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House
File
501
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
501
BY
SORENSEN
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
school
districts,
including
by
modifying
1
provisions
related
to
school
district
dissolution
2
proposals
and
election
dates
for
school
district
mergers,
3
consolidations,
or
dissolutions.
4
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
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Section
1.
Section
275.18,
subsection
1,
Code
2025,
is
1
amended
to
read
as
follows:
2
1.
When
the
boundaries
of
the
territory
to
be
included
in
3
a
proposed
school
corporation
and
the
number
and
method
of
4
the
election
of
the
school
directors
of
the
proposed
school
5
corporation
have
been
determined
as
provided
in
this
chapter
,
6
the
area
education
agency
administrator
with
whom
the
petition
7
is
filed
shall
give
written
notice
of
the
election
to
the
8
county
commissioner
of
elections
of
the
county
in
the
proposed
9
school
corporation
which
has
the
greatest
taxable
base.
The
10
question
shall
be
submitted
to
the
voters
at
an
election
held
11
on
a
date
specified
in
section
39.2,
subsection
4
,
paragraph
12
“c”
in
the
calendar
year
prior
to
the
calendar
year
in
which
13
the
reorganization
will
take
effect
;
provided,
however,
that
if
14
the
question
relates
to
the
merger
or
consolidation
of
school
15
districts,
the
question
shall
be
submitted
to
the
voters
at
an
16
election
held
on
a
date
determined
by
the
county
commissioner
17
of
elections
that
is
in
the
calendar
year
prior
to
the
calendar
18
year
in
which
the
merger
or
consolidation
will
take
effect
.
19
Sec.
2.
Section
275.53,
subsection
1,
Code
2025,
is
amended
20
to
read
as
follows:
21
1.
a.
The
Within
one
year
after
the
date
of
the
22
organizational
meeting
of
the
commission,
the
commission
23
shall
send
a
copy
of
its
agree
upon
and
develop
a
dissolution
24
proposal
or
shall
inform
the
board
that
it
cannot
agree
upon
a
25
dissolution
proposal
not
later
than
one
year
following
the
date
26
of
the
organizational
meeting
of
the
commission
and
send
a
copy
27
of
the
dissolution
proposal
to
the
department
of
education
for
28
approval
.
The
department
of
education
shall
either
approve
the
29
dissolution
proposal
or
recommend
changes
to
the
dissolution
30
proposal.
If
the
department
of
education
recommends
changes
31
to
the
dissolution
proposal,
the
commission
shall
make
such
32
changes
and
send
the
revised
dissolution
proposal
to
the
33
department
of
education
for
approval.
Once
the
department
of
34
education
has
approved
the
dissolution
proposal,
the
commission
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shall
file
a
copy
of
the
dissolution
proposal
with
the
board.
1
b.
Notwithstanding
paragraph
“a”
,
if
the
commission
cannot
2
agree
upon
a
dissolution
proposal
within
one
year
after
the
3
date
of
the
organizational
meeting
of
the
commission,
the
4
commission
shall
inform
the
board
that
it
cannot
agree
upon
a
5
dissolution
proposal.
6
c.
If
the
dissolving
school
district
has
outstanding
bonds
7
issued
under
section
423E.5
or
423F.4
,
the
proposal
shall
8
require
each
school
district
receiving
territory
from
the
9
dissolving
district
to
assume
liability
for
the
payment
of
a
10
portion
of
such
bonds
that
is
equal
to
the
percentage
of
the
11
total
number
of
resident
pupils
from
the
dissolving
district
12
who
lived
in
the
territory
received
during
the
last
year
of
the
13
dissolving
district’s
existence.
14
d.
The
commission
shall
also
send
a
copy
of
the
approved
15
dissolution
proposal
to
the
boards
of
directors
of
all
school
16
districts
to
which
area
of
the
dissolving
school
district
17
will
be
attached.
If
the
board
of
a
district
to
which
area
18
of
the
dissolving
school
district
will
be
attached
objects
19
to
the
attachment,
within
ten
days
following
receipt
of
the
20
dissolution
proposal
the
board
shall
send
its
objections
21
in
writing
to
the
commission
department
of
education
.
The
22
commission
may
department
of
education
shall
consider
the
23
objections
and
may
direct
the
commission
to
modify
the
24
dissolution
proposal
if
the
department
of
education
determines
25
that
the
objections
are
reasonable
.
If
the
dissolution
26
proposal
is
modified,
the
commission
shall
notify
the
boards
27
of
directors
of
all
school
districts
to
which
area
of
the
28
dissolving
school
district
will
be
attached.
