School Administrators of Iowa Important Dates and Numbers Guide

This reference guide is a compilation of significant school dates, laws, and regulations taken directly from the Iowa Code and Iowa Administrative Code. This compilation is not all-inclusive of legal and regulatory matters that are important to school administrators in Iowa, but rather is a quick reference guide for some of the most common areas of question. Laws and regulations change frequently, so you are encouraged to double-check the applicable sections and/or seek assistance from your school attorney. This reference guide is not intended as legal advice and should not be treated as such. (Download as a handout)

Important Dates (additional Iowa Department of Education deadlines are available online)

July

1 - The school year shall begin on the first day of July. … (Iowa Code §279.10)

31 - Deadline for Iowa Department of Education to identify whether a school shall remain identified as a persistently dangerous school. (IAC 281-11.3(2)

August

1 - At the end of the school year, each institution shall calculate the average daily attendance for students served pursuant to an IEP and the average daily attendance for students not served pursuant to an IEP. This information shall be reported with the accounting for the actual program costs submitted to the department by August 1. 281 (IAC 34.10(218)) Each institution shall submit an accounting for the actual cost of the program to the department by August 1 of the following school year on forms provided by the department. (IAC 34.11(218))

1 - Date by which applicable school districts must file progress report with School Budget Review Committee, preceding October 1, on which date district intends to request supplementary weighting for whole-grade sharing. (281 IAC 97.5(6))

26 - The parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian of a child of compulsory attendance age who does not enroll the child in a public school or Iowa accredited nonpublic school shall complete a report in duplicate on forms created by the department of education and provided by the resident public school district, indicating the parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian’s intent to provide or arrange for competent private instruction for the child for each school year. The report shall be filed with the school board secretary by August 26, except as otherwise provided by these rules. (IAC 281-31.2(1))

31 - At a regular or special meeting held on or after August 31 and prior to the organizational meeting held after the regular school election, the board of each school corporation shall meet, examine the books of and settle with the secretary and treasurer for the year ending on the preceding June 30, and transact other business as necessary. The treasurer at the time of settlement shall furnish the board with a statement from each depository showing the balance then on deposit in the depository. If the secretary or treasurer fails to make proper reports for the settlement, the board shall take action to obtain the balance information. (Iowa Code §279.33)

September

1 - a parent/guardian requesting to enroll a kindergarten pupil in a district other than the district of residence may make such application on or before September 1 of that school year. (IAC 281-17.7)

15 - Students must be 5 yrs old on or before this date to enroll in kindergarten. (Iowa Code §282.6) A child who has reached the age of six and is under sixteen years of age by September 15 is of compulsory attendance age. If a student turns 16 yrs old on or after this date, s/he is of compulsory age for the remainder of the school year. (Iowa Code §299.1A)

15 - The parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian desiring dual enrollment for a student receiving CPI shall notify the district of residence of the child not later than September 15 of the school year for which dual enrollment is sought. (IAC 281-31.6(1)) A child under dual enrollment must receive at least one-quarter of the child’s instruction by way of competent private instruction and no more than three-quarters by way of the district’s academic programs. (IAC 281-31.6(2))

30 - By September 30 of each school year, all districts shall notify parents of the following: a. Open enrollment deadlines; b. Transportation assistance; c. That within 30 days of a denial of an open enrollment request by a district board of education, the parent/guardian may file an appeal with the state board of education only if the open enrollment request was based on repeated acts of harassment or a serious health condition of the student that the district cannot adequately address; and that all other denials must be appealed to the district court in the county in which the primary business office of the district is located; and d. Possible loss of athletic eligibility for open enrollment pupils. This notification may be published in a school newsletter, a newspaper of general circulation, or a parent handbook provided to all patrons of the district. This information shall also be provided to any parent/guardian of a pupil who enrolls in the district during the school year. (IAC 281-17.3(2))

October

1 - Actual enrollment count day, or the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. (Iowa Code §257.6(1)(a))

15 – Deadline for submission of Project EASIER (Electronic Access System for Iowa Education Records) to DE.

15 – Deadline for submission of Certified Enrollment to DE.

30 – Deadline for Certified Enrollment verification. 

