The countdown has begun! At the end of this week, the final funnel will be upon us. The final funnel is the date by which bills need to have passed out of their respective chamber, as well as out of a full committee in the opposite chamber. Bills that make it through the final funnel are funnel proof.  A great deal of work remains to be completed on the floor to ensure bills survive the final funnel. Several educational bills moved through the legislative process bringing them closer to being funnel proof.

SF 475, successor bill to SSB 1137, passed on the Senate floor with a 33-15 vote and has been sent to the House. This bill has seven divisions. Below I have outlined each division and provided a brief explanation.

• Online Education - strikes the limit on the number of students enrolled in the online academies at CAM and Clayton Ridge and provides the opportunity for other school districts to develop an online curriculum for their students.
• Concurrent Enrollment/Career and Technical Exception to Limitation - allows additional weighting for a student who is attending up to two courses at a community college that supplant the technical course the school is required to offer.
• Dental and Vision Authorizations and Requirements - repeals provisions such as dental and vision screenings and other requirements on dental clinics and vision cards.
• Task Force on Area Education Agencies (AEAs) Essential Services - establishes a task force to review AEA duties and added legislators to the membership of the task force.
• Open Enrollment/Extracurricular Activity Fee - allows an online open enrolled student to participate in extracurricular activities and the school to deduct an activities fee.
• Department of Education/Biliteracy Seal - requires the Department of Education (Department) to develop and administer a seal of biliteracy program to recognize students graduating from high school who have demonstrated proficiency in a world language.
• Limitation on Department of Education’s Guidance - states the Department’s guidance documents and statements may not be inconsistent with code and rule.

The two education flexibility bills, HF 565 and 564, passed in the House and have now passed a Senate subcommittee. HF 565 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. HF 564 provides flexibility in the use 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 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 moved to HF 564. It passed out of the House, and was sent to the Senate, where it passed a Senate subcommittee. 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. Once the bill passes out of the Senate Education Committee it will be ready for debate on the Senate floor.

SF 455 passed out of the Senate and passed the House Education Committee. It was sent to Appropriations, where it passed out of a subcommittee and will now move to the House Appropriations Committee. 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.

The House passed HF 573, successor bill to HF 26, which provides limited home rule for school districts by allowing districts to liberally construe Iowa Code and make policy decisions that are not specifically outlined in Iowa Code. School districts have been functioning under Dillon's Rule, which states a school district can only do what is expressly authorized in statute. The bill passed the House and is scheduled for a subcommittee in the Senate this week.

There is sure to be a great deal of movement next week. My next update will detail which bills survived the final funnel and what happens next in the legislative process after the dust has cleared from the second funnel.