Bill Text: IA HF615 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act eliminating the option to calculate by hours the instructional time school districts and accredited nonpublic schools must include in the school calendar.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-05 - Subcommittee: Fry, Ehlert and Kerr. H.J. 401. [HF615 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2019-HF615-Introduced.html
House
File
615
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
615
BY
DONAHUE
,
MASCHER
,
KACENA
,
GAINES
,
and
ABDUL-SAMAD
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
eliminating
the
option
to
calculate
by
hours
the
1
instructional
time
school
districts
and
accredited
nonpublic
2
schools
must
include
in
the
school
calendar.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
4
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615
Section
1.
Section
256.7,
subsection
19,
unnumbered
1
paragraph
1,
Code
2019,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
2
For
a
school
or
school
district
with
a
school
calendar
3
measuring
instructional
time
in
days
pursuant
to
section
4
279.10,
subsection
1
,
define
Define
the
minimum
school
day
as
a
5
day
consisting
of
six
hours
of
instructional
time
for
grades
6
one
through
twelve.
The
minimum
hours
shall
be
exclusive
of
7
the
lunch
period,
but
may
include
passing
time
between
classes.
8
Time
spent
on
parent-teacher
conferences
shall
be
considered
9
instructional
time.
A
school
or
school
district
may
record
a
10
day
of
school
with
less
than
the
minimum
instructional
hours
as
11
a
minimum
school
day
if
any
of
the
following
apply:
12
Sec.
2.
Section
256F.4,
subsection
5,
Code
2019,
is
amended
13
to
read
as
follows:
14
5.
A
charter
school
or
innovation
zone
school
shall
provide
15
instruction
for
at
least
the
number
of
days
or
hours
required
16
by
section
279.10,
subsection
1
.
17
Sec.
3.
Section
279.10,
subsection
1,
Code
2019,
is
amended
18
to
read
as
follows:
19
1.
The
school
year
for
each
school
district
and
accredited
20
nonpublic
school
shall
begin
on
July
1
and
the
school
calendar
21
shall
begin
no
sooner
than
August
23
and
no
later
than
the
22
first
Monday
in
December.
The
school
calendar
shall
include
23
not
less
than
one
hundred
eighty
days
or
one
thousand
eighty
24
hours
of
instruction
during
the
calendar
year.
The
board
25
of
directors
of
a
school
district
and
the
authorities
in
26
charge
of
an
accredited
nonpublic
school
shall
determine
the
27
school
start
date
for
the
school
calendar
in
accordance
with
28
this
subsection
and
shall
set
the
number
of
days
or
hours
of
29
required
attendance
for
the
school
year
as
provided
in
section
30
299.1,
subsection
2
,
but
the
board
of
directors
of
a
school
31
district
shall
hold
a
public
hearing
on
any
proposed
school
32
calendar
prior
to
adopting
the
school
calendar.
If
the
board
33
of
directors
of
a
district
or
the
authorities
in
charge
of
an
34
accredited
nonpublic
school
extends
the
school
calendar
because
35
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615
inclement
weather
caused
the
school
district
or
accredited
1
nonpublic
school
to
temporarily
close
during
the
regular
school
2
calendar,
the
school
district
or
accredited
nonpublic
school
3
may
excuse
a
graduating
senior
who
has
met
district
or
school
4
requirements
for
graduation
from
attendance
during
the
extended
5
school
calendar.
A
school
corporation
may
begin
employment
6
of
personnel
for
in-service
training
and
development
purposes
7
before
the
date
to
begin
elementary
and
secondary
school.
8
Sec.
4.
Section
279.10,
subsection
2,
paragraph
c,
Code
9
2019,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
10
c.
An
attendance
center
or
school
authorized
to
maintain
a
11
year-round
school
calendar
under
this
subsection
shall
provide
12
at
least
ten
days
of
instruction
or
the
hourly
equivalent
13
during
eleven
of
the
twelve
months
of
the
school
year.
The
14
period
of
time
between
instructional
days
shall
not
exceed
six
15
weeks.
16
Sec.
5.
Section
299.1,
subsection
2,
Code
2019,
is
amended
17
to
read
as
follows:
18
2.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
public
school
district
or
the
19
governing
body
of
an
accredited
nonpublic
school
shall
set
the
20
number
of
days
or
hours
of
required
attendance
for
the
schools
21
under
its
control.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
public
school
22
district
or
the
governing
body
of
an
accredited
nonpublic
23
school
may,
by
resolution,
require
attendance
for
the
entire
24
time
when
the
schools
are
in
session
in
any
school
year
and
25
adopt
a
policy
or
rules
relating
to
the
reasons
considered
to
26
be
valid
or
acceptable
excuses
for
absence
from
school.
27
EXPLANATION
28
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
29
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
30
This
bill
eliminates
an
option
for
school
districts
and
31
accredited
nonpublic
schools
to
count
instructional
time
32
required
for
in
the
school
calendar
in
hours.
33
Currently
the
school
calendar
consists
of
a
minimum
of
34
either
180
instructional
days
or
1,080
instructional
hours.
35
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