Education (School Funding)

in committee · Iowa · House May 15, 2025

HF 1009: A bill for an act authorizing the use of revenues from the district management levy to pay costs related to school safety and security and including applicability provisions.

HF 1009 authorizes school districts to use revenues from their existing district management levy for school safety and security purposes. This bill directly affects school districts by expanding the allowable uses for these funds. Specifically, the funds can be used to pay for school safety and security infrastructure, such as weapons detection and door monitoring systems. Additionally, the levy can cover costs for employing or retaining various security personnel, including school resource officers, private security with weapon permits, reserve or peace officers, and individuals with at least two years of law enforcement or security experience. This Act applies to school budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationAuthorizes existing levy funds for school safety infrastructure and personnel, directly enhancing student safety and security in educational settings, which supports learning environments and access.85% confidence

Sub-Topics School Funding School Safety

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 30, 2025

SSB 1022: A bill for an act modifying provisions related to shared operational functions and school district supplementary weighting.

This bill modifies Iowa school funding rules for districts sharing certain staff services. It changes which staff positions count toward a school district's annual funding limit of 21 "additional pupils" in their budget. Starting July 1, 2025, funding for master social workers, independent social workers, mental health professionals, and school resource officers will no longer count toward this limit. This allows districts to hire more of these staff members without reducing their total funding allocation for other programs. The bill directly affects Iowa public school districts receiving shared-service funding under current law.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesExcludes mental health/social staff from budget caps, enabling districts to hire more without reducing total funding for essential school services.85% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationAllows districts to hire more mental health/social staff without counting toward funding limits, expanding access to student support services without reducing overall school budgets.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill explicitly removes funding limits for mental health professionals in schools, enabling increased hiring without budget reduction, directly advancing mental health services.90% confidence

Sub-Topics School Funding School Safety Student Health

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 24, 2025

HF 553: A bill for an act authorizing the use of revenues from the district management levy for the employment or retention of school security personnel and including applicability provisions.

HF 553 allows Iowa school districts to use revenues from their district management levy (a local tax) to hire or keep school security personnel. Specifically, it authorizes funding for school resource officers (per federal definition), private security officers with a weapons permit, reserve peace officers, or certified peace officers. The bill applies to school budget years starting July 1, 2025, expanding the current allowable uses of this levy revenue. This change directly affects school districts seeking to fund security staffing through existing local tax revenues.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationAuthorizes use of local tax revenues for school security personnel, directly enhancing school safety infrastructure within K-12 education policy.85% confidence

Sub-Topics School Funding School Safety

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate May 14, 2025

SSB 1240: A bill for an act making appropriations from the sports wagering receipts fund, and including effective date provisions.

SSB 1240 appropriates funds from the sports wagering receipts fund for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. It allocates $14 million to the Department of Education to supplement the compensation of non-salaried education support personnel in school districts. School districts must report staff information by July 1, 2025, to receive these funds, which will be distributed based on student enrollment. Additionally, the bill appropriates $8 million to the Department of Public Safety for its public safety equipment fund.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAllocates $14M to education support staff and $8M to public safety from sports wagering receipts, directly funding public services using dedicated tax revenue.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationAllocates $14M from sports wagering fund to supplement non-salaried education support staff compensation, directly funding school personnel under education department.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentAllocates $14M to supplement compensation for non-salaried education support personnel, directly supporting wages under Labor & Employment topic.85% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget School Funding

Track

passed · Iowa · House Apr 16, 2025

HF 315: A bill for an act relating to budget adjustments by school districts affected by a natural disaster.

HF 315 modifies the process for budget adjustments available to Iowa school districts impacted by natural disasters. Currently, school districts can receive a budget adjustment based on the difference between their current and 101% of their previous year's regular program district cost. This bill introduces an additional year of budget adjustment for districts that have already received an adjustment and were affected by a federally declared major disaster or state disaster emergency in the base year or the year prior. This additional adjustment would be equal to the amount of the district's budget adjustment from the base year.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill enables additional budget adjustments for school districts post-disaster, supporting fiscal management of public education funding without tax changes.90% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill provides additional budget adjustment year for disaster-affected school districts, ensuring continued funding stability and support for K-12 education infrastructure after natural disasters.92% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget School Funding

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 28, 2025

SF 123: A bill for an act relating to funding of approved local preschool programs and including applicability provisions.

