Bill Text: IA HF2254 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to student public school attendance, including by modifying provisions related to state aid payments to school districts and requiring the development of an attendance improvement plan when a student is chronically absent from school.(See HF 2547.)

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 10-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-12 - Withdrawn. H.J. 576. [HF2254 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2023-HF2254-Introduced.html
House File 2254 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2254 BY GRASSLEY , COLLINS , HOLT , DUNWELL , THOMSON , JOHNSON , CARLSON , GUSTOFF , WILLS , and FISHER A BILL FOR An Act relating to student public school attendance, including 1 by modifying provisions related to state aid payments 2 to school districts and requiring the development of an 3 attendance improvement plan when a student is chronically 4 absent from school. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 5466YH (4) 90 jda/jh
H.F. 2254 Section 1. Section 257.17, Code 2024, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 257.17 Aid reduction for early school starts . 3 1. State aid payments made pursuant to section 257.16 for 4 a fiscal year shall be reduced by one one-hundred-eightieth 5 for each day of that fiscal year for which the school district 6 begins school before the earliest school start date specified 7 in section 279.10, subsection 1 . 8 2. This section does Subsection 1 shall not apply to a 9 school district attendance center that has received approval 10 from the department of education under section 279.10, 11 subsection 2 , to maintain a year-round school calendar 12 that commences classes in advance of the school start date 13 established in section 279.10, subsection 1 . The department of 14 management shall prorate the reduction made pursuant to this 15 section subsection 1 to account for an attendance center in 16 a school district that is approved to maintain a year-round 17 school calendar under section 279.10, subsection 2 . 18 3. a. State aid paid pursuant to section 257.16 for a 19 fiscal year shall be reduced by the department of management in 20 an amount equal to the product of the state cost per pupil for 21 the budget year multiplied by the number of chronically absent 22 students enrolled in the school district during the base year. 23 The reduction made pursuant to this paragraph shall be divided 24 between each monthly installment as evenly as possible. 25 b. Paragraph “a” shall not apply to school districts in 26 which the total number of chronically absent students enrolled 27 in the school district in the base year is less than twenty 28 percent of the school district’s total enrollment. 29 c. For purposes of this subsection, “chronically absent 30 student” means a student who was absent from school for at least 31 ten percent of the school days in the base year for any reason. 32 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 299.1C Students who are chronically 33 absent. 34 1. When a student who is enrolled in a public school was 35 -1- LSB 5466YH (4) 90 jda/jh 1/ 3
H.F. 2254 absent from school for at least ten percent of the school days 1 in the prior school year for any reason, all of the following 2 persons shall meet to discuss how to improve the student’s 3 attendance, create an attendance improvement plan, and sign the 4 attendance improvement plan: 5 a. The student’s parent, guardian, or legal or actual 6 custodian, if the student is not an emancipated minor. 7 b. The student, if the student is an emancipated minor. 8 c. A representative of the public school in which the 9 student is enrolled. 10 d. A representative of the county attorney of a county in 11 which the school district is located. 12 2. During the meeting described in subsection 1, the 13 representative of the county attorney shall provide the 14 student or the student’s parent, guardian, or legal or actual 15 custodian, as applicable, with information related to this 16 state’s laws related to attendance requirements, penalties 17 associated with violating the attendance requirements, and 18 exceptions to the attendance requirements. 19 EXPLANATION 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 21 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 22 This bill relates to student public school attendance, 23 including by modifying provisions related to state aid payments 24 to school districts and requiring the development of an 25 attendance improvement plan when a student is chronically 26 absent from school. 27 The bill requires the department of management to reduce 28 the state aid payments to school districts made pursuant to 29 Code section 257.16 (state foundation aid appropriations) for 30 a fiscal year in an amount equal to the product of the state 31 cost per pupil for the budget year multiplied by the number of 32 chronically absent students enrolled in the school district in 33 the prior year. The bill provides that this reduction shall be 34 divided between each monthly installment as evenly as possible. 35 -2- LSB 5466YH (4) 90 jda/jh 2/ 3
H.F. 2254 The bill provides that this reduction shall not apply to school 1 districts in which the total number of chronically absent 2 students enrolled in the school district in the prior year is 3 less than 20 percent of the school district’s total enrollment. 4 The bill defines “chronically absent student” as a student who 5 is enrolled in a school district and who was absent from school 6 for at least 10 percent of the school days in the prior school 7 year for any reason. 8 The bill provides that, when a student who is enrolled 9 in a public school was absent from school for at least 10 10 percent of the school days in the prior school year for any 11 reason, the student or the student’s parent, guardian, or 12 custodian, as applicable, a representative of the public 13 school, and a representative of the county attorney of a county 14 in which the public school is located shall meet to discuss 15 how to improve the student’s attendance, create an attendance 16 improvement plan, and sign the attendance improvement plan. 17 The bill requires that, during the meeting, the representative 18 of the county attorney shall provide the student or the 19 student’s parent, guardian, or custodian, as applicable, 20 with information related to this state’s laws related to 21 attendance requirements, penalties associated with violating 22 the attendance requirements, and exceptions to the attendance 23 requirements. 24 -3- LSB 5466YH (4) 90 jda/jh 3/ 3
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