Legislative Update 3/7/17

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Legislative Update for 03/07/2017


Shanlyn Seivert

The first funnel has blown through and now it’s time to sort out what remains. As I shared in my previous legislative update, bills that do not make it through funnel week are, at the surface level, considered dead. However, bills can be resurrected later in session if they are identified as an appropriation and/or tax bill or if brought forth by legislative leaders. 

 

 

 

The Department of Education’s (Department) High School Equivalency Diploma Options bill made it through the funnel. HF 473 and SF 350 passed in both chambers and will now be placed on their respective floor debate calendars. The bills allow a student to earn a high school equivalency diploma by passing and showing competence in the following core standard areas (reading, language, literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies). Both bills also require the State Board of Education (State Board) to adopt rules establishing standards for content and measures by which competence would be demonstrated.

 

 

 

Early in this legislative session, the Department put forth two additional bills. One was the Science Assessment bill, which originated from the recommendations of the Iowa Assessment Task Force. They recommended that Iowa only administer science assessments to grades 5, 8, and 10. The other was the Department’s Technical Clarifications bill, which is designed to clean up sections of Iowa Code. Those bills were not assigned to a subcommittee and consequently did not make it through the funnel.

 

 

 

Back to bills that survived the funnel.

 

 

 

HSB 178 – School District Funding - provides more flexibility in the use of some categorical fund carryovers. The bill passed out of the House Education Committee and is ready to be placed on the House debate calendar.

 

 

The areas included are:

 

 

·         Professional Development - Funding can be spent on textbooks and curriculum used for classes, if the materials include professional development.

·         At-Risk and Dropout Prevention Programs - Removes the 5 percent limit on the amount of at-risk funding that a school district may use for at-risk and dropout prevention programs. In addition, it adds guidance counselors to the list of staff for which salary and benefits may be paid with at-risk and dropout prevention funds.

·         Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) - Removes the $2,500 repair cost threshold on the use of PPEL for the repair of transportation equipment.  

·         Preschool Foundation Aid Funding – Allows the funds to be used by approved local programs and community providers for any purpose in which the school board determines as appropriate to meet the standards for a high-quality preschool education. Some of those uses include instructional supplies, translation services, playground equipment, repair costs, food and beverages used by children in the program, and facility rental fees.

 

·         Deference to School Districts - Requires the Department to give deference to school districts’ decisions in the areas of categorical funding under the teacher salary supplement, professional development supplement, and early intervention supplement.

 

 

HF 446 - Public School Funding - Creates a Flexibility Fund and allows districts to transfer all or a portion of unobligated ending fund balances for programs such as Professional Development, Home School Assistance, At-Risk and Dropout Prevention, Statewide Voluntary Preschool, and Gifted and Talented into the new Flexibility Fund. Expenditures from the Flexibility Fund are required to be approved by resolution of the school board following a public hearing. The change would take effect beginning with the 2018-2019 school year. 

 

 

 

One of the bills outlined in my 2/27/17 legislative update was SSB 1137. This bill covers a range of education-related topics. I provided the nine divisions of the bill and a brief explanation of each. In the event you would like to revisit one of those topics, the divisions were as follows: Division I – Online Education, Division II – Concurrent Enrollment – Career and Technical Exception to Limitation, Division III – Dental and Vision Authorizations and Requirements /Repeals , Division IV – Task Forces on Area Education Agencies (AEA) Essential Services, Division V – Open Enrollment – Extracurricular Activity Fee, Division VI – Independently Accredited Nonpublic Schools – Exemption, Division VII – Year-Round Schools – Secondary Level, Division VIII – Department of Education – Biliteracy Seal, Division IX – Limitation on Department’s Guidance. The bill passed the Senate Education Committee last week and is ready to be placed on the Senate debate calendar.

 

 

 

HF 508 - Shared Operational Functions for Purposes of Supplemental Weighting - Strikes the provisions limiting the number of years for which the supplemental weighting may be claimed. It also eliminates the provisions establishing the period of school budget years during which the supplementary weighting may be claimed. The bill passed out of the House Education Committee and is ready to be placed on the House debate calendar.

 

 

 

SSB 1124 - School District Finance - Addresses inequities in district cost per pupil and transportation over a ten year period. A more detailed explanation can be found in my 2/27/17 legislative update.

 

 

 

SF 427 - Supplementary Weighting for English Language Learner (ELL) - Extends the number of years a student can be identified as an ELL from five to seven years. If a student is deemed to be proficient, they would no longer qualify for ELL weighting. The bill passed the Senate Education Committee and is ready to be placed on the Senate debate calendar.

