Under the Golden Dome

The week after a funnel deadline always seems like a letdown after the frenzied pace of moving bills through subcommittees and committees. The focus of both chambers this week was floor debate. For lobbyists in the Rotunda, that translates into a lot of waiting while legislators caucus in private to determine support or opposition to the bills on the debate list. A number of bills of interest to IASB members passed both chambers this week. A complete listing of those can be found under Bills on the Move section of this newsletter .

The next legislative funnel deadline is April 3. By this time, a bill must have been passed by one chamber and a committee in the other chamber to remain alive. For an overview of how IASB's priorities fared in the first funnel, watch the "First Funnel Webinar."

Supplemental State Aid Inaction

After two public conference committee meetings last week, work to resolve the FY 2016 supplemental state aid rate has appeared to stop. It's likely that negotiations will not start again until after March 19, when the Revenue Estimating Committee (REC) releases its revenue projections. Conventional wisdom in the Rotunda suggests that budget targets, the agreed upon spending goals for the rest of the state's budget, will not be set until there is resolution on the FY 2016 funding level for schools. This should help pressure lawmakers to come to an agreement more quickly, as the rest of the state's budgeting process cannot proceed.

Start Date Impasse Continues

The Senate passed SF 227 on a bipartisan, 32-17 vote this week. This bill repeals language in the Iowa code regarding a start date. Under this bill, public and nonpublic school districts would have true local control to determine the school calendar. IASB is registered in support of this bill and supports full repeal of the start date language.

Senators voting in support of SF 227 were:

Bill Anderson (R), Tony Bisignano (D), Joe Bolkcom (D), Tod Bowman (D), Chris Brase (D), Michael Breitbach (R), Mark Chelgren (R), Mark Costello (R), Tom Courtney (D), Bob Dvorsky (D), Julian Garrett (R), Mike Gronstal (D), Dennis Guth (R), Rita Hart (D), Rob Hogg (D), Wally Horn (D), Pam Jochum (D), Kevin Kinney (D), Tim Kraayenbrink (R), Liz Mathis (D), Janet Petersen (D), Herman Quirmbach (D), Amanda Ragan (D), Ken Rozenboom (R), Brian Schoenjahn (D), Tom Shipley (R), Amy Sinclair (R), Roby Smith (R), Steve Sodders (D), Rich Taylor (D), Mary Jo Wilhelm (D), Brad Zaun (R)

Please take a moment to thank those senators who represent your school district for their support of local school boards and local control.

The start date ball is now in the House's court. HF 307 is on the House debate calendar. IASB is registered opposed to this bill which establishes the earliest date a public or nonpublic school could start as Aug. 23. This date is always after the conclusion of the State Fair.

The impasse, at this point, is a procedural one. To speed resolution of this issue through the process, the House would have to vote to "conform" their bill with the Senate file before amending it with the Aug. 23 date. This would require the House to actually take a vote on full repeal. The scenario is the quickest resolution to the start date issue because it would avoid either chamber having to run bills through the subcommittee and committee process. Late breaking news from the Capitol suggests that the House may use an arcane parliamentary procedure that allows them to substitute SF 227 without a conforming amendment.

Another option is for the House Education Committee to assign SF 227 to a subcommittee. The bill would then be amended in the full committee to establish the start date as no earlier than August 23, and to clarify that those school buildings with a year-round calendar are not subject to this restriction. This process means districts will not likely know before March 23 the restrictions on their calendar.

Governor Branstad has indicated that the earliest start date he would sign into law is August 23 with a waiver for year-round schools.

Advocacy in Action - Only 35 Days Left!

There are only 35 days until April 15, the date school districts are required by law to certify their budgets. Within that time period, a district must also publish their budget for the public to view. Unfortunately, districts still do not know what the state percent of growth for 2016 will be because the legislature has failed to act to approve a rate.

This puts districts in the nearly impossible situation of developing a budget, finalizing contract negotiations, and complying with state law regarding publication and certification. According to state law, the legislature should have established the 2016 rate last legislative session. More than a year later, the legislature has yet to finalize the 2016 growth rate.

School districts do not have the option of ignoring the law when it comes to publication and certification of budgets. Unless the legislature concludes its conference committee negotiations for the FY 2016 growth rate, districts will be forced to certify budgets without knowledge of their actual budget increase. Inaction by the legislature is causing uncertainty in school district budgeting practices and makes financial, staffing, and course offering decisions difficult.

