Iowa Legislative Report s1

Iowa Legislative Report

87th General Assembly, 2017 Session

Iowa Talented and Gifted Association

Final Legislative Report, May 1, 2017

Paula Feltner & Mike Heller, Lobbyists

The 2017 Legislative Sessionadjourned Sine Die on Saturday, April 22ndwith the House adjourning at 7:14 a.m.and the Senate wrapping upat 7:16 a.m. The session, which began Jan. 9, lasted 104days. The Legislature also approved the session'sfinalspending billof a $7.24 billion general fundbudget for thefiscal year beginning July 1 that will see cutsin many state programs because of a revenue shortfall. Governor Branstad is now in the 30-day window to sign bills. He did not sign any bills this week while preparing for his Senate Confirmation Hearing for the China Ambassadorship. He traveled to Washington DC this week, and his hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled for 9 AM Central Time, Tuesday, May 2. The Governor will have until May 22 to sign, veto, or item-veto legislation still pending.

It was a very active session for education with a decided emphasis on local control and local school board discretion. There were not a lot of education bills passed, but the ones that did were controversial and extremely important. Remember that Republicans took control of the State Senate with a 29-20 advantage (there is one independent this year), and expanded their lead in the House to 59-41 and session results reflected that change in party control. The poor budget situation affected everything the legislature did, resulting in three different cuts throughout the session of the FY 2017 year and a much tighter FY 2018 budget. Our take-away was that for Talented and Gifted Programing to endure and thrive for the long term, activity and emphasis must be invested at the local school board level as well as the legislative level.

Because the board has gotten weekly reports on the bills of interest during session, this final report will concentrate on what we consider the most important and controversial bills passed by the 2017 session. Also listed are bills of interest that failed to pass this session. The bills are “hot-linked” so they can be viewed in their entirely. Please feel free to notify us if you have questions. We have appreciated representing you this last session!

During the 2017 Legislative Session, the following four pieces of legislation were approved that greatly impacted SCHOOL FINANCE in FY 2018.

• Senate File 166 (School Supplemental State Aid, Regular and Categorical Reform) establishes the supplemental State aid (SSA) rate for the State cost per pupil at 1.11%, the State categorical cost per pupil at 1.11%, and the property tax relief payment at $83 per student for FY 2018. It raisesper-pupil state aid by about $40 million.According to the state's nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency, that equals an increase of about $73 for eachstudent across the state. This Act was signed by the Governor on February 8, 2017. Senate File 166

• Senate File 516 (Standing Appropriations) reduces total Area Education Agency (AEAs) funding by an additional $15.0 million, to be prorated between the AEAs by the Department of Management. This Act was approved by the General Assembly on April 21, 2017. Senate File 516

The combined fiscal impact of SF 166 and SF 516 brings the State aid to schools from the General Fund to an estimated total of $3.184 billion for FY 2018. This includes:

• Estimated total Area Education Agency funding of $217.2 million, an increase of $7.8 million compared to FY 2017.

• An increase in categorical funding of $60.7 million, primarily due to the increase in teacher leadership and compensation funding. FY 2018 is the final year of roll-in to the State aid formula for this categorical fund.

• Preschool funding of $78.1 million, an increase of $1.7 million from FY 2017.

• An increase in the property tax replacement payment to $83 per student, bringing the cost of the program to $46.7 million in State aid.

Based on the 1.11% SSA rate set in SF 166, the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) estimates an increase in property taxes of $55.4 million to an estimated total $1.477 billion to fund schools in FY 2018.

• House File 564 expands acceptable uses of professional development, at-risk, and preschool categorical funds. The Act also allows school districts to transfer General Fund dollars to the student activity fund for the purpose of purchasing safety equipment. This Act was approved by the General Assembly on April 19, 2017. Thanks to your hard work, TAG funds cannot be used for purposes other than those stipulated by the Code. House File 564 The fiscal impact of HF 564 is unknown.