29
Sec.
3.
Section
275.55,
subsection
1,
Code
2025,
is
amended
30
to
read
as
follows:
31
1.
After
the
final
hearing
on
the
dissolution
proposal,
32
the
board
of
the
school
district
shall
submit
the
proposition
33
to
the
voters
at
the
next
election
held
on
a
date
specified
34
in
section
39.2,
subsection
4
,
paragraph
“c”
an
election
held
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on
a
date
determined
by
the
county
commissioner
of
elections
.
1
However,
the
date
of
the
final
hearing
on
the
dissolution
2
proposal
must
be
not
less
than
thirty
nor
more
than
sixty
days
3
before
the
election.
The
proposition
submitted
to
the
voters
4
residing
in
the
school
district
shall
describe
each
separate
5
area
to
be
attached
to
a
contiguous
school
district
and
shall
6
name
the
school
district
to
which
it
will
be
attached.
In
7
addition
to
the
description,
a
map
may
be
included
in
the
8
summary
of
the
question
on
the
ballot.
9
EXPLANATION
10
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
11
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
12
This
bill
relates
to
school
districts,
including
by
13
modifying
provisions
related
to
school
district
dissolution
14
proposals
and
election
dates
for
school
district
mergers,
15
consolidations,
or
dissolutions.
16
Current
law
requires
that
elections
related
to
school
17
district
mergers,
consolidations,
or
dissolutions
must
be
held,
18
in
odd-numbered
years,
on
the
first
Tuesday
in
March,
the
19
second
Tuesday
in
September,
or
the
first
Tuesday
after
the
20
first
Monday
in
November,
and
in
even-numbered
years,
on
the
21
first
Tuesday
in
March,
or
the
second
Tuesday
in
September.
22
The
bill
modifies
these
provisions
to
provide
that
elections
23
related
to
school
district
mergers
or
consolidations
must
24
be
held
on
a
date
determined
by
the
county
commissioner
of
25
elections
that
is
in
the
calendar
year
prior
to
the
calendar
26
year
in
which
the
merger
or
consolidation
will
take
effect,
27
and
that
elections
related
to
school
district
dissolutions
28
must
be
held
on
a
date
determined
by
the
county
commissioner
29
of
elections.
30
Current
law
requires
a
school
district
dissolution
31
commission
to
send
a
copy
of
its
dissolution
proposal
to
the
32
board
of
directors
of
the
school
district,
or
inform
the
33
board
that
it
cannot
agree
upon
a
dissolution
proposal,
not
34
later
than
one
year
following
the
date
of
the
commission’s
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organizational
meeting.
Current
law
also
requires
the
1
commission
to
send
a
copy
of
the
proposal
to
the
boards
2
of
directors
of
all
school
districts
to
which
area
of
the
3
dissolving
school
district
will
be
attached,
and
if
the
4
board
to
which
area
of
the
dissolving
school
district
will
be
5
attached
objects
to
the
attachment,
the
board
is
required
to
6
send
its
objections
in
writing
to
the
commission.
The
bill
7
modifies
this
provision
to
provide
that,
within
one
year
after
8
the
date
of
the
organizational
meeting
of
the
commission,
the
9
commission
is
required
to
agree
upon
and
develop
a
dissolution
10
proposal
and
send
a
copy
of
the
proposal
to
the
department
of
11
education
(DE)
for
approval.
DE
is
required
to
either
approve
12
the
proposal
or
recommend
changes.
Once
DE
has
approved
the
13
proposal,
the
bill
requires
the
commission
to
file
a
copy
14
of
the
proposal
with
the
board
of
directors
of
the
school
15
district
and
send
a
copy
of
the
approved
proposal
to
the
boards
16
of
directors
of
all
school
districts
to
which
area
of
the
17
dissolving
school
district
will
be
attached.
If
the
commission
18
cannot
agree
upon
a
proposal
within
one
year
after
the
date
19
of
the
organizational
meeting,
the
commission
is
required
to
20
inform
the
board
of
directors
of
the
school
district
that
it
21
cannot
agree.
If
the
board
of
directors
of
a
district
to
which
22
area
of
the
dissolving
school
district
will
be
attached
objects
23
to
the
attachment,
the
board
is
required
to
send
its
objections
24
in
writing
to
DE,
and
DE
is
required
to
consider
the
objections
25
and
may
direct
the
commission
to
modify
the
proposal
if
DE
26
determines
that
the
objections
are
reasonable.
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