Senate File 2323 -- Education Appropriations bill. Funds College Student Aid Commission, Department for the Blind, Department of Education, and the State Board of Regents. Passed the House 52-41 and the  Senate 27-22. Highlights:

• Requires the Department of Education to submit a report on current and future antibullying programming.
• $600,000 for Early Head Start project
• Area Education Agencies: $2,000,000
• including $1,000,000 for AEA support system for local school districts
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Collaborative Initiative: $5,200,000
• Provides a one-year delay for intensive summer reading programs required by school districts to be offered to student not reading proficient by third grade as well as the retention of eligible students who do not complete said summer reading programs.

House File 2460 - Health and Human Services Appropriations bill. Different versions of the bill have been passed by the House and Senate, currently in a conference committee. Highlights:

House File 2455 - Economic Development Appropriations bill. Funds the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), the Iowa Workforce Development (IWD), Iowa Finance Authority (IFA), Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), Board of Regents (BOR), and Regents institutions. Passed the House 88-6 and the Senate 27-23. Highlights:

• Skilled Worker and Job Creation Fund: a new appropriation of $1,000,000 to the IEDA for internships in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with eligible Iowa employers.
• Total amount appropriated to IEDA: $15,116,372 which includes:
• Economic development appropriation
• High Quality Jobs Creation Assistance
• Economic Development Energy Projects
• Iowa Individual New Jobs Training (NJT) 260E fund
• Small Business Credit Initiative fund
• $358,464 for the Offender Reentry Program to provide offenders with employment skills; IWD to partner with Department of Corrections.

Senate File 2299 (successor to Senate Study Bill 3128) Relates to the Early Childhood Iowa Initiative and modifies an appropriation. Sponsored by the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Passed House Appropriations Committee.

House File 2413 (successor to House File 2229) Provides that a student in kindergarten through grade three who is not reading proficiently must be provided intensive reading instruction by the school district and requires ongoing assessments for progress. Sponsored by Representative Ruff. Passed the House 97-0. Passed the Senate 42-7.

 

House Study Bill 548 Relates to education funding by extending the period of time for collecting sales tax for deposit in the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) fund, modifying allocations of state sales and use tax revenue collections, specifying uses for certain funding received from the SAVE fund, creating a district levy reduction fund, and making appropriations. Sponsored by House Ways and Means Committee, referred to subcommittee.