• House File 565 creates a flexibility spending account, into which school districts may transfer certain unexpended fund balances, including preschool, professional development, at-risk, home-school assistance (HSAP), or any fund that has been repealed or is no longer in effect. In this bill also, due to grass-roots by the Association, the TAG funds were not utilized. The flexibility account could, however, transfer funds into the TAG program. The collected funds may be used for preschool, professional development, HSAP, at-risk, gifted and talented programs, or any district general fund purpose. This Act was approved by the General Assembly on April 19, 2017. House File 565 The fiscal impact of HF 565 is unknown.

SCHOOL BOARD AUTHORITY: House File 573 allows school boards to exercise any broad or implied power that is not inconsistent with state law for the operation of the school. The bill requires the board to have express authorization to tax and requires the exercise of power to not be inconsistent with administrative rules. Language was added by the Senate on the ban on levying or charging students without express language. It also prohibits interfering unreasonably with the policies of local law enforcement. The bill gives local governments supremacy over school boards in conflicts. House File 573

STUDENT STATEWIDE ASSESSMENTS: Senate File 240 requires the Department of Education to issue a new request for proposals (RFP) no later than July 1, 2017, for the selection of a statewide assessment to measure student growth and student achievement toward the Iowa core academic standards. The selected assessment will be available for grades three through eight and one high school level grade, and must cover English language arts, math, and science.

The Department must consider only the following in the RFP process:

• Feasibility of implementation by school districts.

• Cost to the State and school districts.

• Alignment with the Iowa core academic standards.

• Compliance with federal law (Every Student Succeeds Act – ESSA).

The Bill requires that the Department implement the selected assessment through

administrative rule before the 2018-2019 school year. SF 240 was approved by the General Assembly on April 10, 2017. Senate File 240

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS ON CITY ELECTION DATE: House File 566 changes the date of the election of directors of local school districts, community college districts (merged areas), and area education agency boards and provides for the combined administration of regular and special school and city elections. The Bill also makes changes to the administration of elections for political subdivisions located in more than one county and establishes requirements for ballot arrangement and placement for political subdivision offices. Divisions I and II of the Bill take effect on July 1, 2019 (FY 2020). The Bill is currently awaiting approval in the Governor’s office. House File 566

COMPUTER SCIENCE STANDARDS: Senate File 274 requires the Department of Education (DE) to establish computer science standards for elementary, middle, and high school grades. The Bill requires the Board of Educational Examiners to establish an endorsement in computer science for teachers and creates a Computer Science Professional Development Incentive Fund, from which school districts and teachers may receive funds as reimbursement for various forms of professional development relating to computer science. The Bill also creates a computer science work group to identify and recommend computer science-related guidelines and potential policies for schools. The work group is required to submit a report to the Governor, the DE, and the General Assembly by November 1, 2017. Senate File 274

EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS BILL, House File 642: For FY 2018, the legislature appropriates a total of $908.4 million from the General Fund and 12,287.3 FTE positions for FY 2018 to the Department for the Blind, the College Student Aid Commission, the Department of Education, and the Board of Regents. This is a decrease of $70.1 million and 452.9 FTE positions compared to estimated net FY 2017. The entire bill can be found at: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/NOBA/857800.pdf. House File 642

HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY DEGREE The bill requires a student to show demonstrated competence in core areas rather than satisfactory competence. It also requires that the measures of competence be as rigorous as those for high school, including test-based or credit based measures. It allows a GED applicant to apply to a HS equivalency program and a testing center and requires the DOE to prescribe assessments rather than to adopt tests. House File 473

RETIREMENT SYSTEM MERGER: House File 89 made it legal for the Des Moines School District employees with a pension system originating from Chapter 294 to merge with IPERS.

