SAI Annual Conference 2014

04/21/23 1

SAI Annual Conference 2014

Matt Carver, J.D., Legal Services Director

tel - 515.267.1115

fax - 515.267.1066

204/21/23

Updated Guidance on Student Immunizations April 9, 2014 Memo from Iowa Department of Public Health Iowa Code 139A.8 requires all students enrolling in an Iowa school to submit proof of

immunizations to the admitting official using an Iowa Department of Public Health certificate of immunization or a provisional certificate, unless a valid certificate of religious or medical exemption has been submitted.

It is the duty of the admitting official to ensure a valid certificate is on file for each student in their schools (Iowa Administrative Code (IAC 641-7.8(1)). Applicants without proper evidence of immunization or exemption are not entitled to enrollment in an elementary or secondary school. It shall be the duty of the admitting official to deny enrollment to students who do not comply with requirements for proof of immunization or immunization exemption (IAC 641-7.10).

A student may be provisionally enrolled if they have received at least one dose of each of the required vaccines or they are a transfer student from another U.S. school system. In such cases a provisional certificate must be issued for a medically feasible amount of time in which vaccines needed to qualify for a certificate of immunization can be administered, not to exceed 60 calendar days (IAC 641-7.7(2)).

304/21/23

Instructional Hours and Start Date– HF 2170

1,080 hours or 180 days with 6 hours of instruction (while times of attendance may vary, all buildings within a district must be on the same plan)

If 1,080 hours is chosen, no minimum or maximum length of any given school day

Those choosing days instead of hours must have at least 30 hours of instruction for any 5 consecutive school days (NOT 27.5 hours)

REMINDER - Public school districts must conduct a hearing prior to informing DE of hours vs. days on the Spring BEDS report

404/21/23


The following ARE COUNTED AS INSTRUCTION for either option: (1) passing time between classes (2) parent-teacher conferences (3) recess, if under supervision of instructional

professional staff

The following ARE NOT COUNTED AS INSTRUCTION for either option: (1) lunch (2) bus travel between buildings (3) professional learning

504/21/23


If inclement weather or emergency health conditions cause a district/school using 180 instruction days to record less than 6 hours of instruction, the day still counts.

Inclement weather exception does not apply for schools using hours

However, if an emergency closing is for just one attendance center, the hours or days MAY count for the district/school!

604/21/23


Seniors may still complete the school year 30 hours or 5 days early

Early start date requests are submitted in the Spring BEDS report

An innovative calendar request is distinct from early start date and is due November 1 (Innovative calendar only applies to school districts and non-publics following instructional days model)

704/21/23

Education Appropriations – SF 2347

Attendance Center Performance Report Provides $500,000 for the “development of criteria and

administration of a process for school districts to establish specific performance goals and to evaluate the performance of each attendance center operated by the district in order to arrive at an overall school performance grade and report card for each attendance center.”

The DE issued a legislative report on this topic on July 1, 2014. More discussion will follow

Check out the DE’s website for more info

804/21/23


Administrator Coaching and SupportAppropriates $1 million to the DE to develop and implement a coaching and support system aligned with the beginning administrator mentoring and induction program and focused on administrators in districts implementing a Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) plan.

Beginning July 1, 2017, all districts will have access to a coaching and support system for administrators whether or not the district has adopted a local TLC plan.

This legislation also added assistant principals and assistant superintendents in the definition of “administrator” for the purposes of the Administrator Quality Program established in Chapter 284A.

904/21/23


AEA Support for Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC)

Provides $1 million to the DE for development of a system by which Area Education Agencies (AEA’s) support school districts implementing a local TLC plan

Successful Progression of Early Readers

Appropriates $8 million to the DE for distribution to school districts for the implementation of Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 62, “State Standards for Progression in Reading,” as mandated by Iowa Code section 279.68. Same amount as FY 2014

The DE recently added guidance to its website

1004/21/23

Whole Grade Sharing Incentives – SF 2056

Extends incentives for whole grade sharing and reorganization from 2014 to 2019.

The level of incentives are the same.

1104/21/23

Operational Sharing – HF 2271

Creates tiered weighting for operational sharing incentives:

Superintendent = 8 students

Business management, human resources, transportation or operation and maintenance = 5 students

Curriculum directors and guidance counselors = 3 students

Districts are capped at a total weighting of 21 students

1204/21/23

Minor School Licenses – SF 2056

Students with a minor school license are now able to drive to extracurricular activities at another school if those activities are covered under a sharing agreement

1304/21/23

Minor Alcohol Consumption – SF 2310

Law enforcement are now required to inform school officials when students “consume” alcohol

The previous requirement just related to possession, purchase or attempts to purchase alcohol

1404/21/23

Alternative Nicotine Products– HF 2109

Minors are now prohibited from purchasing or possessing e-cigarettes and other alternative nicotine products.

1504/21/23

DE Technical Corrections Bill – SF 2230

1) New language reduces the publication requirement from two (2) to (1) for the disposal of property with a resale value below $5,000

2) New language allows the vote on revenue purpose statements for school infrastructure funds to occur at the same time as a reorganization vote

1604/21/23

Early Retirement Incentives – SF 220

Eliminates the age cap (formerly 65 years old) for the use of the management levy for early retirement incentives.

The management levy may be used for employees 55 years and older.

1704/21/23

Iowa Cases

State of Iowa v. Nicoletto, (Iowa 2014). Facts: Iowa District Court convicted Nicoletto of sexual exploitation by a school

employee in violation of Iowa Code §§709.15(3)(a) & (5)(a). Nicoletto served as a high school basketball coach using a coaching

authorization. He is not a licensed teacher.

