Legislative Update for 02/21/2020
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Legislative Update for 02/21/2020
First funnel has blown through and there are still several education bills left standing. However, there are far fewer bills remaining than the 100 plus bills we have been monitoring thus far. Many of the bills that passed out of their respective committees were passed with an amendment. With the first funnel quickly approaching, some of those amendments were available during the Committee meetings and others were not. As these bills are debated on the floor, the amendments will be explained and it will be more clear how they impact the bills. Bills that passed out of a Senate Committee and have made it through the first funnel: SF 2313 – Future Ready Iowa – There are seven divisions included in the bill. The bill passed in the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously with amendments. There is a companion bill, HF 2384, which passed in the House Commerce Committee with a vote of 19-4 and was referred to Appropriations. The details of that bill were outlined in my February 7, Legislative Update. SF 2310 – Iowa Learning Online (ILO) – Strikes Iowa Code language that places ILO under the Department of Education (Department) and transfers the online learning program to the Area Education Agencies (AEA). The bill passed the Senate Education Committee on a unanimous vote, with an amendment, making the ILO transfer contingent upon receiving an appropriation. The bill is eligible for debate on the Senate floor. SF 2258 – Guardianship Verification – Requires a guardian to provide verification of guardianship when enrolling a child in a school district. The bill passed in the Senate Education Committee on an 11-2 vote with an amendment, which allows the use of a notarized letter signed by the student’s parent as verification. The bill is eligible for debate on the Senate floor. SF 2356 – Dyslexia Provisions - The bill accomplishes several things.
The bill passed in the Senate Education Committee on a unanimous vote with an amendment, making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor. SF 2224 - Guns and School Transports - Allows individuals with a valid nonprofessional permit to carry a firearm on school grounds if they are on school grounds to transport a person to or from, or delivering an item to the school; and if they remain in a parking area or driveway. The bill passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 10-3 vote, making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor. SF 2184 – Carrying on School Grounds – Allows a peace officer to carry a gun on school grounds, even when not on duty. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate Judiciary Committee, making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor. SF 2155 - Extra Bonding Capacity, School Resource Officers – Authorizes school districts to raise property tax or income surtax for school resource officers and allows school districts to use funding from the Instructional Support Program (ISP) for school resource officers beginning with the 2020-21 school year. The bill passed unanimously with an amendment, which includes that local boards need to have a resolution annually to use ISP funding for school resource officers. The bill was referred to Ways and Means. SF 2101 – Declaration of Independence - Requires every school district and accredited nonpublic school to display the first sentence of the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. The bill passed in the Senate Education Committee 11-3, making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor. SF 2100 – Telehealth - Expands the opportunities for students to access mental health services in schools by offering parents/guardians access to services with a licensed professional mental health provider and to receive services through an electronic encounter in the school setting. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate Education Committee, with an amendment to be considered when the bill is debated on the Senate floor. SF 2066 – Concussion Care Providers - Adds occupational therapists to the definition of “licensed health care provider” for purposes of state law regarding concussion and brain injury policies for extracurricular interscholastic activities. The bill passed the Senate Education Committee with a 14-0 vote, making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor. SF 2041 – Physical Education Exemption for Show Choir - Allows a high school principal to excuse a high school student from the physical education requirement if the student is participating in show choir for at least the equivalent amount of time as is required for one-eighth unit of physical education. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate Education Committee with an amendment to add marching band as an exemption. The bill is eligible for debate on the Senate floor. SF 2009 – Minor Driver’s License - Allows a special, minor driver's licensee, who attends public school, to travel to certain extracurricular activities provided that the distance between the origin and destination does not exceed 50 miles. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate Transportation Committee, making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor. SF 199 - Voluntary Diversity Plans – Strikes the use of voluntary diversity plans as a reason to deny open enrollment. The bill passed in the Senate Education Committee with a vote of 8-7, making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor. Bills that passed a House Committee and made it through the first funnel: HSB 680 – Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children - Provides for development and dissemination of a resource for parents/guardians of deaf or hard of hearing children. It also requires the Department to employ an Early Language Coordinator. The bill provides educators with tools which can be used to assess language and literacy development in English and American Sign Language. It establishes an advisory committee to solicit input on language development milestones in English and American Sign Language and requires the Department to annually compile and publish a report that is specific to language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth to eight years of age. The bill passed the House Education Committee on a 22-0 vote. The bill is eligible for debate on the House floor with amendments to be considered. HSB 666 – Modified Supplemental Amounts/At Risk and Drop-out - Provides a means for a district to submit a request for modified supplemental amount (MSA) to the School Budget Review Committee (SBRC). The SBRC will review the request and grant approval, provided the request does not exceed the amount allowed by statute. When previous legislation was passed, districts were allowed a higher cap, up to 5 percent, based on the spending levels in place at the time. This bill will provide districts who are at a MSA lower than 5 percent to submit a request to the SBRC. The bill passed in the House Education Committee on a vote of 22-0, with an amendment, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HSB 598 – Classroom Behavior/Room Clears – The bill was scheduled for two subcommittees in hopes of getting as much input as possible. The bill passed in the House Education Committee on a vote of 12-10. The Democrats who voted against the bill stated that they agree with the intent of the bill, but believe there is further work to be done, and they want to see how the bill progresses when it is debated on the House floor. There is the companion bill which passed in the Senate Education Committee with amendments, and was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where it passed as SF 2360, making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor. The House and Senate are trying to incorporate input to make the bills as effective and beneficial as possible. Below are some of the key components of HSB 598. Amendments will likely be offered during the debates for both bills.
