Government Oversight – Week of April 7, 2011

STAFF CONTACTS: Bridget Godes, Hannah Garden-Monheit

SSB 1202 - Transparency and accountability for education-related organizations
COMMITTEE ACTION:

SSB 1202, as amended, establishes new transparency and accountability requirements for education-related organizations whose dues or fees are paid out of local school districts’ budgets, including but not limited to the Iowa Association of School Boards, the Urban Education Network, Iowa School Finance Information Services and the School Administrators of Iowa.

The requirements for these types of organizations include:
** Organizations must be audited annually. The organization must establish an audit committee and allow auditors unrestricted access to the committee and all records.
** Organization employees are afforded the same whistleblower protections as state employees, making it a simple misdemeanor to retaliate against an employee who reports abuse to a board member, public official, law enforcement agency or auditor. Whistleblower protections may also be enforced through civil action. New employees must be notified of these whistleblower protections.
** Organizations must provide training to board members regarding their fiduciary duties.
** Organizations must publish annually on their Web site the fees paid and services received by each school district, net profits, the top ten highest paid employees’ compensation and reimbursements, as well as all lobbyists’ compensation and reimbursements. The report must also be submitted to the Iowa Department of Education, the General Assembly and the Oversight Committee.
** Organizations must submit to the General Assembly and the Oversight Committee copies of all grant reports provided to the U.S. Department of Education.
** Organizations must comply with open meetings and open records laws. Exemptions are provided for personnel matters, consultation with attorneys, and business strategy or marketing information that serve no public information purpose and would give competitors an advantage.

The requirements for school boards paying fees or dues to these types of organizations are as follows: schools must report annually to the local community and the Iowa Department of Education the amount of dues or fees paid and the services received. [4/6: short form (Kibbie excused)]