharing agreement
21executed under sections 282.10 through 282.12 shall be eligible
22for supplementary weighting pursuant to this subsection. A
23school district which executes a whole grade sharing agreement
24and which adopts a resolution jointly with other affected
25boards to study the question of undergoing a reorganization
26or dissolution to take effect on or before July 1, 2019 2024,
27shall receive a weighting of one-tenth of the percentage of
28the pupil’s school day during which the pupil attends classes
29in another district, attends classes taught by a teacher who
30is jointly employed under section 280.15, or attends classes
31taught by a teacher who is employed by another school district.
32A district shall be eligible for supplementary weighting
33pursuant to this paragraph for a maximum of three years.
34Receipt of supplementary weighting for a second and third year
35shall be conditioned upon submission of information resulting
-1-1from the study to the school budget review committee indicating
2progress toward the objective of reorganization on or before
3July 1, 2019 2024.
4   Sec. 3.  Section 257.11A, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2019, are
5amended to read as follows:
   61.  In determining weighted enrollment under section 257.6,
7if the board of directors of a school district has approved a
8contract for sharing pursuant to section 257.11 and the school
9district has approved an action to bring about a reorganization
10to take effect on and after July 1, 2007, and on or before July
111, 2019 2024, the reorganized school district shall include,
12for a period of three years following the effective date of
13the reorganization, additional pupils added by the application
14of the supplementary weighting plan, equal to the pupils added
15by the application of the supplementary weighting plan in the
16year preceding the reorganization. For the purposes of this
17subsection, the weighted enrollment for the period of three
18years following the effective date of reorganization shall
19include the supplementary weighting in the base year used for
20determining the combined district cost for the first year of
21the reorganization. However, the weighting shall be reduced by
22the supplementary weighting added for a pupil whose residency
23is not within the reorganized district.
   242.  For purposes of this section, a reorganized district is
25one in which the reorganization was approved in an election
26pursuant to sections 275.18 and 275.20 and takes effect on or
27after July 1, 2007, and on or before July 1, 2019 2024. Each
28district which initiates, by a vote of the board of directors
29or jointly by the affected boards, action to bring about a
30reorganization or dissolution to take effect on or after July
311, 2007, and on or before July 1, 2019 2024, shall certify the
32date and the nature of the action taken to the department of
33education by January 1 of the year in which the reorganization
34or dissolution takes effect.
35EXPLANATION
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1The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
2the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   3This bill extends certain incentives for whole grade sharing
4by school districts and for school district reorganization or
5dissolution for five additional years, from July 1, 2019, to
6July 1, 2024.
   7The bill provides for a reduced uniform levy as an incentive
8for school districts that reorganize on or before July 1, 2024.
   9School districts that execute a whole grade sharing
10agreement and adopt a resolution to study the effect of
11undergoing a reorganization or dissolution to take effect on
12or before July 1, 2024, are allowed to receive a weighting of
13one-tenth of the percentage of a student’s school day during
14which the student attends classes in another district, is
15taught by a teacher jointly employed, or attends classes taught
16by a teacher employed by another district. This supplementary
17weighting is available for not more than three years. However,
18a school district that reorganizes before July 1, 2024, is
19eligible, for up to three years following reorganization, to
20continue to receive supplementary weighting in an amount that
21is equal to the funding that the district received in the year
22preceding the effective date of its reorganization.
   23The bill does not affect the combined maximum total six-year
24limitation on a school district’s eligibility for supplementary
25weighting.
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