This bill amends funding provisions for area education agencies in Iowa, particularly focusing on the foundation base per pupil for regular and special education programs. Starting from the budget year commencing July 1, 2022, the regular program foundation base per pupil will increase from eighty-seven and five-tenths percent to eighty-eight and four-tenths percent of the regular program state cost per pupil. The bill also introduces a new calculation method for the area education agency professional development supplement district cost, based on the professional development allocation for each agency. Additionally, it emphasizes the legislative intent to ensure full funding for Iowa's schools and area education agencies to improve educational quality.

Moreover, the bill includes several amendments to the Iowa Code, such as the monthly deduction of amounts for special education support services, media services, and teacher salary supplements from state aid due to school districts, with these funds allocated to area education agencies. It removes the requirement for school districts to specify the special education services they will receive, allowing for greater flexibility in funding. The bill also modifies the calculation of salary supplements and professional development costs, ensuring budget adjustments if costs fall below a certain threshold, and it eliminates provisions that allowed unallocated state funds to be used for general purposes by school districts. These changes aim to enhance accountability and effectiveness in the distribution of educational funding, with new provisions taking effect immediately upon enactment and applying to budget years starting July 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 257.1, 257.4, 257.9, 257.37A, 257.10, 257.16, 8.31, 257.35, 257.37, 273.6, 284.13