Education

signed · Iowa · House May 6, 2026

HF 703: A bill for an act concerning information regarding certain state and federal student loan programs.

HF 703, the "Increasing Student Financial Aid Awareness Act," requires Iowa's Student Loan Liquidity Corporation to provide the Bureau of Iowa College Aid with annual estimates of federal direct PLUS loan interest rates and comparisons between state and federal loan terms. The Bureau must analyze this data to determine if Iowa's college family or partnership loans offer lower interest rates than federal PLUS loans. If they do, the Bureau must publish a clear online statement explaining this difference and require all Iowa colleges to include this information in financial aid offers to students. This bill directly affects Iowa students, families, and higher education institutions by improving transparency around loan options and ensuring they receive standardized comparisons of state and federal student loan rates.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationPromotes educational access by informing students of lower-cost state loan options, reducing financial barriers to higher education85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

passed · Iowa · House May 2, 2026

HF 2791: A bill for an act permitting an exchange of the cash reserve levy for another local levy within the school budget for certain school districts to correct for an extreme circumstance and including effective date provisions.

This bill allows certain Iowa school districts to temporarily exceed their usual cash reserve tax limits for the 2026-2027 school year if a single property tax correction caused their taxable value to drop by at least $100 million. To do this, the districts must offset the extra money raised for reserves by reducing other local property taxes, such as the management levy, ensuring the total tax amount remains within legal limits. The process requires the district to notify the Department of Management, which will then adjust the official tax rates to reflect these changes. This measure is designed to help districts maintain financial stability after a significant administrative error in property valuation.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill allows school districts to correct extreme tax valuation drops by temporarily increasing reserve levies, ensuring fiscal stability and protecting school budgets.85% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill allows districts to exceed reserve limits to correct tax drops, ensuring financial stability and protecting school budgets.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

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passed · Iowa · House Apr 29, 2026

HF 2759: A bill for an act relating to the payment of claims associated with nonpublic school pupil transportation, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

This bill increases the state funding limit for nonpublic school pupil transportation claims from approximately $8.997 million to $9.184 million for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The additional funds are specifically designated to reimburse claims that were not previously paid because they were submitted late due to administrative errors. It directs the Iowa Department of Education to use these new moneys to process those delayed reimbursements and takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill increases state funding limits to reimburse delayed transportation claims for nonpublic schools, directly advancing fiscal management and appropriations.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill increases funding for nonpublic school transportation claims to reimburse previously unpaid delayed reimbursements.95% confidence ✓ TransportationSupports TransportationBill increases funding for nonpublic school pupil transportation to reimburse delayed claims, directly supporting transportation services.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

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passed · Iowa · House Mar 31, 2026

HF 2652: A bill for an act relating to play-based learning in preschool, prekindergarten, and kindergarten.

HF 2652 requires Iowa schools serving preschool through kindergarten to incorporate specific amounts of play-based learning into daily instruction. It mandates at least 90 minutes of play-based learning per half school day and 180 minutes per full day for prekindergarten programs, and at least 45 minutes daily for kindergarten programs. The bill defines "play-based learning" as child-directed activities promoting development through play, excluding recess or physical education. This applies to all public school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools offering these grades.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationMandates specific play-based learning time in early education curriculum, advancing developmental teaching methods for preschool/kindergarten programs.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

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passed · Iowa · House Mar 30, 2026

HF 2725: A bill for an act relating to education reporting, including the sharing of unit-level wage data for secondary and postsecondary program evaluation, the establishment of the condition of education report, consolidating certain required reports, modifying responsibilities for the future ready Iowa last-dollar scholarship report, modifying Iowa workforce development data-sharing provisions, and creating a return on investment reporting system to be overseen by the Iowa student aid commission.

HF 2725 requires Iowa's Department of Workforce Development to share unit-level wage data (like job titles, earnings, and locations) with the Department of Education for evaluating secondary and postsecondary education programs. It establishes an annual "condition of education report" due April 1 each year, consolidating multiple existing reports, and creates a statewide return on investment (ROI) reporting system overseen by the Iowa Student Aid Commission. Public colleges and universities must submit program-level data - including costs, completion rates, graduate earnings, and job placement - to the Commission for public publication. Institutions failing to comply may lose eligibility for state financial aid programs, though federal aid remains unaffected. The bill directly affects public colleges, students seeking program transparency, and state agencies managing education data.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationEstablishes data-driven reporting systems (condition of education report, ROI tracking) to evaluate program effectiveness and inform education funding decisions, strengthening accountability and outcomes.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

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passed · Iowa · House Mar 26, 2026

HF 2363: A bill for an act relating to English learners, including by modifying provisions related to open enrollment and the payment of costs incurred in transporting English learners to nonpublic schools, and including applicability provisions.