Please keep the pressure on your legislators in the House and Senate. Key points to make include:

Our district is required to comply with the law regarding budget certification. Not knowing the supplemental state aid rate means we cannot make accurate decisions about our budget, staffing levels and program offerings.
Our district would be negatively impacted by a 1.25% growth rate. Include specific facts about what this means for your budget, property tax rates if you would be on the budget guarantee and cuts you would have to make adhere to this low growth rate.
Ask that they contact members of the conference committee and ask for a quick resolution to the funding impasse. House members are: Speaker Kraig Paulsen, Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, Appropriations Chair Chuck Soderberg, Rep. Patti Ruff and Rep. Sharon Steckman. Members of the committee from the Senate are: Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, Minority Leader Bill Dix, Education Chair Herman Quirmbach, Sen. Todd Bowman, and Sen. Amy Sinclair.

If you need district specific data or talking points to get the conversation started, please contact IASB Government Relations Director Phil Jeneary at pjeneary@ia-sb.org. Now is not the time to relax. Now is exactly the time to make that extra phone call or email. Lets re-apply the pressure on our legislators to get adequate SSA funding. It is our duty as the voice of Iowa's school children to let legislators know how they can give Iowa students a world class education.

Bills on the Move

Bills Passed by the House:

HF 445 by Education-Education Costs for Children in Psychiatric Facilities: This bill provides that the required payment by school districts to cover the cost of children residing in psychiatric medical institutions (PMICs) will be calculated based state cost per pupil instead of the district of residence's district cost per pupil. IASB is registered undecided on the bill which passed the House with a 99-0 vote.

HF 194 by Judiciary - Statute of Repose: The law currently states that a case arising out of the unsafe or defective condition of an improvement to real property, whether residential or nonresidential construction is subject to a 15 year statute of repose. This bill reduces that time period for nonresidential construction from 15 years to 10 years. IASB is registered opposed to this bill which passed the House on a 60-39 vote and has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee. IASB opposes the bill because it limits the ability of a school district to recoup losses due to faulty construction that may not be apparent until much later.

HF 228 by Education - Coach Authorization: This bill requires the Board of Educational Examiners to issue a transitional coaching authorization to an individual who is at least 21 years old and has proof of a coaching offer but has not completed coaching authorization coursework. IASB is registered in support of this bill which passed the House on a 81-18 vote. It was referred to the Senate Education Committee. IASB supports this bill to provide districts with more flexibility to hire coaches.

SF 131 by Education - BOEE Licensing: This bill requires that all initial applicants for licensure must complete a background and fingerprint check by the Department of Public Safety. IASB is registered in support of this bill. The House approved SF 131 on a unanimous vote, sending the bill to the Governor's office for his consideration. IASB registered in support of this bill because it improves the process by which applicants for BOEE licensure are vetted.

HF 286 by Judiciary - Direct Deposit – Wages: This bill strikes the limitation to employees hired on or before July 1, 2005 to participate in direct deposit to any employee may be required to participate in direct deposit. IASB is registered in support of this bill because it will save district resources. The bill passed the House on a 57-42 vote.

HF 509 by State Gov't - State Govt. Transparency: This bill provides that certain confidential information dated as of or after January 1, 2004 is a public record. It also states that an official's, officer's or employee's personnel records concerning resignation in lieu of termination, demotion as final discipline is public record. IASB is registered in opposition of this bill which passed the House on a 64-35 vote. IASB is opposed to this bill because it threatens the ability of boards to keep confidential personnel actions.

Bills Approved By Senate:

SF 280 by Education - PPEL Flexibility: The bill allows repairs to technology, transportation, or recreational equipment purchased using PPEL funds. IASB is registered in support of the bill which would give districts a more efficient way to use taxpayer dollars. It would allow replacement of an engine rather than buying a new bus for example. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

SF 294 by Education-Education Costs for Children in Psychiatric Facilities: This bill provides that the required payment by school districts to cover the cost of children residing in psychiatric medical institutions (PMICs) will be calculated based state cost per pupil instead of the district of residence's district cost per pupil. IASB is registered undecided on the bill which passed the Senate on a 48-0 vote. The Senate voted on the previously approved House version, HF 445 which now goes to the Governor's office for his consideration.

Bills Approved by Committee:

SF 245 ELL Weighting by Education: This bill increases the English Language Learning weighting to 0.30 per student and extends the time period by which a student may qualify to receive that weighting to seven years. IASB is registered in support of the bill because the bill gives more money for students who require additional instructional needs. The bill passed the Senate Education Committee and is on the Senate debate calendar.

