House File 2461 requiring an authorization for school business officials (SBOs) was issued by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in 2010, at the urging of practicing school business managers. As directed, the Department of Education (DE), in consultation with the Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE), convened an advisory committee comprised of representatives from the Iowa Association of School Business Officials (IASBO), individuals holding financial leadership roles in small, medium, and large school districts, and a public member from the school budget review committee. The committee reviewed other states' professional organizations and programs regarding authorization of school business officials, determined the best practices for school district business management training programs, and identified and recommended the knowledge and skills necessary to obtain a school business official authorization from the BOEE. A report containing the findings and recommendations was submitted to the State Board of Education. The School Business Officials report may be found on the DE's Legislative Information webpage under Legislative Directed Studies for 2011.
As is the process with other licensing programs with the BOEE, the DE will accredit the program and the BOEE will issue authorizations to those who achieve the requirements of authorized programs. BOEE will sanction organizations to offer renewal credits to SBOs. The administrative rules for the DE are located in Chapter 281.81.
The authorization goes into effect on July 1, 2012. A school business official authorization allows an individual to perform, supervise, and be responsible for the overall financial operations of the local school board. Practicing school business officials employed on June 30, 2012 will not need to meet the requirements for the initial authorization but instead will be granted a standard authorization (valid for three years, expiring on the last day of the practitioner's birth month) after application, fingerprinting and background check have been completed. Renewal activities include child and dependent adult abuse training, completion of four semester hours of credit (or the equivalent of 60 contact hours) within three years with a minimum of one semester hour (or its equivalent) in each year of the authorization.
Iowa School Business Official Standards and Criteria 5-22-12
Persons interested in applying for a School Business Officials authorization should contact the Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE). The contact person within that agency is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .