6. a. A pupil is not required to enroll in either physical education or health courses, or meet the requirements of paragraph “b” or “c”, if the pupil's parent or guardian files a written statement with the school principal that the course or activity conflicts with the pupil's religious belief. b. (1) All physically able students in kindergarten through grade five shall be required to engage in a physical activity for a minimum of thirty minutes per school day. (2) All physically able students in grades six through twelve shall be required to engage in a physical activity for a minimum of one hundred twenty minutes per week. A student participating in an organized and supervised athletic program or non-school-sponsored extracurricular activity which requires the student to participate in physical activity for a minimum of one hundred twenty minutes per week is exempt from the requirements of this subparagraph. (3) The department shall collaborate with stakeholders on the development of daily physical activity requirements and the development of models that describe ways in which school districts and schools may incorporate the physical activity requirement of this paragraph into the educational program. A school district or accredited nonpublic school shall not reduce instructional time for academic courses in order to meet the requirements of this paragraph. c. Every student by the end of grade twelve shall complete a certification course for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The administrator of a school may waive this requirement if the student is not physically able to successfully complete the training. A student is exempt from the requirement of this paragraph if the student presents satisfactory evidence to the school district or accredited nonpublic school that the student possesses cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification. 7. Programs that meet the needs of each of the following: a. Pupils requiring special education. b. Gifted and talented pupils. c. At-risk students. 8. Upon request of the board of directors of a public school district or the authorities in charge of a nonpublic school, the director may, for a number of years to be specified by the director, grant the district board or the authorities in charge of the nonpublic school exemption from one or more of the requirements of the educational program specified in subsection 5. The exemption may be renewed. Exemptions shall be granted only if the director deems that the request made is an essential part of a planned innovative curriculum project which the director determines will adequately meet the educational needs and interests of the pupils and be broadly consistent with the intent of the educational program as defined in subsection 5. The request for exemption shall include all of the following: a. Rationale of the project to include supportive research evidence. b. Objectives of the project. c. Provisions for administration and conduct of the project, including the use of personnel, facilities, time, techniques, and activities. d. Plans for evaluation of the project by testing and observational measures of pupil progress in reaching the objectives. e. Plans for revisions of the project based on evaluation measures. f. Plans for periodic reports to the department. g. The estimated cost of the project. 9. Beginning July 1, 2006, each school district shall have a qualified teacher librarian who shall be licensed by the board of educational examiners under chapter 272. The state board shall establish in rule a definition of and standards for an articulated sequential kindergarten through grade twelve media program. A school district that entered into a contract with an individual for employment as a media specialist or librarian prior to June 1, 2006, shall be considered to be in compliance with this subsection until June 30, 2011, if the individual is making annual progress toward meeting the requirements for a teacher librarian endorsement issued by the board of educational examiners under chapter 272. A school district that entered into a contract with an individual for employment as a media specialist or librarian who holds at least a master's degree in library and information studies shall be considered to be in compliance with this subsection until the individual leaves the employ of the school district. 9A. Beginning July 1, 2007, each school district shall have a qualified guidance counselor who shall be licensed by the board of educational examiners under chapter 272. Each school district shall work toward the goal of having one qualified guidance counselor for every three hundred fifty students enrolled in the school district. The state board shall establish in rule a definition of and standards for an articulated sequential kindergarten through grade twelve guidance and counseling program. 9B. Beginning July 1, 2007, each school district shall have a school nurse to provide health services to its students. Each school district shall work toward the goal of having one school nurse for every seven hundred fifty students enrolled in the school district. For purposes of this subsection, “school nurse” means a person who holds an endorsement or a statement of professional recognition for school nurses issued by the board of educational examiners under chapter 272. 10. The state board shall establish an accreditation process for school districts and nonpublic schools seeking accreditation pursuant to this subsection and subsections 11 and 12. By July 1, 1989, all school districts shall meet standards for accreditation. For the school year commencing July 1, 1989, and school years thereafter, the department of education shall use a two-phase process for the continued accreditation of schools and school districts. a. (1) Phase I shall consist of annual monitoring by the department of education of all accredited schools and school districts for compliance with accreditation standards adopted by the state board of education as provided in this section. The phase I monitoring requires that accredited schools and school districts annually complete accreditation compliance forms adopted by the state board and file them with the department of education. Phase I monitoring requires a comprehensive desk audit of all accredited schools and school districts including review of accreditation compliance forms, accreditation visit reports, methods of administration reports, and reports submitted in compliance with section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph “a”, and section 280.12. (2) The department shall conduct site visits to schools and school districts to address accreditation issues identified in the desk audit. Such a visit may be conducted by an individual departmental consultant or may be a comprehensive site visit by a team of departmental consultants and other educational professionals. The purpose of a comprehensive site visit is to determine that a district is in compliance with