 

 

 

HF 230 - Extension on the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) Fund - Extends the sunset date for another 20 years. If you are interested in better understanding SAVE, I have attached the link to Department’s SAVE webpage.

 

 

 

HF 507 and SF 274 - Computer Science Education - Helps to ensure that all Iowa students have access to high-quality computer science instruction, but does not mandate that schools provide these courses. This is accomplished by requiring the State Board to adopt computer science education standards and rules establishing high-quality standards for computer science education taught by elementary, middle, and high schools. In addition, the bill directs the Department to convene a diverse computer science work group, who will make recommendations in several areas. They will be responsible for determining how one or more high-quality computer science courses can satisfy high school graduation requirements for mathematics or science, or how it can be integrated into a Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway and explore multiple settings for the delivery of high-quality high school computer science courses. The recommendations are due to the General Assembly in November 2017. SF 274 is scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor this week and HF 507 is ready for debate on the House floor.

 

 

 

SF 240 - Statewide Assessment - Requires the Department to issue a Request for Proposal by April 30, 2017, for the selection of a statewide assessment to be administered in the 2018-2019 school year. The assessment will align with Iowa Core academic standards and measure English language arts, including reading and writing, mathematics, and science. Potential vendors and assessment providers can collaborate to meet the requirements.  The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and is scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor this week.

 

 

 

HF 419 and SF 229 - Drivers' Education by Peace Officers - Permits a person who is a peace officer or a retired peace officer to be qualified as a classroom driver education instructor if the person also meets the Board of Educational Examiner’s Requirements (BOEE) for a classroom driver education instructor. HF 419 was approved with an amendment in the House Education Committee and is ready to be placed on the House debate calendar.

 

 

 

HF 353 - School Security Plans - Requires school boards to develop security plans for individual school buildings by December 31, 2018. It charges the Department to establish a school security task force, and for the task force to make recommendations on school security by December 2017. The bill passed the House Education Committee and is ready to be placed on the House debate calendar.

 

 

HF 17 – Emergency Medical Procedures and Training Requirements for School Coaches was introduced by Representative Megan Jones earlier in the legislative session. Due to the nature of the bill, she held two subcommittees and attempted to incorporate as much input from interested parties as possible. The bill requires anyone who possesses a valid teaching license with a coaching endorsement issued by the BOEE prior to July 1, 2017, to successfully complete a certification course in CPR and the use of a defibrillator by July 1, 2018, to meet the requirements. There was an amendment, which provides definitions for contest, contest official, extracurricular interscholastic activity, and licensed health care provider.

 

 

In the amendment, the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) are responsible for developing training materials and courses regarding concussions and brain injuries in which coaches and contest officials will be responsible for completing every two years. They are also tasked with distributing prevention guidelines and other pertinent information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to inform and educate coaches, students and parents/guardians of the risks, signs, symptoms, and behaviors consistent with concussions or brain injuries. Both organizations are also responsible for developing return-to-play protocols.

 

 

School districts and nonpublic schools will be responsible for providing concussion and brain injury information to parents/guardians. In return, the parent/guardian and the student will sign and return the information prior to the student’s participation in any extracurricular interscholastic activity for grades seven through 12. The bill also requires a coach, contest official, or licensed health care provider to immediately remove a student from an extracurricular interscholastic activity if they observe signs or symptoms consistent with a concussion or brain injury. The cost of protective gear, such as helmets and pads, is currently covered in the amendment. It states that a school board, by a board resolution, may transfer from the school district’s General Fund to the Student Activity Fund, an amount necessary to purchase required protective gear and to employ or engage a licensed health care provider. During the floor debate, this language may be moved from this amendment and placed in SSB 178, which provides district spending flexibility. School boards will assume any costs of the legislation and there will be no impact on the State of Iowa's general fund. The bill passed in the House Education Committee last week with the amendment and is ready to be placed on the House debate calendar.

 

 

In my 2/27/17 legislative update, I mentioned that I had received inquiries regarding a television commercial advocating for Education Savings Accounts (ESA). For further insight into the status of ESA, I have attached a link to a Des Moines Register Interview with Walt Rogers, Chairperson of the House Education Committee.

 

 

Now that the first funnel has come and gone, both chambers will need to complete their floor debate work and move their bills over to the other chamber by the end of March when the second funnel arrives. We anticipate that legislators will spend the majority of this week preparing and debating on their respective floors. If you would like to watch the debates, their debate calendars can be found here. If you would like to live stream the debates, you can click on the Senate/House tab and go to Live Chamber Video and click the "Live" tab for the Senate or House Chamber.  

 

Shan Seivert
Policy Liaison
Iowa Department of Education
Cell: 515-326-5595
Office: 515-281-3399
shanlyn.seivert@iowa.gov