Iowa schools do not need to make up days missed over COVID-19

The Iowa legislature on Tuesday morning passed resolutions to pause the legislative sessions for 30 days so the state can work to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The Iowa Senate and House waived the requirement for schools to reschedule days missed due to COVID-19. Any class from scheduled from March 16 to April 12 of 2020 will not need to be made up.

This follows Gov. Kim Reynolds' recommendation to Iowa schools which included cancel classes for four weeks.

Senate File 2408 also included a supplemental appropriation to continue the current budget for July and August 2020, if needed. The spending for these months will be at the current rate of funding in FY 2020 and only go into effect if the Legislature is unable to meet again prior to the end of the fiscal year. However, education funding will increase to reflect the agreement made by the Legislature earlier this year, which provided schools with an additional $99 million.

This resolution includes a $91.8 million supplemental appropriation for this current fiscal year, approximately $525,000 of that amount is appropriated to the State Hygienic Lab for additional COVID-19 testing. The remainder of the $91.8 million is for Medicaid, Hawk-I, and the Glenwood Resource Center. The bill also increases the Governor’s transfer authority between budget line items in the state budget.

The Senate File also gives Gov. Reynolds access to the Economic Emergency Fund (EEF) for 30 days related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

All of these laws are passed as session law. Session law means the policy passed today will be temporary and only to address the current public health situation.