TEACHER DISCIPLINE:House File 217 , signed midsession by the Governor, stipulates that teachers who are disciplined for being under the influence of, possessing, using, or consuming illegal drugs, unauthorized drugs, or alcohol at schoolmust now be reported to Iowa's licensing agency. The bipartisan billrequires school districts to report any licensedemployee disciplined for possessing or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs at school or school events.House File 217

SEXUAL EXPLOITATION BY A SCHOOL EMPLOYEE: Senate File 238 bill expands the Code provision establishing the criminal offense of sexual exploitation by a school employee by broadening the definition of a school employee to include full-time employees, part-time employees, substitutes, volunteers having significant routine contact with students, and persons under a contract to a school district having significant routine contact with students. Senate File 238

ROLLBACKS FORCOLLECTIVE BARGAINING: After exhaustivedebates that included an all-night Senate floor session,theRepublican majority approveda proposal todramatically scale back a four-decades-old collective bargaining law that governs union contract negotiations for the state’s 184,000 public employees.No Democrats supported the bill.Under the legislation,most public-sector union contract negotiations willbe limited to base wages.Unions willbe banned fromnegotiatingwith their employersoverissuessuch ashealthinsurance, evaluation procedures, staff reduction andleaves of absence for political purposes.However, public safety workers such as police and firefighters willhave a broaderlist of issues to be consideredin contract talks. All unions willbe barred from having union dues deducted from public employees' paychecks and unions willneed to be recertifiedprior to every contract negotiation.The legislationalso changesthe arbitration process when contract talks reach an impasse. Currently, the union and management willmake their best offers and an independent arbitrator willberequired to choose the most reasonable of the two.The legislationrequiresan arbitrator to consider the employer's ability to finance any wage increase. Italso putsa cap on how much an arbitrator canraise wages. The wage increase could not exceed whichever is lower: 3 percent, or a percent equal to the cost of living increase outlined in the consumer price index. There are two lawsuits filed against the bill by AFSCME Council 61 and the Iowa State Education Association. Our Association opposed this bill.House File 291

WORKERS' COMPENSATION CUTS: Legislation was approved to reduce workers' compensation after a heated debate over the importance of Iowa's business climate versus the interests of injured workers.The bill cutsworkers' benefits, changesthe qualifications for benefitsand reducesa keyinterest rate calculation. The bill was supported by Republicans and opposed by Democrats in both chambers. House File 518

MINIMUM WAGE HIKES NULLIFIED:Republican lawmakers passed this bill to nullifyminimum wage increases already approved in fivecounties (Polk, Johnson, Linn,Wapelloand Lee). The action effectivelyfreezes the state'sminimum wageat $7.25 an hour,the rate it has been since 2008. Our Association registered against this bill. The bill also prevents cities and counties fromexercising local control on some other issuesthat Republican lawmakers contend conflictwith state law, suchaspaid family leave, implementing a soft drinktax or banning the use of plastic bags.House File 295

Some bills that did NOT pass (but remember that they can be considered next year):

TAX INCREMENT FINANCING, PROSPECTIVE BACKFILL ELIMINATION: House File 656 would have excluded the school foundation levy from the division of property tax revenue allowed under Iowa Code chapter 403 (Urban Renewal). The Iowa Association of School Boards was the only group registered in support of the bill. Historically, as part of the property tax levy for schools, all property in Iowa subject to property tax is subject to a property tax levy of $5.40 per $1,000 of taxed value. The money from this levy contributes to the school aid formula that dictates the amount of State General Fund support each school district receives. For property located within a TIF area, the property tax associated with the $5.40 levy does not go to the school district, but instead goes to the government authority (city, county, community college, or Rural Improvement Zone) that initiated the TIF. The money that is diverted to TIF is not included within the school aid formula calculations and through action of that formula, the State General Fund makes up for (backfills) the school foundation levy tax dollars diverted to TIF dollar-for-dollar. Under the bill, the foundation property tax is not divided and paid into the municipality’s special fund for the payment of urban renewal indebtedness but instead is required to be levied, collected, and paid to the school district in the same manner as all other property taxes.The bill takes effect upon enactment.