This bill changes how Iowa school districts receive state funding for approved preschool programs. It increases the enrollment figure used for funding from 50% to 100% of actual eligible student enrollment on October 1 (the "base year"), directly affecting school districts participating in the preschool program. For districts new to the program, it also modifies the initial year funding calculation to use 60% of enrollment multiplied by the state cost per pupil. The changes apply to school budget years starting July 1, 2026.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesIncreases state funding for preschool programs by raising enrollment-based calculations from 50% to 100%, directly boosting school district appropriations.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationIncreases preschool funding by raising enrollment calculation from 50% to 100% of actual eligible students, directly boosting state aid for school districts.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Early Childhood School Funding

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 28, 2025

SF 91: A bill for an act modifying provisions related to the determination of school enrollment, and including effective date and applicability provisions.

SF 91 updates how Iowa school districts calculate student enrollment for funding purposes. It sets specific dates (October 1 and March 1) for determining enrollment counts, including additional students served through special education and supplementary weighting programs. School districts must report these calculated enrollment figures to the Department of Education by set deadlines each year. These changes directly affect school districts and the state's funding formula for public education.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesModifies school funding formula via enrollment calculation, ensuring accurate budget allocation for public education under school budgets subject.92% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationUpdates enrollment calculation for school funding, ensuring accurate resource allocation to districts and special education programs per state formula.95% confidence

Sub-Topics School Funding Special Education

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 30, 2025

SSB 1053: A bill for an act relating to school funding by establishing the state percent of growth and the categorical state percent of growth for the budget year beginning July 1, 2025, modifying provisions relating to the property tax replacement payments, and including effective date provisions.

This bill sets a 2% annual growth rate for state school funding starting in the 2025 budget year (July 1, 2025), affecting Iowa school districts through their state aid calculations. It establishes two specific rates: a "state percent of growth" (2% for 2025) for general funding and a "categorical state percent of growth" (2% for 2025) for targeted programs like teacher pay supplements and early intervention. School districts receive property tax replacement payments based on these rates, calculated using a formula tied to enrollment and per-pupil funding adjustments. The rates for 2025 are fixed, but future rates will be set annually by the legislature.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill mandates 2% annual growth in school funding, increasing state aid to districts and setting categorical rates for targeted programs, directly advancing school finance within state budget priorities.90% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationEstablishes 2% annual state school funding growth with categorical rate for teacher pay supplements, increasing state aid to districts.95% confidence

Sub-Topics School Funding Teachers

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 6, 2025

SF 60: A bill for an act relating to the state school foundation program and the calculation of minimum state foundation aid for school districts and including applicability provisions.

This bill changes how Iowa calculates minimum state funding for public school districts. It sets the minimum foundation aid at $300 per pupil, but this amount now specifically covers four teacher-related costs: salary supplements, professional development, early intervention, and teacher leadership programs. If a district's total state aid plus local property tax exceeds its total costs, the state will reduce the required property tax rate. The changes apply to school budgets starting July 1, 2026.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill sets minimum state aid at $300/pupil for schools and reduces property tax rates when state aid covers costs, increasing school funding and providing tax relief for districts.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationSets $300/pupil foundation aid specifically for teacher salaries, PD, early intervention, and leadership programs, directly funding educator support and school programs.95% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget School Funding Teachers

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 6, 2025

HF 222: A bill for an act allocating hotel and motel taxes to schools that begin school calendar years after Labor Day, creating an alternate school start date fund, and making appropriations.

HF 222 allocates hotel and motel tax revenue collected between August 23 and Labor Day to schools that begin their academic year after Labor Day. It creates an "alternate school start date fund" in the state treasury, managed by the Department of Education, which distributes funds to qualifying schools based on enrollment. Schools must meet the standard 1,080 hours of instruction (as if starting August 23, excluding weather-related closures) to receive funding. The funds are deposited into school districts' general funds as "miscellaneous income" but are not counted toward district costs.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAllocates existing hotel/motel tax revenue to schools via new fund, increasing public education funding through fiscal reallocation without new taxes.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationAllocates hotel/motel tax revenue to schools starting after Labor Day, creating a dedicated fund for qualifying schools meeting instructional hour requirements.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Revenue School Funding

Track