SF 246 Preschool Expansion by Education: This bill creates incentive payments for districts to expand the number of children in the state-sponsored preschool program. It also provides additional flexibility to districts to utilize preschool funds for transportation and increases the amount of funds for administrative expenses to 10%. The bill makes outreach activities and rent eligible expenditures. IASB is registered in support of this bill due to the support of getting more students to attend preschool and the increased flexibility of the use of . The bill passed the Senate Education Committee and is on the Senate debate calendar.

SF 247 Low Income Pupil Supplement by Education: This bill creates a low-income pupil supplement equal to the number of students on free or reduced lunch times .04 of the regular per pupil program cost. It also requires that the additional funds be used for programming to support these students. IASB is registered in support of the bill due to its monetary support of lower socio-economic students. It passed the Senate Education Committee and is now on the Senate debate calendar.

The following bills were inadvertently excluded from the list of legislation that either survived or died after last week's legislative funnel.

Survived:

HF 568 Coaching Endorsements by Education: This bill states that an applicant for any coaching authorization or endorsement or a coach employed by a school must possess a valid certificate from a nationally recognized course in CPR and the use of a defibrillator. IASB is registered undecided on the bill but expressed concerns about the availability of training to meet these requirements. The bill passed the House Education Committee and is on the House debate calendar.

HF 549 Collective Bargaining by Labor: This bill states that in a collective bargaining negotiation when an negotiation is at an impasse the arbitrator's award is not restricted to the final offers by each party. The arbitrator can pick one of the final offers or make an award that is within the confines of the final offers. The bill applies only to teachers. IASB is registered undecided on the bill because it treats teachers differently than other employees and does not address the issue of arbitrator consideration of taxing authority versus spending authority. The bill passed the House Labor Committee and is on the the House debate calendar.

SF 447 Sexual Abuse Statute of Limitations by Judiciary: This bill increases the time period in which a civil action for damages for injury suffered as a result of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, school employee may be brought. Current law restricts that to five years from the time of the event. The bill raises it to ten years. IASB is registered as undecided on the bill. IASB opposed the original bill which included a retroactive provision but changed that position to undecided when the bill was amended to remove that provision. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and is on the Senate debate calendar.

SF 454 Children's Health by Human Resources: The bill requests the Department of Human Services, Education, and Public Health to facilitate a work group to study and make recommendations relating to children's health and well being in the state of Iowa. The group will submit their findings in a report to the Governor and General Assembly by December 15, 2015. IASB is registered undecided on this bill which was approved by the Human Resources Committee last week and passed the Senate this week.

S F 452 Medicaid Transformation and Oversight by Human Resources: This bill establishes Medicaid Transformation and Oversight commission tasked with getting legislative involvement and oversight for input, consumer protection, and quality assurance in the Medicaid program. IASB is registered undecided on the bill which was approved by the Human Resources Committee.

SF 436 Competitive Bidding by State Government: The bill requires that a legislative interim study committee be established to review and make recommendations concerning the competitive bidding laws in Iowa. IASB is registered undecided on this bill which was referred Rules and Administration. IASB was originally registered as opposed to the bill because it made changes in the bidding process that made it more complicated for districts to bid projects. That registration changed to undecided when the bill was amended.

SF 462 Use of Epinephrine in Schools by Human Resources: This bill allows districts to maintain in a secure location a supply of epinephrine auto-injectors. It also clarifies that a student may, upon request to the district, self-administer an epipen. Districts have the ability to revoke that right if a student abuses the privilege. IASB is registered undecided on the bill which passed the Senate Human Resources Committee and is on the Senate debate calendar.

SF 295 ELL Weighting in Preschool by Education : This bill provides additional weighting for eligible students identified as limited English proficient who are enrolled in statewide preschool programs for four year old children. The bill was amended to make weighting 1/2 of English Language Learners weighted enrollment. IASB is registered in support of this bill because it provides more money for students that require additional instructional needs. The bill passed out of the Senate Education committee and is on the Senate debate calendar.

Died:

HF 116 Adoption Leave: IASB was undecided on the bill.

SSB 1236 School Attendance Requirement Age; At-Risk and Drop-Out Prevention: IASB was registered in support of the bill.

If you have any questions or need additional information please feel free to contact IASB Government Relations Director, Phil Jeneary at pjeneary@ia-sb.org, or IASB Lobbyist, Emily Piper at emily@ialobbyresources.com.