Section 284.11. State supplemental assistance for high-need schools.

  1.  Findings and intent.  The general assembly finds that students whose first language is not English, who have special needs, or who come from low-income backgrounds face potential obstacles to learning. Schools across Iowa, both urban and rural, have increasing numbers of students who face these challenges. Therefore, it is the intent of the general assembly to provide supplemental assistance to the highest-need schools in Iowa to address these challenges. This section provides for state assistance to allow school districts to develop extended learning time programs, hire instructional support staff, provide additional professional development, or supplement the salary of teachers in the identified schools.

  2.  Department’s responsibilities.  The department shall do the following:

  a.  Collect relevant data and establish a list of high-need schools eligible for state supplemental assistance. The department shall establish a process and criteria to determine which schools are placed on the list and the department shall revise the list annually. Criteria for the determination of which high-need schools shall be placed on the list shall be based upon factors that include but are not limited to the socioeconomic status of the students enrolled in the school, the percentage of the school’s student body who are limited English proficient students, student academic growth, certified instructional staff attrition, and geographic balance. The department may approve or disapprove requests for revision of the list, which a school district submits pursuant to subsection 3.

  b.  Develop a standardized process for distributing moneys appropriated for supplemental assistance for high-need schools under section 284.13, subsection 1, paragraph “f”, to school districts. In determining the process for distribution of such moneys, the department shall take into consideration the amount of moneys appropriated for supplemental assistance in high-need schools for the given year and the minimal amount of moneys needed to increase the academic achievement of students. A school district receiving moneys pursuant to this section shall certify annually to the department how the moneys distributed to the school district pursuant to this section were used by the school district.

  c.  Review the use and effectiveness of the funds distributed to school districts for supplemental assistance in high-need schools under this section, and consider the findings and recommendations of the commission on educator leadership and compensation submitted pursuant to section 284.15, subsection 13, relating to the use and effectiveness of the funds distributed to school districts under this section. The department shall submit its findings and recommendations in a report to the general assembly by January 15 annually.

  3.  School district request for approval.  A school district may request on an annual basis approval from the department for additions to the list of high-need schools the department maintains pursuant to subsection 2 based upon the unique local conditions and needs of the school district. The criteria used to determine the placement of high-need schools on the list in accordance with subsection 2 does not restrict the department from adding a high-need school to the list as requested by a school district on the basis of unique local conditions and needs pursuant to this subsection.

  4.  Moneys received and miscellaneous income.  The distribution of moneys allocated pursuant to section 284.13, subsection 1, paragraph “f”, to a school district shall be made in one payment on or about October 15 of the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made, taking into consideration the relative budget and cash position of the state resources. Such moneys shall not be commingled with state aid payments made under section 257.16 to a school district and shall be accounted for by the local school district separately from state aid payments. Payments made to school districts under this section are miscellaneous income for purposes of chapter 257. A school district shall maintain a separate listing within its budget for payments received and expenditures made pursuant to this section.

  5.  Moneys received to supplement salaries.  Moneys received by a school district pursuant to section 284.13, subsection 1, paragraph “f”, shall be used to supplement and not supplant the salary being received by a teacher in a high-need school, and shall not be considered under chapter 20 by an arbitrator or other third party in determining a comparison of the wages of teachers in that high-need school with the wages of teachers in other buildings or in another school district.

2013 Acts, ch 121, §66