This bill modifies Iowa's funding and open enrollment rules for English learners. It adds extra per-student funding (26% for intensive, 21% for intermediate learners) to cover both instructional costs and transportation to nonpublic schools. For open enrollment requests involving English learners, the receiving district must confirm it has appropriate program capacity and classroom space before approving the transfer. The home district must pay the receiving district any difference between actual special instruction costs and the standard funding amount, with these rules applying to requests filed after the bill's effective date.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationAdds 21-26% extra per-student funding for English learners' instruction/transportation and ensures program capacity for open enrollment, directly advancing educational access and support for this student group.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

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passed · Iowa · House Mar 26, 2026

HF 2547: A bill for an act relating to education, including by modifying provisions related to career academies, the collective statewide articulation agreement between community colleges and the state board of regents, the district-to-community college sharing or concurrent enrollment program, and individual career and academic plans, and by requiring the state board of regents to submit a report related to establishing a performance-based funding model for the institutions of higher education governed by the state board of regents.

HF 2547 modifies Iowa's education policies to strengthen career pathways and college credit transfer. It requires community colleges to develop regional high-demand job lists (up to five per college) for career planning, updates career academy standards to ensure secondary courses align with postsecondary programs, and revises the statewide articulation agreement to allow seamless transfer of career-technical credits from community colleges to four-year institutions without uniform credit limits. The bill also adjusts funding weights for high school students taking community college courses (70% for career/tech courses, 50% for liberal arts) and mandates the state board of regents to report on implementing performance-based funding for public higher education institutions.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill strengthens career pathways, ensures course alignment, enables seamless credit transfer, and requires job-focused planning - directly advancing educational access and program quality per bill summary and subjects.92% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

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passed · Iowa · House Mar 26, 2026

HF 2546: A bill for an act modifying the duties of the department of education related to electronic systems, and including effective date provisions.

HF 2546 requires Iowa's Department of Education to create a statewide data collection system for schools. The system must standardize electronic data sharing between school districts, nonpublic schools, and area education agencies, ensuring student data privacy while enabling seamless transfer of records like enrollment, assessments, and special education information. It also mandates modernizing the Department's electronic systems, including a portal by 2027 for schools to validate data, check enrollments, and access a live data dictionary. This bill directly affects all Iowa school districts, nonpublic schools, area education agencies, and the Department of Education by changing how they handle and share student data. The law specifies the system must collect only necessary data, maintain data ownership with schools, and avoid requiring purchase of specific software.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationRequires statewide data system for standardized school data sharing, enhancing record transfer and privacy, supporting educational administration efficiency.85% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyMandates student data privacy protections in statewide electronic systems, directly aligning with tech privacy safeguards per bill summary.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

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passed · Iowa · House Mar 19, 2026

HF 2336: A bill for an act relating to education, including by modifying provisions related to the protected speech and expression rights of students enrolled in school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools and the duties of the department of education, and providing civil penalties.

HF 2336 requires Iowa school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools to comply with federal standards for student religious, political, and ideological expression. The bill mandates that schools annually distribute federal guidance on religious expression to all staff, offer related professional development, adopt model policies, and certify annual compliance. Schools that fail to follow these requirements face civil penalties of at least $5,000 per violation. This legislation directly affects all public K-12 schools in Iowa by establishing specific administrative duties to ensure student speech rights align with federal law.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill mandates schools to comply with federal standards protecting student religious, political, and ideological expression, requiring policies and training to safeguard these rights, thus supporting educational freedom and student expression in sc...90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

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passed · Iowa · House Mar 19, 2026

HF 2492: A bill for an act providing for supplementary weighting for school districts that share career and technical education instructors.

HF 2492 adds career and technical education (CTE) instructors to the list of positions eligible for shared operational functions that qualify for extra school district funding. School districts sharing CTE instructors (defined as licensed teachers with specific endorsements in grades 5-12) with other districts or political subdivisions for at least 20% of the school year will receive a supplementary funding boost of three pupils per shared function. This change expands existing funding rules, which previously covered roles like counselors and special education directors, to specifically include CTE instructors. The bill aims to redirect resources toward student programming by incentivizing shared staffing arrangements.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill expands school finance by adding supplementary funding for districts sharing CTE instructors, directly increasing state appropriations for public education.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill provides supplementary funding (3 pupils per shared function) for districts sharing CTE instructors, expanding school finance support for career education programs and teacher collaboration.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Education

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