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Well, the second spring is here (remember the first was back in February) and summer looks like it will begin next week. I hope you all get an opportunity to go out and enjoy the beautiful weather that has finally arrived.
On Tuesday, the House took up Senate File 496, the Governor’s education bill related to parent and student rights. A strike-after amendment supported by the House Education Committee was considered and adopted on the floor, which kept most of the provisions of the original bill and also folded in all or parts of the following:
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HF253 - authorizing students enrolled in charter schools to participate in extracurricular athletic activities provided by the student’s school district of residence.
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HF255 - modifying requirements related to teacher intern license programs and licenses and authorizations issued by the board of educational examiners and establishing a temporary initial teaching license to be issued by the board of educational examiners to applicants who complete an alternative teacher certification program.
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HF361 - relating to the dissemination of certain specified materials, including the prohibition of certain specified materials in schools and civil actions to determine obscenity, modifying the responsibilities of the department of education, and providing civil penalties.
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HF370 - relating to entities supported in whole or in part by public moneys, including the sale of public bonds, the duties and responsibilities of the directors and officers of school boards, school districts, the department of education, the department of health and human services, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, community colleges, institutions under the control of the state board of regents, area education agencies, and election commissioners, and the membership and voting units of county and city conference boards.
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HF429 - relating to school districts, including authorizing the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school district to enroll the student in another attendance center within the same school district in certain specified circumstances, requiring school district employees to provide notice to the parents or guardians of students enrolled in the school district if the employee witnesses the student being physically injured, harassed, or bullied, and including effective date provisions.
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HF430 - relating to education, including requirements related to mandatory reporters, a process for investigating complaints against school employees, and the responsibilities of the department of education, school districts, charter schools, accredited nonpublic schools, and the board of educational examiners.
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HF597 - relating to education, including modifying provisions related to school district library programs and the educational program provided to students enrolled in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools.
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HF608 - relating to school personnel training, emergency care planning, authorizations for assisting, and limitations of liability concerning students with epilepsy or a seizure disorder.
The bill passed out of the House by a vote of 55-42. Because the House amended the version passed by the Senate, it will return to the Senate for consideration of the House amendments.
In the Senate, the Appropriations Committee moved seven appropriations bills through subcommittee and committee this week, including the education appropriations bill - SF560. None of the bills include specific line-item appropriations (the bills are serving as shells into which these amounts will be added later through floor amendment), but the bills introduced by the committee do align with the new organizational structure of executive branch agencies stemming from the Governor’s alignment bill, SF514, which was signed into law on Tuesday.
And finally, I updated the document I shared previously that lists inactive legislation to reflect the current status of bills following the second legislative funnel. A couple comments on the list - 1) it is a cumulative list showing legislation that is inactive following both funnels; and 2) note that just because legislation is currently inactive does not mean the contents of the bill won’t pop back up before the end of session.
By way of reminder, there are numerous resources available on the Iowa Legislature’s website, including the option to watch floor debate in both Chambers (using the “live” video options toward the top of the landing page). Also refer to the legislative resources page on the Department’s website for additional information. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.
Eric St Clair
Legislative Liaison
Iowa Department of Education
Grimes State Office Building
515-326-0274
eric.stclair@iowa.gov
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