What changed in SF 277
The bill as introduced, compared with the version both chambers passed (91st General Assembly).
It passed exactly as introduced.
Removed AddedIntroduced textText as passedAmendments
Compares wording only. The printed bills also mark changes to existing law with strikes and underlines, which aren’t shown here.
Section 1. Section 256.9, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
21 unchanged passages
NEW SUBSECTION.
69. In consultation with the Iowa county attorneys association, develop and distribute to county attorneys, school districts, and accredited nonpublic schools a model policy that county attorneys may reference when determining whether and to what extent to enforce the provisions of chapter 299.
Sec.
2. Section 299.1, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subparagraphs:
NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.
(7) Who is a military applicant undergoing military entrance processing.
NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.
(8) Who is engaged in military service.
NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.
(9) Who is traveling to attend a funeral.
NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.
(10) Who is traveling to attend a wedding.
Sec.
3. Section 299.1, subsection 4, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
NEW PARAGRAPH.
c. The policy or rules adopted by the board of directors of a public school district pursuant to paragraph “a” must describe how the exceptions described in paragraph “b” may be met by a child and must give reasonable consideration to travel time.
Sec.
4. Section 299.12, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
a. When a child becomes chronically absent, a school official shall send a notice by ordinary mail or electronic mail to the county attorney of the county in which the public school’s central administrative office is located, and a notice by certified mail to the child’s parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian of the child, if the child is not an emancipated minor, or to the child, if the child is an emancipated minor, that includes information related to the child’s absences from school and the policies and disciplinary processes associated with additional absences. The notice the school official sends to the child’s parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian of the child, if the child is not an emancipated minor, or to the child, if the child is an emancipated minor, may be sent by ordinary mail, electronic mail, or electronic message, or may be delivered in person. The school shall maintain a copy of the notice until the child graduates, turns twenty-one years of age, or is no longer enrolled in the school, whichever occurs first.
Sec.
5. Section 299.12, subsection 3, paragraph a, subparagraph (1), Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
(1) If a child is absent from school for greater than or equal to fifteen percent of the days or hours in the grading period, a school official shall attempt to find the cause for the child’s absences and. If the school official determines that the child’s absences are negatively affecting the child’s academic progress, the school official shall initiate and participate in a school engagement meeting. The purpose of the school engagement meeting is to identify the child’s barriers to attendance and the interventions that may be used to improve the child’s attendance.