The Iowa State home rule act, HF 573, passed the Iowa House and Senate last session and was signed into law by former Governor Terry Branstads:
The board of directors of a school district shall operate, control, and supervise all public schools located within its district boundaries and may exercise any broad and implied power, not inconsistent with the laws of the general assembly and administrative rules adopted by state agencies pursuant thereto, related to the operation, control, and supervision of those public schools.
The new law, however does not produce more local control–the state still dictates to local school districts. But, the Iowa Department of Education can’t keep piling on mandated reports, etc. without specific law or an administrative rule giving them that authority. Which, apparently, they are still doing.
State Senator Amy Sinclair (R-Allerton), chair of the Iowa Senate Education Committee, has offered another bill requiring the Department of Education to cite the legal authority for gathering the information; if there is no legal authority, a report should not be required.
The state may still try to require it, but without specific authority, a school could politely ignore the request.
The bill she offered is SSB 3001. It requires the director of the department of education to cite the state or federal statute, rule, or regulation necessitating the inclusion of information in any report which the department requires a school district, area education agency, and accredited nonpublic school, or the officers or employees of such entities to submit.
The bill that was introduced by Sinclair in the Senate Education Committee was assigned to a subcommittee consisting of State Senators Mark Chelgren (R-Ottumwa), Jeff Elder (R-State Center), and Robert Hogg (D-Cedar Rapids).
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