The sexual exploitation statute defined “school employee” as a “practitioner” as defined in Iowa Code §272.1(7).

Section 272.1 defined “practitioner” as “an administrator, teacher, or other licensed professional, including an individual who holds a statement of professional recognition, who provides educational assistance to students.”

1804/21/23

Iowa Cases

State of Iowa v. Nicoletto, (Iowa 2014). The Iowa Supreme Court held: While coaches with teaching or other professional licenses are subject to the

statute, “a mere holder of a coaching authorization without a professional license within the meaning of section 272.1(7) does not fall under the sexual exploitation statute.”

As such, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed Nicolleto’s conviction.

Other points to consider:

(1) While this case concerns the criminal code, ethics rules still applied which impacted the coach’s authorization.

(2) An astute principal helped to uncover the relationship.

1904/21/23

BoEE Code of Professional Conduct– HF 2389

This bill required the BoEE to adopt rules stating it is a violation of the BoEE’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for any licensee to have a sexual or romantic relationship within ninety (90) days with any individual who the licensee taught or supervised in any school activity when the individual was a student

The updated BoEE rule is found at: 282 Iowa Administrative Code 25.3(1)(e)(7).

2004/21/23

Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee – HF 2474

Clarifies that any person holding a coaching authorization from the BoEE is considered a school employee for the purposes of Iowa Code Section 709.15, dealing with the sexual exploitation of a student by a school employee.

It is both criminal behavior and a violation of the BoEE’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for any person holding a coaching authorization to have a romantic or sexual relationship with any student within 30 days of student status

Whether the student is above the “age of consent” under Iowa law does not make a difference

2104/21/23

DE and BoEE Guidance on ADs July 28, 2014 guidance letter from the DE and BoEE

Activities directors at accredited schools and school districts must be licensed by the BoEE as teachers or administrators These are individuals who oversee the entire activity

program

Athletic coaches and activity sponsors do not have to be evaluated by licensed evaluators, but IT IS A BEST PRACTICE

An activities director does not have to possess a current and valid evaluator endorsement or license

2204/21/23

Guidance on TeachIowa.gov

Iowa Code § 256.27(2) requires school districts, charter schools, or area education agencies summit ALL of its job openings to the department for posting on the TEACH IOWA system.

Teach Iowa has the capability to allow districts to designate postings as internal or external AND to turn off the “APPLY” button on each posting.

For technical questions, contact Marietta Rives at 515-281-6038 or [email protected]

For assistance with legal questions concerning Teach Iowa, contact Nicole Proesch at 515-281-8661 or [email protected]

*TEACH IOWA site is receiving 1 million hits per month

2304/21/23

Mandatory Reporting of Ethics Violations

The BOEE has determined that the employee discipline that must be reported to the BOEE includes written reprimands, written warnings, job separation agreements, resignations, nonrenewals, or terminations that resulted from employee misconduct covered by the following mandatory reporting areas:

(a) Soliciting, encouraging, or consummating a romantic or otherwise inappropriate relationship with a student.

(b) Falsifying student grades, test scores, or other official information or material.

(c) Converting public property or funds to the personal use of the school employee.

2404/21/23

Iowa Cases

Fort Dodge CSD v. PERB and Ft. Dodge Education Association, (Iowa Ct. App. 2014).

Facts: The district proposed to eliminate severance pay provisions from several

collective bargaining agreements.

The district argued severance pay is a permissible subject of bargaining, while the union argued it is mandatory.

The District petitioned the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”) for a ruling on negotiability.

PERB held that severance pay is a form of “supplemental pay” and, thus, is a mandatory subject of bargaining under Iowa Code §20.9.

2504/21/23

Iowa Cases

Fort Dodge CSD v. PERB and Ft. Dodge Education Association, (Iowa Ct. App. 2014).

The school district appealed to the District Court, which affirmed.

The Iowa Court of Appeals held:

The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld PERB’s ruling

The Court largely based its decision on 2010 legislation which gave PERB new authority to interpret the law relating to public sector collective bargaining.

2604/21/23

Federal Cases

United States Supreme Court

The Supreme Court refused to hear a Pennsylvania School District’s appeal of a lower court’s decision in a “I Boobies” case

Two, female middle school students wore the bracelets for two months before school administrators barred the bracelets due to their sexual and lewd message.

The families noted that the bracelets were worn for breast cancer awareness

Administrators noted that boys at the school chanted “I love boobies” and “boobies, boobies!”

2704/21/23

Federal Cases

“I Boobies” Case

In a 9-5 ruling the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction which permitted students to wear the bracelets

The majority of the court shared: “A school’s leeway to categorically restrict ambiguously lewd speech . . . Ends when that speech could also plausibly be interpreted as expressing a view on a political or social issue.”

2804/21/23

Federal Cases Wynar v. Douglas County School District (9th Cir. 2013).

A panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld decision by Douglas County, Nevada school administrators to expel a student for threatening instant messages he shared with friends outside of school

Some of the comments:

“its pretty simple / I have a sweet gun / my neighbor is giving me 500 rounds / dhs [Douglas High School] is gay / I’ve watched these kinds of movies so I know how NOT to go wrong / I just cant decide who will be on my hit list / and thats deminted and it scares even my self”

“and I’ll probably only kill the people I hate / who hate me / then a few random to get the record”

2904/21/23

Federal Cases

Wynar v. Douglas County School District (9th Cir. 2013).

While this is from another circuit, it is a good reminder:

1) Even if a student’s communication is off-campus, school administrators may take action if an actual threat is involved

OR

2) There is a reasonable likelihood that the speech will cause a substantial disruption of the school environment or materially interfere with school activities.

Documents

SAI Annual Conference 2014