House File 476 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 476 BY JACOBY A BILL FOR An Act establishing the school resource officer grant program 1 within the department of education, making appropriations, 2 and including effective date provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 2315YH (2) 91 jda/jh
H.F. 476 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 256.20 School resource officer 1 grant program appropriation. 2 1. The department shall develop and administer a school 3 resource officer grant program to provide grants to school 4 districts to offset the costs associated with employing, or 5 retaining the services of, one school resource officer, as 6 defined in 34 U.S.C. 10389, for each high school within the 7 school district. 8 2. The state board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 9 to administer this section, including rules relating to grant 10 application materials, eligibility requirements, and award 11 criteria. The state board is responsible for approving or 12 rejecting applications submitted by school districts pursuant 13 to this section. 14 3. Moneys awarded under this section shall be used to 15 supplement, not supplant, existing public funding used by a 16 school district for similar purposes. 17 4. A school resource officer grant program fund is 18 established in the state treasury. The fund shall be 19 administered by the department and shall consist of moneys 20 appropriated by the general assembly and other moneys received 21 by the department for deposit in the fund. The moneys in the 22 fund are appropriated to the department for the school resource 23 officer grant program. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys 24 in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert 25 to the general fund of the state but shall remain available 26 for expenditure for the school resource officer grant program 27 for subsequent fiscal years. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, 28 subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall 29 be credited to the fund. 30 5. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and for each 31 succeeding fiscal year, there is appropriated from the general 32 fund of the state to the school resource officer grant program 33 fund the amount necessary to provide grants to all school 34 districts that submitted an application under this section that 35 -1- LSB 2315YH (2) 91 jda/jh 1/ 2
H.F. 476 was approved by the state board. 1 Sec. 2. EMERGENCY RULES. The state board of education 2 may adopt emergency rules under section 17A.4, subsection 3, 3 and section 17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph b, to implement 4 the provisions of this Act and the rules shall be effective 5 immediately upon filing unless a later date is specified in the 6 rules. Any rules adopted in accordance with this section shall 7 also be published as a notice of intended action as provided 8 in section 17A.4. 9 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 10 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill establishes the school resource officer grant 15 program within the department of education to provide grants 16 to school districts to offset the costs associated with 17 employing, or retaining the services of, one school resource 18 officer, as defined under federal law, for each high school 19 within the school district. The bill requires the state board 20 of education to adopt rules to administer the grant program, 21 including rules relating to grant application materials, 22 eligibility requirements, and award criteria. The state 23 board is responsible for approving or rejecting applications 24 submitted by school districts under the grant program. 25 The bill establishes a school resource officer grant 26 program fund in the state treasury and, beginning July 1, 27 2025, appropriates from the general fund of the state to the 28 school resource officer grant program fund the amount necessary 29 to provide grants to all school districts that submitted an 30 application under the grant program that was approved by the 31 state board of education. 32 The bill allows the state board of education to adopt 33 emergency rules to administer the grant program. 34 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 35 -2- LSB 2315YH (2) 91 jda/jh 2/ 2