Week 10 of session has concluded and there was movement on several important education bills. In addition, the Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) was held which provided the financial forecast for the current budget year as well as fiscal year 2018.

Let’s start with the movement of education bills. Two of those bills were HF 564 and HF 565, which allow districts greater flexibility in the use of some categorical fund carryovers. Both bills passed unanimously in the House and have been sent to the Senate.

HF 565, successor bill of HF 446, creates a Flexibility Fund Account and allows districts to transfer all or a portion of unobligated ending fund balances for programs such as Professional Development, Home School Assistance, Statewide Voluntary Preschool, and Gifted and Talented into the new Flexibility Fund Account. Expenditures from the Flexibility Fund Account 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.

HF 564, successor bill of HSB 178, provides flexibility in the uses of funds for: Professional Development, At-Risk and Dropout Prevention Programs, Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and Preschool Foundation Aid Funding.  The bill also requires the Department of Education (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. The cost of protective gear, such as helmets and pads, was added to this bill. It states that starting on July 1, 2017, 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.

HF 563, successor bill of HF 17 - Emergency Medical Procedures and Training Requirements for School Coaches outlines CPR and defibrillator requirements for anyone who possesses a valid teaching license with a coaching endorsement. It also outlines requirements and procedures regarding concussions and brain injuries.  I outlined the specifics in my 3/7/17 legislative update. The bill passed in the House and has been sent to the Senate.

SF 240 – Statewide Assessment – Passed out of the Senate and passed the House Education Committee with an amendment to extend the Request for Proposal (RFP) issue date from April 30, to July 1, 2017. The Department will issue the RFP 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. It also requires that students enrolled in grades 5, 8, and 10 be administered the science assessment, which was a recommendation of the Iowa Assessment Task Force. Potential vendors and assessment providers can collaborate to meet the requirements. The bill is ready to be placed on the House debate calendar.

SF 455, passed out of the Senate and has now been assigned to a House subcommittee. The bill is designed to address inequities in district cost per pupil and transportation costs.  It provides a modification to the determination of regular program state cost per pupil and regular program district cost per pupil and also establishes a new supplementary weighting for school transportation costs. Currently, there is a gap of $175 between districts with the lowest district cost per pupil (which is equal to the state cost per pupil) and those with the highest district cost per pupil. SF 455 proposes a means of closing this gap by adding an amount to the statewide cost per pupil after the annual calculation of supplemental state aid (SSA). The increase will be phased in over 10 years beginning in fiscal year 2018. At full implementation, all school districts in the state would have a district cost per pupil equal to the statewide cost per pupil.  

On Tuesday, the REC announced that Iowa is taking in less-than-expected revenue and will have a shortfall of about $131 million for its current budget. A spokesperson from the Governor’s office stated the state should offset the deficit by using cash reserves rather than making additional cuts. The legislature cut more than $117 million from the current budget earlier in the legislative session. The REC agreed to lower the projected state tax revenue for fiscal year 2018 by $191 million. At the end of March, after the second funnel, legislators will begin discussions regarding appropriations. 

With only two weeks left until the final funnel, legislators will continue to work to get their bills passed on the floor and sent over to the opposite chamber. Once it reaches the opposite chamber, it needs to have passed out of committee in order to remain alive, again this does not apply to tax, appropriation or leadership bills.