March

1 - On or before March 1 of the school year preceding the school year for which open enrollment is requested, a parent/guardian shall formally notify both the district of residence and the receiving district of the request for open enrollment. The request for open enrollment shall be made on forms provided by the department of education. (IAC 281-17.3(1))

15 - School districts may not offer contracts to teachers before March 15. (Iowa Code §279.13)

April

15 - Date by which time the school board of directors must certify a school district’s budget and send it to the county auditor. (Iowa Code §24.17)

25 - Deadline for residents to protest a school district’s budget. (Iowa Code §24.27)

30 - The superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall notify the teacher not later than April 30 [or earlier if set forth in a district’s master contract] that the superintendent will recommend in writing to the board at a regular or special meeting of the board, held not later than May 15, that the teacher’s continuing contract be terminated effective at the end of the current school year. (Iowa Code §279.15)

May

1 - Deadline for administrators to submit resignations to employing district, unless the date for return of contracts is later. (Iowa Code §279.24)

1 - A child who is at least seven years old by September 15 and who begins a program of competent private instruction and is subject to the annual assessment requirement shall be administered a baseline evaluation for the purposes of obtaining educational data. The baseline evaluation and annual assessment shall be taken by May 1. (IAC 281-31.8)

15 - If a school board determines that it should terminate a probationary administrator's contract, the school board shall notify the administrator not later than May 15 that the contract will not be renewed beyond the current year. The notice shall be in writing by letter, personally delivered, or mailed by certified mail. On or before May 15, non-probationary administrators shall be notified in writing by a letter personally delivered or mailed by certified mail that the school board has voted to consider termination of the contract. (Iowa Code §279.24)

June

1 - The board of the receiving district shall act on an open enrollment request no later than June 1 of the school year preceding the school year for which the request is made. (IAC 281-17.3(2))

30 - The district shall annually report to the department of education by June 30 the names of all resident children who are subject to an annual CPI assessment and who either failed to make adequate progress or whose parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian failed to comply with the assessment requirements of the compulsory attendance law. (IAC 281-31.5(1)(d))

30 - The Board of Educational Examiners will not find that a practitioner abandoned a contract if: The practitioner obtained a release from the employing board before discontinuing services under the contract; or (2) The practitioner provided notice to the employing board no later than the latest of the following dates: 1. The practitioner ’s last work day of the school year; 2. The date set for return of the contract as specified in statute; or 3. June 30. (IAC 282 – 25.3(5)b.(2))

Important Numbers

1 year - Teachers’ contracts may not be longer than one year in length. (Iowa Code §279.13)

2 years - The BoEE grants beginning teacher’s initial licenses that are 2 years in length. (IAC 282 – 13.6)

2 years - Number of years that a beginning teacher is initially in mentoring and induction. (Iowa Code §284.5)

2 years - Contracts for administrators other than superintendents may be for up to two (2) years in length. (Iowa Code §279.23)

2 years - Administrators employed in a school district for less than two (2) consecutive years are probationary administrators. However, a school board may waive the probationary period for any administrator who has previously served a probationary period in another school district and the school board may extend the probationary period for an additional year with the consent of the administrator. (Iowa Code §279.24)

2 years - [S]chool corporation may transfer money from the emergency fund to any other fund of the school corporation for the purpose of meeting deficiencies in a fund arising within two years of a disaster as defined in section 29C.2, subsection 1. However, a transfer under this paragraph "b" shall not be made without the written approval of the school budget review committee. (Iowa Code §24.6(2)(b))

2x - Pupil bus safety instruction. At least twice during each school year, each pupil who is transported in a school vehicle shall be instructed in safe riding practices and participate in emergency evacuation drills. (IAC 281 - 43.40)

2 miles - Elementary students shall be entitled to transportation only if they live more than two miles from the school designated for attendance. (Iowa Code §285.1(1)(a))

3 miles - High school students shall be entitled to transportation only if they live more than three miles from the school designated for attendance. (Iowa Code §285.1(1)(b))

3 years - The first three consecutive years of employment of a teacher in the same school district are a probationary period. However, if the teacher has successfully completed a probationary period of employment for another school district located in Iowa, the probationary period in the current district of employment shall not exceed one year. A board of directors may waive the probationary period for any teacher who previously has served a probationary period in another school district and the board may extend the probationary period for an additional year with the consent of the teacher. (Iowa Code §279.19)

3 years - Teachers and administrators should receive comprehensive evaluations at least every three years. (Iowa Code Ch. 284 & 284A)

3 years - Superintendents’ contracts may be up to 3 years in length, as long as another superintendent is not still under contract. (Code §279.20)

3 school days - The student’s parent or guardian must be provided a written copy of the [physical confinement and restraint] documentation . . ., which shall be postmarked within three school days of the occurrence. The student’s parent or guardian may elect, in writing, to receive the communication required by this numbered paragraph via electronic mail or facsimile transmission. (IAC 281 – 103.7(7)) The public school, accredited nonpublic school, or area education agency shall attempt to notify a child’s parent or guardian on the same day the child is subjected to physical restraint or physical confinement and detention; (IAC 281 – 103.7(6))

