A bill for an act establishing requirements related to nonpublic schools that receive tuition payments from parents or guardians whose students are participating in the education savings account program.

Senate

File

485

-

Introduced

SENATE

FILE

485

BY

WEINER

,

QUIRMBACH

,

PETERSEN

,

KNOX

,

BISIGNANO

,

WAHLS

,

TRONE

GARRIOTT

,

BLAKE

,

ZIMMER

,

DOTZLER

,

DONAHUE

,

WINCKLER

,

BENNETT

,

TOWNSEND

,

CELSI

,

and

STAED

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

establishing

requirements

related

to

nonpublic

schools

1

that

receive

tuition

payments

from

parents

or

guardians

2

whose

students

are

participating

in

the

education

savings

3

account

program.

4

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

5

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485

Section

1.

Section

257.11B,

subsection

1,

paragraph

b,

1

subparagraph

(1),

Code

2025,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2

(1)

“Qualified

educational

expenses”

includes

tuition

3

and

fees

at

a

nonpublic

school

that

is

in

compliance

with

4

subsection

12

,

textbooks,

fees

or

payments

for

educational

5

therapies,

including

tutoring

or

cognitive

skills

training,

6

curriculum

fees,

software,

and

materials

for

a

course

of

7

study

for

a

specific

subject

matter

or

grade

level,

tuition

8

or

fees

for

nonpublic

online

education

programs,

tuition

for

9

vocational

and

life

skills

education

approved

by

the

department

10

of

education,

education

materials

and

services

for

pupils

with

11

disabilities

from

an

accredited

provider,

including

the

cost

of

12

paraprofessionals

and

assistants

who

are

trained

in

accordance

13

with

state

law,

standardized

test

fees,

and

advanced

placement

14

examinations

or

examinations

related

to

postsecondary

education

15

admission

or

credentialing.

16

Sec.

2.

Section

257.11B,

subsection

10,

paragraph

a,

Code

17

2025,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

18

a.

This

section

shall

not

be

construed

to

authorize

the

19

state

or

any

political

subdivision

of

the

state

to

exercise

20

authority

over

any

nonpublic

school

or

construed

to

require

a

21

nonpublic

school

to

modify

its

academic

standards

for

admission

22

or

educational

program

in

order

to

receive

payment

from

a

23

parent

or

guardian

using

funds

from

a

pupil’s

account

in

the

24

education

savings

account

fund.

25

Sec.

3.

Section

257.11B,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

the

26

following

new

subsection:

27

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

12.

A

nonpublic

school

shall

not

receive

28

tuition

payments

from

parents

or

guardians

whose

students

29

are

participating

in

the

education

savings

account

program

30

unless

the

nonpublic

school

satisfies

all

of

the

following

31

requirements:

32

a.

The

governing

body

of

the

nonpublic

school

must

adhere

to

33

the

accountability

and

transparency

requirements

applicable

to

34

the

boards

of

directors

of

school

districts

in

the

same

manner

35

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485

as

the

boards

of

directors

of

school

districts.

1

b.

The

nonpublic

school

must

adhere

to

the

data

reporting

2

requirements

applicable

to

school

districts

in

the

same

manner

3

as

a

school

district.

4

c.

The

nonpublic

school

must

adhere

to

the

accreditation

5

standards

applicable

to

school

districts

that

are

currently

6

accredited

by

the

department

of

education,

including

standards

7

related

to

courses

offered

and

taught

by

the

nonpublic

school,

8

in

the

same

manner

as

a

school

district.

9

d.

The

nonpublic

school

must

adhere

to

the

teacher

10

employment

and

teacher

licensing

requirements

applicable

to

11

school

districts

in

the

same

manner

as

a

school

district.

12

EXPLANATION

13

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

14

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

15

This

bill

establishes

requirements

related

to

nonpublic

16

schools

that

receive

tuition

payments

from

parents

or

guardians

17

whose

students

are

participating

in

the

education

savings

18

account

program.

19

Current

Code

section

257.11B

establishes

the

education

20

savings

account

program,

which

allows

for

payments

to

be

21

made

to

parents

and

guardians

for

the

payment

of

qualified

22

educational

expenses.

Current

law

defines

“qualified

23

educational

expenses”

to

include

tuition

and

fees

at

a

24

nonpublic

school.

The

bill

modifies

the

definition

of

25

“qualified

educational

expenses”

for

purposes

of

the

education

26

savings

account

program

to

provide

that

the

nonpublic

school

27

must

adhere

to

all

of

the

following:

the

accountability

and

28

transparency

requirements

applicable

to

the

boards

of

directors

29

of

school

districts,

the

data

reporting

requirements

applicable

30

to

school

districts,

the

accreditation

standards

applicable

31

to

school

districts,

and

the

teacher

employment

and

teacher

32

licensing

requirements

applicable

to

school

districts.

33

The

bill

strikes

a

provision

of

Code

section

257.11B

that

34

prohibits

the

Code

section

from

being

construed

to

authorize

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485

the

state

or

any

political

subdivision

of

the

state

to

require

1

a

nonpublic

school

to

modify

the

nonpublic

school’s

educational

2

program

in

order

to

receive

payment

from

a

parent

or

guardian

3

using

funds

from

a

pupil’s

account

in

the

education

savings

4

account

fund.

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