minimum standards and to provide a general assessment of educational practices in a school or school district and make recommendations with regard to the visit findings for the purposes of improving educational practices above the level of minimum compliance. The department shall establish a long-term schedule of site visits that includes visits of all accredited schools and school districts as needed. b. (1) Phase II requires the use of an accreditation committee, appointed by the director of the department of education, to conduct an on-site visit to an accredited school or school district if any of the following conditions exist: (a) When either the annual monitoring or the biennial on-site visit of phase I indicates that a school or school district is deficient and fails to be in compliance with accreditation standards. (b) In response to a petition filed with the director requesting such a committee visitation that is signed by eligible electors residing in the school district equal in number to at least twenty percent of the registered voters of the school district. (c) In response to a petition filed with the director requesting such a committee visitation that is signed by twenty percent or more of the parents or guardians who have children enrolled in the school or school district. (d) At the direction of the state board of education. (e) The school budget review committee submits to the department a recommendation for a fiscal review pursuant to section 257.31, subsection 18. (2) The number and composition of the membership of an accreditation committee shall be determined by the director and may vary due to the specific nature or reason for the visit. In all situations, however, the chairperson and a majority of the committee membership shall be from the instructional and administrative program specialty staff of the department of education. Other members may include instructional and administrative staff from school districts, area education agencies, institutions of higher education, local board members and the general public. An accreditation committee visit to a nonpublic school requires membership on the committee from nonpublic school instructional or administrative staff or board members. A member of a committee shall not have a direct interest in the nonpublic school or school district being visited. (3) Rules adopted by the state board may include provisions for coordination of the accreditation process under this section with activities of accreditation associations. (4) Prior to a visit to a school district or nonpublic school, members of the accreditation committee shall have access to all annual accreditation report information filed with the department by that nonpublic school or school district. (5) After visiting the school district or nonpublic school, the accreditation committee shall determine whether the accreditation standards have been met and shall make a report to the director, together with a recommendation whether the school district or nonpublic school shall remain accredited. If the recommendation is that a school district or nonpublic school not remain accredited, the accreditation committee shall provide the school district or nonpublic school with a report that includes a list of all of the deficiencies, a plan prescribing the actions that must be taken to correct the deficiencies, and a deadline date for completion of the prescribed actions. The accreditation committee shall advise the school district or nonpublic school of available resources and technical assistance to improve areas of weakness. The school district or nonpublic school shall be provided with the opportunity to respond to the accreditation committee's report. The director shall review the accreditation committee's report and the response of the school district or nonpublic school and shall provide a report to the state board along with copies of the accreditation committee's report, the response to the accreditation committee's report, and other pertinent information. At the request of the school district or nonpublic school, the school district or nonpublic school may appear before the state board and address the state board directly regarding any part of the plan specified in the report. The state board may modify the plan. During the period of time specified in the plan for its implementation by a school district or nonpublic school, the school district or school shall remain accredited. 11. The accreditation committee shall revisit the school district or nonpublic school and shall determine whether the deficiencies in the standards have been corrected. a. The accreditation team shall make a report and recommendation to the director and the state board. The committee recommendation shall specify whether the school district or nonpublic school shall remain accredited. For a school district, the committee report and recommendation shall also specify under what conditions the district may remain accredited. The conditions may include but are not limited to providing temporary oversight authority, operational authority, or both oversight and operational authority to the director and the state board for some or all aspects of the school district in order to bring the school district into compliance with minimum standards. b. The state board shall review the report and recommendation, may request additional information, and shall determine whether the deficiencies have been corrected. c. If the deficiencies have not been corrected, and the conditional accreditation alternatives contained in the report are not mutually acceptable to the state board and the local board, the state board shall deaccredit the school district and merge the territory of the school district with one or more contiguous school districts at the end of the school year. The state board may place a district under receivership for the remainder of the school year. The receivership shall be under the direct supervision and authority of the area education agency in which the district is located. The decision of whether to deaccredit the school district or to place the district under receivership shall be based upon a determination by the state board of the best interests of the students, parents, residents of the community, teachers, administrators, and school district board members and upon the recommendations of the accreditation committee and the director. d. In the case of a nonpublic school, if the deficiencies have not been corrected, the state board may deaccredit the nonpublic school. The deaccreditation shall take effect on the date established by the resolution of the state board, which shall be no later than the end of the school year in which the nonpublic school is deaccredited. 