Iowa House approves limited home rule for schools

DES MOINES - School boards would have limited home rule authority allowing them to 'liberally construe” Iowa Code and administrative rules in overseeing school operations under legislation approved Wednesday by the Iowa House.

Before the bill was approved 61-37, Democrats argued House File 573 is nothing more than a 'feel good” bill that gives school boards little additional authority and could be undone in future legislative sessions.

'I really would like to be able to give our school districts more leniency in some of the decisions. However, I don't believe this bill is the way to go,” said Rep. Amy Nielsen, D-North Liberty. 'For one thing, the only way you can grant true home rule is by constitutional amendment.”

Bill manager Rep. Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia, pointed out that the Legislature sometimes has taken years 'to resolve simple questions such as is a school bus engine is a piece of transportation equipment.”

For 149 years, Forristall said, school boards have operated under Dillon's Rule. Under the rule, school boards are allowed to use only those powers and abilities that are specifically allowed by law. Uses of funds and applications of programs are subject to strict interpretations based on Iowa Code and administrative rule, and school districts are bound by the narrowest interpretation of law, according to the Legislative Services Agency.

'It's time to set the schools free,” Forristall said.

Under limited home rule, the LSA said, districts still would be subject to Iowa Code and administrative rule, in addition to federal regulations. It is unclear how the application of administrative rules may shift under varying interpretations at the school district level.

The bill would give districts the ability to 'liberally construe” Iowa Code. That means school districts would be able to make policy decisions on things not specifically outlined in state law.

School boards would not have the authority to levy any tax outside those previously allowed, though they could raise fees.

Nielsen wondered whether a school board could levy a 'punishment fee” on students who get in trouble or parking fees and others that are allowed, but rarely levied.

Nielsen also noted that the LSA found that a 'more liberal interpretation of statute regarding discretionary levies … may cause school districts to levy more property taxes to utilize all of those funds.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com