1. The department shall create a therapeutic classroom incentive grant program to provide competitive grants to school districts for the establishment of therapeutic classrooms.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 256.25

  • Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Department: means the department of education. See Iowa Code 256.2
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • School: means an agency of the state or political subdivision of the state, individual, partnership, company, firm, society, trust, association, corporation, or any combination which meets any of the following criteria:
     a. See Iowa Code 261B.2
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • State board: means the state board of education. See Iowa Code 256.2
  • Student: means a person who enrolls in or seeks to enroll in a course of instruction offered or conducted by a school. See Iowa Code 261B.2
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. A school district, which may collaborate and partner with one or more school districts, area education agencies, accredited nonpublic schools, nonprofit agencies, and institutions that provide children’s mental health services, located in mental health and disability services regions providing children’s behavioral health services in accordance with chapter 331, subchapter III, part 6, may apply for a grant under this program to establish a therapeutic classroom in the school district in accordance with this section.
 3. The department shall develop a grant application and selection and evaluation criteria. Selection criteria shall include a method for prioritizing grant applications submitted by school districts. First priority shall be given to applications submitted by school districts that submitted an application pursuant to this section for the previous fiscal year. Second priority shall be given to applications submitted by school districts that, pursuant to subsection 2, are collaborating and partnering with one or more school districts, area education agencies, accredited nonpublic schools, nonprofit agencies, or institutions that provide mental health services for children. Third priority shall be given to applications submitted by school districts located in mental health and disability services regions providing behavioral health services for children in accordance with chapter 331, subchapter III, part 6. Grant awards shall be distributed as equitably as possible among small, medium, and large school districts. For purposes of this subsection, a small school district is a district with an actual enrollment of fewer than six hundred pupils; a medium school district is a district with an actual enrollment that is at least six hundred pupils, but less than two thousand five hundred pupils; and a large school district is a district with an actual enrollment of two thousand five hundred or more pupils.
 4. a. The department may disburse moneys contained in the therapeutic classroom incentive fund as grants to school districts for the establishment of therapeutic classrooms.

 b. The total amount of funding awarded for the establishment of therapeutic classrooms for a fiscal year shall not exceed an amount equivalent to the state cost per pupil multiplied by weighting of one and one-half pupil calculated for one hundred fifty pupils.
 c. Grant awards shall be made for the establishment of therapeutic classrooms with one to five pupils, classrooms with six to ten pupils, and classrooms with eleven to fifteen pupils.
 d. For purposes of calculating a therapeutic classroom grant award, the department shall determine grant awards based on the following:

 (1) For classrooms with one to five pupils, using the state cost per pupil multiplied by weighting of one and one-half pupil multiplied by five.
 (2) For classrooms with six to ten pupils, using the state cost per pupil multiplied by weighting of one and one-half pupil multiplied by ten.
 (3) For classrooms with eleven to fifteen pupils, using the state cost per pupil multiplied by weighting of one and one-half pupil multiplied by fifteen.
 e. Grant moneys credited to the therapeutic classroom incentive fund established under subsection 5 shall be distributed after December 31 but before the start of the school calendar for start-up costs for a new therapeutic classroom in the fall semester.
 5. A therapeutic classroom incentive fund is established in the state treasury under the control of the department. Moneys credited to the fund are appropriated to the department for purposes of distributing grants under this section. The department may accept gifts, grants, bequests, and other private contributions, as well as state or federal moneys, for deposit in the fund. Moneys available in the therapeutic classroom incentive fund for a fiscal year shall be distributed as grants pursuant to this section. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated for subsequent fiscal years.
 6. Placement of a child requiring special education under chapter 256B in a therapeutic classroom, whether or not the school district operating such classroom receives funds under this section, is subject to the provisions of chapter 256B, to the administrative rules adopted by the state board for purposes of chapter 256B, and to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., and shall not violate such laws, rules, or regulations.
 7. For purposes of this section, “therapeutic classroom” means a classroom designed for the purpose of providing support for any student whose emotional, social, or behavioral needs interfere with the student’s ability to be successful in the current educational environment, with or without supports, until the student is able to successfully return to the student’s current education environment, with or without supports, including but not limited to the general education classroom.
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