12. If the state board deaccredits a school district and merges the territory of the school district with one or more contiguous school districts, the deaccredited school district ceases to exist as a school corporation on the effective date set by the state board for deaccreditation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the contiguous school districts receiving territory of the deaccredited school district are not considered successor school corporations of the deaccredited school district. a. Division of assets and liabilities of the deaccredited school district shall be as provided in this paragraph “a” and in sections 275.29 through 275.31. (1) If one or more of the contiguous school districts receiving assets and liabilities of the deaccredited school district utilizes the equalization levy, only that territory in the school district imposing the equalization levy that comprises territory of the deaccredited school district shall be taxed. (2) Income surtax revenue and revenues generated by property taxes shall be distributed proportionately based on taxable value of the territory received by one or more school districts contiguous to the deaccredited school district. (3) Revenues that are based on student enrollment shall be distributed based on percentages of students who were enrolled in the deaccredited school district in the school year immediately prior to deaccreditation and who now reside in territory received by one or more school districts contiguous to the deaccredited school district. (4) If the deaccredited school district has a negative fund balance in its general fund at the time it is deaccredited by the state board, the director may order that the positive balance from one or more other funds of the deaccredited school district be transferred to the deaccredited school district's general fund. b. Prior to the effective date set by the state board for deaccreditation, the school district shall remain responsible for, and may retain such authority as is necessary to complete, all of the following: (1) Execution of one or more quitclaim deeds, in fulfillment of the merger of territory received by one or more contiguous school districts from the deaccredited school district. (2) Preparation of and payment for a final audit of all the district's financial accounts. (3) Preparation and certification of a final certified annual report to the department. c. The provisions of section 275.57 apply when deaccreditation of a school district and merger of the territory of such school district with a contiguous school district that is currently divided into director districts leads to the formation of new director districts. 13. Notwithstanding subsections 1 through 12 and as an exception to their requirements, a private high school or private combined junior-senior high school operated for the express purpose of teaching a program designed to qualify its graduates for matriculation at accredited four-year or equivalent liberal arts, scientific, or technological colleges or universities shall be placed on a special accredited list of college preparatory schools, which list shall signify accreditation of the school for that express purpose only, if: a. The school complies with minimum standards established by the Code other than this section, and rules adopted under the Code, applicable to: (1) Courses comprising the limited program. (2) Health requirements for personnel. (3) Plant facilities. (4) Other environmental factors affecting the programs. b. At least eighty percent of those graduating from the school within the four most recent calendar years, other than those graduating who are aliens, graduates entering military or alternative civilian service, or graduates deceased or incapacitated before college acceptance, have been accepted by accredited four-year or equivalent liberal arts, scientific, or technological colleges or universities. c. A school claiming to be a private college preparatory school which fails to comply with the requirement of paragraph “b” of this subsection shall be placed on the special accredited list of college preparatory schools probationally if the school complies with the requirements of paragraph “a” of this subsection, but a probational accreditation shall not continue for more than four successive years. 14. Notwithstanding subsections 1 through 13 and as an exception to their requirements, a nonpublic grade school which is reopening is accredited even if it does not have a complete grade one through grade six program. However, the nonpublic grade school must comply with other minimum standards established by law and administrative rules adopted pursuant to the law and the nonpublic grade school must show progress toward reaching a grade one through grade six program. 15. The board of directors of a school district or the authorities in charge of a nonpublic school may award credit toward graduation to a student if the student successfully completes basic training for service as a member of the Iowa army national guard, the Iowa air national guard, the active military forces of the United States, the army national guard of the United States, or the air national guard of the United States. 16. a. Notwithstanding subsections 1 through 12, a nonpublic school may be accredited by an approved independent accrediting agency instead of by the state board as provided in this subsection. The state board shall maintain a list of approved independent accrediting agencies comprised of at least six regional or national nonprofit, nongovernmental agencies recognized as reliable authorities concerning the quality of education offered by a school and shall publish the list of independent accrediting agencies on the department's internet site. The list shall include accrediting agencies that, as of January 1, 2013, accredited a nonpublic school in this state that was concurrently accredited under this section; and any agency that has a formalized partnership agreement with another agency on the list and has member schools in this state as of January 1, 2013. b. A nonpublic school that participates in the accreditation process offered by an independent accrediting agency on the approved list published pursuant to paragraph “a” shall be deemed to meet the education standards of this section. However, such a school shall comply with statutory health and safety requirements for school facilities. c. If the state board takes preliminary action to remove an agency from the approved list published on the department's internet site pursuant to paragraph “a”, the department shall, at least one year prior to removing the agency from the approved list, notify the nonpublic schools participating in the accreditation process offered by the agency of the state board's intent to remove the accrediting agency from its approved list of independent accrediting agencies. The notice shall also be posted on the department's internet site and shall contain the proposed date of removal. The nonpublic school shall attain accreditation under this subsection or subsections 1 through 12 not later than one year following the date on which the state board removes the agency from its list of independent accrediting agencies.
Citation: I.C.A. § 256.12