256.12 Sharing instructors and services.

1. The director, when necessary to realize the purposes of this chapter, shall approve the enrollment in public schools for specified courses of students who also are enrolled in private schools, when the courses in which they seek enrollment are not available to them in their private schools, provided the students have satisfactorily completed prerequisite courses, if any, or have otherwise shown equivalent competence through testing. Courses made available to students in this manner shall be considered as compliance by the private schools in which the students are enrolled with any standards or laws requiring private schools to offer or teach the courses.

2. a. This section does not deprive the respective boards of public school districts of any of their legal powers, statutory or otherwise, and in accepting the specially enrolled students, each of the boards shall prescribe the terms of the special enrollment, including but not limited to scheduling of courses and the length of class periods. In addition, the board of the affected public school district shall be given notice by the department of its decision to permit the special enrollment not later than six months prior to the opening of the affected public school district’s school year, except that the board of the public school district may waive the notice requirement. School districts and area education agency boards shall make public school services, which shall include special education programs and services and may include health services, services for remedial education programs, guidance services, and school testing services, available to children attending nonpublic schools in the same manner and to the same extent that they are provided to public school students. Service activities shall be similar to those undertaken for public school students. Health services, special education support, and related services provided by area education agencies for the purpose of identifying children with disabilities, assistance with physical and communications needs of students with physical disabilities, and services of an educational interpreter may be provided on nonpublic school premises with the permission of the lawful custodian of the property. Other special education services may be provided on nonpublic school premises at the discretion of the school district or area education agency provider of the service and with the permission of the lawful custodian of the property.

b. Students enrolled in nonpublic schools who receive services pursuant to this subsection shall be weighted at the level provided for in section 256B.9, subsection 1.

c. A local school district providing services pursuant to this subsection shall submit an accounting to the department of education by August 1 following the school year for the actual costs of the special education programs and services provided. The department shall review and approve or modify the accounting by September 1 and shall notify the department of administrative services of the approved accounting amount. The department of administrative services shall adjust the September payment to the local school district for the next fiscal year by the difference between the amount generated by the weighting for the provision of services to nonpublic school students, as provided in this subsection, and the amount of the actual costs as reflected in the local school district’s accounting. Any amount paid by the department of administrative services shall be deducted monthly from the state foundation aid paid under section 257.16 during that fiscal year to all school districts in the state. The portion of the total amount of the approved accounting amount that shall be deducted from the state aid of a school district shall be the same as the ratio that the budget enrollment for the budget year of the school district bears to the total budget enrollment in the state for that budget year.

86 Acts, ch 1245, §1412; 93 Acts, ch 101, §101; 94 Acts, ch 1161, §1; 98 Acts, ch 1096, §1; 2003 Acts, ch 145, §286; 2006 Acts, ch 1152, §19; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §180

Referred to in §256B.9, 273.2