HSB 531 – Special Minor Driver’s License - Allows a person holding a special minor driver’s license who resides or works on a farm to drive during the hours of 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. for the purpose of farm work as long as the destination is no more than 50 miles. The bill passed the House Agriculture Committee, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HF 2460 – Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP) – Expands eligibility for participation in SWVPP to include children turning five years old on/after March 15 and on/before September 15 of the school year. The expansion of eligibility dates will create a time-frame within which some children may be eligible for both SWVPP and kindergarten enrollment. Local school districts would make local decisions as to how many children they would serve. Local school districts would also identify their criteria to be used for prioritizing enrollment; four year old participation should be prioritized. Children could participate in the preschool program for two years, as both a four year old and a five year old. Local programs are also required to assist parents in assessing a child's readiness for enrollment. This would not begin until July 1, 2021. The bill passed in the House Education Committee on a 15-7 vote, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HF 2454 – State Accreditation Standards and Process - Provides additional options for instructors to meet the state accreditation standards by combining education and experience in the occupational area. The bill permits an instructor to teach career and technical education (CTE) classes at a community college if they possess an associate degree in the CTE field of instruction, and they have at least 3,000 hours of recent and relevant work experience in the area in which they plan to teach as well as allows an instructor if they possess a baccalaureate degree in any area and if at least 18 of the credit hours completed are in the CTE field in which the instructor teaches. The bill passed unanimously in the House Education Committee. Both HF 2454 and SF 2154 are eligible for debate on their respective floors. HF 2443 – Senior Year Plus Proficiency Requirements - To enroll in college credit courses via concurrent enrollment or Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO), a high school student must meet academic standards set by the postsecondary institution, which are the same for regularly-enrolled college students and high school students. Currently, high school students also have to be proficient at grade level in reading, math, and science to take any courses via concurrent enrollment. With the changes to the new Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) proficiency standards, many students will lose access to college credit courses. The bill would eliminate the state proficiency requirements for eligibility. Students would still be expected to meet all general college requirements, and if required, program specific entrance requirements. The bill passed in the House Education Committee on a vote of 22-1, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HF 2419 - English Proficiency Weighting - Establishes two categories for weighting to support students with limited English proficiency into two categories. The bill defines both categories and assigns a supplementary weighting of 0.3 to emergent English Language Learners (ELL) and a supplementary weighting of 0.25 is assigned to progressing English-language learners. Currently the weighting for all ELL students is .22. The bill passed in the House Education Committee with a 21-2 vote, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HF 2418 – School Budget Review Committee – Authorizes the Department to notify the BoEE if an error in reporting impacts an individual’s licensure experience. The notification from the Department certifying that a district error in a basic education survey within the last three years would have impacted an individuals’ licensure will be sufficient for the BoEE to correct any licensure experience based on incorrect information. The bill passed unanimously in the House Education Committee, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HF 2370 – Poverty Supplemental Work Group - Requires the Department to establish low-income students and poverty weighting work group. The membership is designated, and the work group is required to provide a report to the General Assembly by January 2021 outlining recommendations for new or modified funding methodologies. The bill passed with an amendment to add a stakeholder to the workgroup and eliminate inclusive language to funding. The bill passed the House Education Committee on a 20-2 vote, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HF 2359 - Teacher Preparation Reports – Requires the Department to publish passing rates by higher education institutions for exit tests. There are two tests required in statute for teacher preparation program candidates. One is to be admitted into the program, one is to exit. The bill also removes the admission test requirement. The bill passed unanimously in the House Education Committee, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HF 2340 – Iowa 529 Plans - Permits the use of Iowa 529 plan funds for certain beneficiaries to attend out-of-state elementary and secondary schools. The bill passed unanimously in the House Education Committee, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HF 2194 – Special Minor Driver’s License Minimum Age - Increases the minimum age for a special minor driver’s license to 15. The bill passed the House Transportation Committee, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. HF 2169 – Stop the Bleed – Requires that one unit of health education will include bleeding control training. The bill passed in the House Education Committee on a 12-11 vote, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. There were Democrats who voted against the bill and stated it is not because they do not think the topic is important, rather, there are other topics that are equally important that could be included in health education. HF 2120 - Suicide Prevention Protocols - Continues the requirements of SF 2113 passed during the 2018 legislative session, which required shool districts to adopt protocols and require school employee training relating to suicide prevention and postvention, identification of adverse childhood experiences, and strategies to mitigate toxic stress response.The bill adds a requirement for school districts to report to the Department annually the protocols that are being used in thier districts. The bill passed the House Education Committee on a 20-2 vote, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. SF 438 – Omnibus Bill - Makes changes to Iowa Code that pertain to school district responsibilities and authority, including dental, vision, and lead screening data collection and reporting. A subcommittee was held in the House, and legislators are awaiting an amendment that would direct the Iowa Department of Public Health to form a technology workgroup to determine needs of creating an electronic system to collect childhood screenings information. This bill passed in the Senate last year. SF 316 - Special Education Interim Study Committee - Requires an Interim Study Committee to learn about special education state and federal requirements, IEPs, inclusion and LRE, teacher training, practices and strategies to best accommodate students with severe emotional, social and behavioral problems. The report is due December 18, 2020. The bill passed in the Senate last year. It passed the House Education Committee, making it eligible for debate on the House floor. Now that the first funnel has come and gone, there will be a lot of floor work happening in the coming weeks in preparation for the second funnel, which will be here on March 20. Many times the details of the bills come out during the debates, so don’t miss out. You can click, In the Chambers, to listen to the audio or watch the videos. Enjoy! Until next week... Shan Seivert |
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