5 yrs old - Students are entitled to a tuition-free education if they turn 5 years old on or before September 15. (Iowa Code §282.6)

5 days of instruction - School board policy may excuse graduating seniors from 5 days of instruction after school or school district requirements for graduation have been met. (IAC 281 – 12.1(7))

5 school days - Within five school days of receipt of a report of physical abuse, the designated [Level I] investigator shall conduct and complete an informal investigation after reviewing the report to determine that the allegations, if true, support the exercise of jurisdiction pursuant to rule 102.3. (IAC 281 – 102.8(2))

5 consecutive days - A substitute authorization allows an individual to substitute in a middle school, junior high school, or high school for no more than five consecutive days in one job assignment. (IAC 282 – 22.2)

5” - Knives GREATER THAN 5 inches are classified as “dangerous weapons” in Iowa. (Iowa Code §702.7)(shorter lengths are still weapons)

5 hours - Minimum required amount of instructional time during a school day for grades 1 - 12. (IAC 281-12.1(9))

6 yrs old - Students are of compulsory attendance age if they turn 6 years old on or before September 15. (Iowa Code §299.1A)

18 yrs old - Students who are not attending school may not receive a driver’s license until they are 18 years old. (Iowa Code §299.1B)

21 yrs old - Students are entitled to a tuition-free education until they turn 21 years old. (Iowa Code §282.6 – see exceptions for students over 21)

27 hours - if the total hours of instructional time for the first four consecutive days equal at least 27 1/2 hours because parent-teacher conferences are held beyond the regular school day, a school or school district may record zero hours of instructional time on the fifth consecutive school day as a minimum school day. (IAC 281-12.1(9))

30 consecutive calendar days - If at the end of any grading period a contestant is given a failing grade in any course for which credit is awarded, the contestant is ineligible to dress for and compete in the next occurring interscholastic athletic contests and competitions in which the contestant is a contestant for 30 consecutive calendar days. (IAC 281 – 36.15(2)(c)(2))

60 minutes - The riding time, under normal conditions, from the designated stop to the attendance center, or on the return trip, shall not exceed 60 minutes for elementary pupils. (IAC 281 – 43.1(3))

60 minutes - If a period of physical confinement and detention exceeds the shorter of 60 minutes or the school’s typical class period, staff members shall evaluate the continued need for physical confinement and detention, shall obtain administrator (or designee) approval for any continued confinement and detention beyond the initial periodic reevaluation, and shall comply with any administrator (or designee) directives concerning any continued confinement and detention. (IAC 281 – 103.6(5))

75 minutes - The riding time, under normal conditions, from the designated stop to the attendance center, or on the return trip, shall not exceed 75 minutes for high school pupils. (These limits may be waived upon request of the parents.) (IAC 281 – 43.1(3))

90 consecutive school days - General transfer rule. A student who transfers from a school in another state or country or from one member or associate member school to another member or associate member school shall be ineligible to compete in interscholastic athletics for a period of 90 consecutive school days, as defined in rule 281—12.1(256), exclusive of summer enrollment, unless one of the exceptions listed in paragraph 36.15(3)“a” applies. The period of ineligibility applies only to varsity level contests and competitions. (“Varsity” means the highest level of competition offered by one school or school district against the highest level of competition offered by an opposing school or school district.) In ruling upon the eligibility of transfer students, the executive board shall consider the factors motivating student changes in residency. Unless otherwise provided in these rules, a student intending to establish residency must show that the student is physically present in the district for the purpose of making a home and not solely for school or athletic purposes. (IAC 281 – 36.15(3))

90 days - A substitute license is valid for five years and for not more than 90 days of teaching in one assignment during any one school year. A school district administrator may file a written request with the board for an extension of the 90-day limit in one assignment on the basis of documented need and benefit to the instructional program. The board will review the request and provide a written decision either approving or denying the request. (IAC 282 - 13.16(2))

148 days - Parents/guardians of students receiving Competent Private Instruction (CPI) must ensure the designated period of instruction is at least 148 days per academic year. (IAC 281 - 31.5(1)(c))

180 school days - School calendars must have a minimum of 180 school days. (IAC 281 – 12.1(7))

300 feet - A sex offender who has been convicted of a sex offense against a minor shall not . . . loiter within three hundred feet of the real property boundary of a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school, unless enrolled as a student at the school. [Such offenders must otherwise meet a statutory exception.] (Iowa Code §692A.113)