Iowa HF 9: A bill for an act relating to persistently lowest-achieving schools by authorizing parents or guardians to petition for the closure of an attendance center, for implementation of an education voucher program, or for establishment of a charter school, establishing an education voucher fund, making appropriations, and providing penalties.

Bill Text

House
File
9
-
Introduced

HOUSE
FILE
9

BY
WILLS

A
BILL
FOR

An
Act
relating
to
persistently
lowest-achieving
schools
1

by
authorizing
parents
or
guardians
to
petition
for
the
2

closure
of
an
attendance
center,
for
implementation
of
an
3

education
voucher
program,
or
for
establishment
of
a
charter
4

school,
establishing
an
education
voucher
fund,
making
5

appropriations,
and
providing
penalties.
6

BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
7

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9

Section
1.
Section
256.7,
Code
2017,
is
amended
by
adding
1

the
following
new
subsection:
2

NEW
SUBSECTION

.
33.
Adopt
rules
relating
to
applications
3

for
an
education
voucher
pursuant
to
section
256E.4,
including
4

application
processing
timelines
and
information
required
to
be
5

submitted
by
a
parent
or
guardian.
6

Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
256E.1
Definitions.
7

1.
“Attendance
center”
means
a
public
school
building
8

that
contains
classrooms
used
for
instructional
purposes
for
9

elementary,
middle,
or
secondary
school
students.
10

2.
“School
board”
means
a
board
of
directors
regularly
11

elected
by
the
registered
voters
of
a
school
district.
12

3.
“State
board”
means
the
state
board
of
education.
13

Sec.
3.
NEW
SECTION

.
256E.2
Alternatives
for
persistently
14

lowest-achieving
schools
——
parent
petition.
15

1.
If
an
attendance
center
is
identified
by
the
department
16

of
education
as
a
persistently
lowest-achieving
school
within
17

the
meaning
of
section
256.9,
subsection
55,
the
parents
or
18

guardians
of
students
enrolled
at
the
attendance
center
may
19

submit
a
petition
to
the
school
board
to
either
close
the
20

attendance
center
pursuant
to
section
256E.3
or
authorize
21

education
vouchers
for
students
of
the
attendance
center
under
22

section
256E.4.
23

2.
A
valid
petition
under
this
section
must
state
whether
24

the
petition
is
requesting
the
closure
of
an
attendance
center
25

pursuant
to
section
256E.3
or
the
authorization
of
education
26

vouchers
under
section
256E.4,
and
must
contain
the
signatures
27

of
at
least
fifty
percent
of
the
parents
or
guardians
whose
28

children
are
enrolled
at
the
attendance
center.
A
valid
29

petition
under
this
section
must
be
received
by
the
school
30

board
not
later
than
December
1
of
the
school
year
preceding
31

the
school
year
during
which
the
requested
action
will
be
32

implemented.
A
petition
received
after
that
deadline
will
be
33

considered
a
petition
for
the
following
school
year
if
the
34

attendance
center
continues
to
meet
the
criteria
of
subsection
35

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1.
1

3.
Unless
rulemaking
is
authorized
for
another
state
2

agency,
the
state
board
shall,
after
consulting
with
the
3

department
of
education
and
the
department
of
management,
adopt
4

rules
to
implement
and
administer
this
chapter.
5

Sec.
4.
NEW
SECTION

.
256E.3
Closure
of
attendance
center
——
6

reallocation
of
students.
7

1.
If
a
valid
petition
for
closure
of
an
attendance
center
8

is
received
by
a
school
board
under
section
256E.2,
the
school
9

board
shall
formulate
and
implement
a
plan
for
the
closure
10

of
the
attendance
center
and
a
plan
for
the
reallocation
of
11

students
currently
enrolled
at
the
attendance
center
and
those
12

students
who
would,
but
for
the
closure,
be
enrolled
at
the
13

attendance
center
during
the
next
school
year.
14

2.
The
plan
for
the
reallocation
of
students
to
other
15

attendance
centers
in
the
school
district
shall
include
16

objective
criteria
and
standards
and
criteria
for
prioritizing
17

requests
that
do
not
have
an
adverse
impact
on
the
plan.
18

3.
a.
If
other
attendance
centers
in
the
school
district
19

have
insufficient
classroom
space
to
accommodate
the
students
20

from
the
closing
attendance
center,
the
school
board
shall
21

instead
implement
the
education
voucher
program
under
section
22

256E.4.
23

b.
Every
school
district
shall
adopt
a
policy
that
defines
24

the
term
“insufficient
classroom
space”
for
each
attendance
25

center
in
that
district
that
is
consistent
with
the
policy
26

adopted
under
section
282.18,
subsection
2,
paragraph
“c”
.
27

Sec.
5.
NEW
SECTION

.
256E.4
Education
voucher
program.
28

1.
a.
If
a
valid
petition
authorizing
education
vouchers
29

is
received
by
a
school
board
under
section
256E.2,
or
if
30

section
256E.3,
subsection
3,
is
applicable,
students
eligible
31

to
enroll
in
kindergarten
through
grade
twelve
and
who
are
32

enrolled
at
the
attendance
center
at
the
time
the
applicable
33

petition
is
filed
are
eligible
to
receive
education
vouchers.
34

b.
Education
vouchers
shall
be
made
available
to
parents
35

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and
guardians
in
the
manner
authorized
under
subsection
1

4,
paragraph
“c”
,
for
the
payment
of
qualified
educational
2

expenses
as
provided
in
this
section.
3

2.
a.
(1)
By
January
31
preceding
the
school
year
for
4

which
the
education
voucher
is
requested,
the
parent
or
5

guardi