Bill > SSB3080

This Study Bill introduces several significant changes to education in Iowa, including the establishment of a "Student First Scholarship Program" to provide financial assistance for students attending nonpublic schools, with eligibility based on household income or the presence of an individualized education program (IEP), and a "Student First Enrollment Supplement Fund" to provide financial support to smaller school districts. It also mandates increased transparency by requiring school districts to publish detailed information about their curriculum, textbooks, and library materials online, and establishes protocols for reviewing and removing library materials, including a process for parent or guardian complaints that can be appealed to the state board of education. Furthermore, the bill modifies requirements for social studies instruction, specifically enhancing the civics and government components and requiring a minimum passing score on a civics test for graduation, adjusts rules for competent private instruction for students requiring special education, and revises open enrollment provisions to allow for appeals in cases of harassment, consistent failure to meet academic standards, or serious health conditions, and also includes provisions related to teacher librarian endorsements, removing the master's degree requirement for this certification.