The following standards apply to the administration of
accredited schools and school districts.
(1)
Board records. Each
board is to adopt by written policy a system for maintaining accurate records.
The system will provide for recording and maintaining the minutes of all board
meetings, coding all receipts and expenditures, and recording and filing all
reports required by the Iowa Code or requested by the director of the
department. Financial records of school districts are to be maintained in a
manner as to be easily audited according to accepted accounting
procedures.
(2)
Policy
manual. The board shall develop and maintain a policy manual that
provides a codification of its policies, including the adoption date, the
review date, and any revision date for each policy. Policies shall be reviewed
at least every five years to ensure relevance to current practices and
compliance with the Iowa Code, administrative rules and decisions, and court
decisions.
(3)
Personnel
evaluation. Each board will adopt evaluation criteria and procedures
that conform to Iowa Code sections
279.14 and
279.23A for all contracted
staff.
(4)
Student
records. Each board will establish and maintain a system of student
records, which will include for each student a permanent office record and a
cumulative record.
The permanent office record serves as a historical record of
official information concerning the student's education. The permanent office
record is to be recorded and maintained under the student's legal name. At a
minimum, the permanent office record will contain evidence of attendance and
educational progress, serve as an official transcript, contain other data for
use in planning to meet student needs, and provide data for official school and
school district reports. This record is to be permanently maintained and stored
in a fire-resistant safe or vault or can be maintained and stored
electronically with a secure backup file.
The cumulative record provides a continuous and current
record of significant information on progress and growth. It should reflect
information such as courses taken, scholastic progress, school attendance,
physical and health record, experiences, interests, aptitudes, attitudes,
abilities, honors, extracurricular activities, part-time employment, and future
plans. It is the "working record" used by the instructional professional staff
in understanding the student. At the request of a receiving school or school
district, a copy of the cumulative record will be sent to officials of that
school when a student transfers.
For the sole purpose of implementing an interagency agreement
with state and local agencies in accordance with Iowa Code section
280.25, a student's permanent
record may include information contained in the cumulative record as defined
above.
The board is to adopt a policy concerning the accessibility
and confidentiality of student records that complies with the provisions of the
federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and Iowa Code chapter
22.
(5)
Requirements
for graduation. Each board providing a program through grade 12 will
adopt a policy establishing the requirements students will meet for high school
graduation. This policy will make provision for early graduation and be
consistent with these requirements, Iowa Code sections
280.14 and 256.7(26).
(6)
Student responsibility and
discipline. The board will adopt student responsibility and discipline
policies as required by Iowa Code section
279.8. The board will involve
parents, students, instructional and noninstructional professional staff, and
community members in the development and revision of those policies where
practicable or unless specific policy is mandated by legislation. The policies
will relate to the educational purposes of the school or school district. The
policies will include the following: attendance; use of tobacco; the use or
possession of alcoholic beverages or any controlled substance; harassment of or
by students and staff as detailed in subrule 12.3(13); violent, destructive,
and seriously disruptive behavior; suspension, expulsion, emergency removal,
weapons, and physical restraint; out-of-school behavior; participation in
extracurricular activities; academic progress; and citizenship.
The policies will ensure due process rights for students and
parents, including consideration for students who have been identified as
requiring special education programs and services.
The board will also consider the potential, disparate impact
of the policies on students because of race, color, national origin, gender,
sexual orientation as defined in Iowa Code section
216.2, gender identity as
defined in Iowa Code section
216.2, disability, religion,
creed, or socioeconomic status.
The board will publicize its support of these policies, its
support of the staff in enforcing them, and the staff's accountability for
implementing them.
(7)
Audit of school funds. This subrule applies to school
districts. The results of the annual audit of all school district funds
conducted by the state auditor or a private auditing firm will be made part of
the official records of the board as described in Iowa Code section
11.6.
(8)
School or school
district building grade-level organization. The board shall adopt a
grade-level organization for the buildings under its jurisdiction as described
in Iowa Code sections
279.39 and
280.3.
