§ 280.3 — Educational program — attendance center requirements

Iowa § 280.3

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title VII: EDUCATION, HISTORY, AND CULTURE
• Ch. 280: UNIFORM SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS

Text

1. The board of directors of each public school district and the authorities in charge of
each nonpublic school shall prescribe the minimum educational program and an attendance
policy which shall require each child to attend school for at least one hundred forty-eight
days,tobemetbyattendanceforatleastthirty-sevendayseachschoolquarter,fortheschools
under their jurisdictions.
2. The minimum educational program shall be the curriculum set forth in section 256.11,
except as otherwise provided by law. The board of directors of a public school district shall
not allow discrimination in any educational program on the basis of race, color, creed, sex,
marital status, or place of national origin.
3. The board of directors of each public school district and the authorities in charge of
each nonpublic school shall develop and implement a kindergarten through grade twelve
computer science plan by July 1, 2022, which incorporates the standards established under
section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (4), and the minimum educational
standards relating to computer science contained in section 256.11.
4. A nonpublic school which is unable to meet the minimum educational program may
request an exemption from the state board of education. The authorities in charge of the
nonpublic school shall file with the director of the department of education the names and
locationsofallschoolsdesiringtobeexemptedandthenames,ages,andpostofficeaddresses
of all pupils of compulsory school age who are enrolled. The director, subject to the approval
of the state board, may exempt the nonpublic school from compliance with the minimum
educational program for two school years. When the exemption has once been granted,
renewaloftheexemptionforeachsucceedingschoolyearmaybeconditionedbythedirector,
with the approval of the board, upon proof of achievement in the basic skills of arithmetic,
the communicative arts of reading, writing, grammar, and spelling, and an understanding
of United States history, history of Iowa, and the principles of American government, of the
pupils of compulsory school age exempted in the preceding year. Proof of achievement shall
be determined on the basis of tests or other means of evaluation prescribed by the director of
the department of education with the approval of the state board of education. The testing or
evaluation, if required, shall be accomplished prior to submission of the request for renewal
of the exemption. Renewal requests shall be filed with the director by April 15 of the school
year preceding the school year for which the applicants desire exemption. This section shall
not apply to schools eligible for exemption under section 299.24.
5. The board of directors of each public school district and the authorities in charge of
each nonpublic school shall establish and maintain attendance centers based upon the needs
of the school age pupils enrolled in the school district or nonpublic school. Public school
kindergartenprogramsshallandpublicandnonpublicschoolprekindergartenprogramsmay
be provided. In addition, the board of directors or governing authority may include in the

educational program of any school such additional courses, subjects, or activities which it
deems fit the needs of the pupils.

Legislative History

[C75, 77, 79, 81, §280.3]