(9)
Standards for school counseling
programs. Each school district will establish a kindergarten through
grade 12 comprehensive school counseling program, driven by student data and
based on standards in academic, career, personal, and social areas, which
supports the student achievement goals of the total school curriculum and to
which all students have equitable access.
a. A
qualified school counselor, licensed by the board of educational examiners, who
works collaboratively with students, teachers, support staff and administrators
will direct the program and provide services and instruction in support of the
curricular goals of each attendance center. The school counselor is the member
of the attendance center instructional team with special expertise in
identifying resources and technologies to support teaching and learning. The
school counselor and classroom teachers will collaborate to develop, teach, and
evaluate attendance center curricular goals with emphasis on the following:
(1) Sequentially presented curriculum,
programs, and responsive services that address growth and development of all
students; and
(2) Attainment of
student competencies in academic, career, personal, and social areas.
b. The program will be regularly
reviewed and revised and designed to provide all of the following:
(1) Curriculum that is embedded throughout
the district's overall curriculum and systemically delivered by the school
counselor in collaboration with instructional staff through classroom and group
activities and that consists of structured lessons to help students achieve
desired competencies and to provide all students with the knowledge and skills
appropriate for their developmental levels;
(2) Individual student planning through
ongoing systemic activities designed to help students establish educational and
career goals to develop future plans;
(3) Responsive services through intervention
and curriculum that meet students' immediate and future needs as occasioned by
events and conditions in students' lives and that may require any of the
following: individual or group counseling; consultation with parents, teachers,
and other educators; referrals to other school support services or community
resources; peer helping; and information; and
(4) Systemic support through management
activities that establish, maintain, and enhance the total school counseling
program, including professional development, consultation, collaboration,
program management, and operations.
(10)
Standards for library
programs. The board of directors of each school district shall
establish a kindergarten through grade 12 library program to support the
student achievement goals of the total school curriculum as referenced in Iowa
Code section 256.11(9). The
board of directors of each school district will adopt policies to address
selection and reconsideration of school library materials; confidentiality of
student library records; and legal and ethical use of information resources,
including plagiarism and intellectual property rights.
(11)
Policy declaring harassment and
bullying against state and school policy. Each school and school
district will adopt a policy declaring harassment and bullying against state
and school policy and complying with the terms of Iowa Code section
280.28.
(12)
Policy prohibiting the aiding
and abetting of sexual abuse.
a.
General. The department and each public school district and
area education agency shall adopt policies that prohibit any individual who is
a school employee, contractor, or agent, or any state educational agency or
local educational agency, from assisting a school employee, contractor, or
agent in obtaining a new job, apart from the routine transmission of
administrative and personnel files, if the individual or agency knows, or has
probable cause to believe, that such school employee, contractor, or agent
engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student in violation of the
law.
b.
Exception.
The requirements of paragraph 12.3(12)
"a" do not apply if all
of the following conditions are met.
(1) The
information giving rise to probable cause has been properly reported to a law
enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the alleged misconduct; and has been
properly reported to any other authorities as required by federal, state, or
local law, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
(20 U.S.C.
1681 et seq.) and the regulations
implementing such title under
Part 106 of Title 34, Code of Federal
Regulations, or any succeeding regulations.
(2) The matter has been officially closed or
the prosecutor or police with jurisdiction over the alleged misconduct have
investigated the allegations and notified school officials that there is
insufficient information to establish probable cause that the school employee,
contractor, or agent engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student
in violation of the law; or the school employee, contractor, or agent has been
charged with, and acquitted or otherwise exonerated of, the alleged misconduct;
or the case or investigation remains open and there have been no charges filed
against, or indictment of, the school employee, contractor, or agent within
four years of the date on which the information was reported to a law
enforcement agency.
(13)
Display of United States flag,
Iowa state flag, Pledge of Allegiance. Iowa Code section
280.5 is incorporated by this
reference.