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.
HF 2685 establishes Iowa's first statewide standards for student instructional technology in elementary schools (K-5). It limits digital instruction to 60 minutes daily, excluding uses like IEP-required technology, teacher demonstrations, assessments, and computer science classes. School districts must adopt written policies detailing daily limits, digital tools used, and parental opt-out rights for reduced screen time, and publish these policies online. The bill also requires transparency around one-to-one device programs, including data practices and parental choice options, but excludes online learning programs.
HF 2538 modifies Iowa's school performance grading system and student discipline rules. It requires schools to calculate performance grades using metrics like safety efforts (including suspending students for "disorderly conduct" like threats or classroom disruptions), academic growth, attendance, and parental engagement. The bill authorizes teachers to immediately exclude disruptive students from their classrooms and request principal involvement, with specific rules for repeat offenses (e.g., three exclusions in 30 days triggering suspension). It also mandates that charter and innovation zone schools follow the same discipline procedures as traditional school districts and allows teachers to request Individualized Education Program (IEP) team meetings for students with behavioral issues.
SF 2329 modifies Iowa's area education agencies (AEAs), which provide educational services to schools across the state. The bill requires AEAs to adjust their boundaries to avoid splitting school districts and to align with school district mergers, while mandating that they offer educational services to accredited public and nonpublic schools at least comparable to those available in 1974. It also establishes new budget rules requiring AEAs to submit annual budgets for approval by the Department of Education and the State Board of Education, and caps AEA administrator salaries at 125% of the average superintendent salary in their region. Additionally, the bill creates a special education division within AEAs led by a director appointed by the Department of Education to oversee special education services.
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.
HF 2003 requires Iowa's Department of Education to create a pilot program where one rural school district and one urban school district (meeting specific population criteria) must establish attendance centers for students needing special education or struggling with behavioral issues that prevent success in regular classrooms. The program mandates annual reporting on student participation, academic progress, and feedback from students, parents, and teachers, with the Department compiling these reports for the legislature. It redirects 48% of a school district's existing special education funds toward this pilot program starting in 2026, instead of using them for standard special education services. The pilot runs until July 1, 2031, and applies only to the designated districts.
SF 2080 requires Iowa school districts to allow Area Education Agency (AEA) employees who provide educational services to students to access relevant school district records. This directly affects AEA staff (such as special education providers) and school districts, ensuring AEA employees can access necessary student information to deliver effective services. The bill mandates that school districts permit this access when needed for educational programs, and resolves disputes by requiring districts to comply if either the AEA's special education director or the school district's special education director directs it. It removes barriers to information sharing while maintaining oversight through designated education leadership. The policy change focuses on enabling coordinated student support without expanding access beyond what is necessary for service delivery.
HF 2143 allows Iowa school districts to use revenues from their district management levy for targeted staff retention incentives. Specifically, it permits payments for retention bonuses or financial incentives for employees in critical roles, those with high-need credentials (like special education, math, science, or career-technical education), and classified staff in essential operational positions. The bill amends Iowa Code Section 298.4 to explicitly include these uses of levy funds. This change applies to school budget years starting July 1, 2026.
This bill modifies Iowa's Teach Iowa Scholar program, which provides up to $4,000 annually (max $20,000 over five years) to teachers in STEM, ESL, special education, or hard-to-staff subjects. It removes the current requirement that applicants rank in the top 25% of their teacher preparation program. Instead, starting July 1, 2026, 20% of funds must go to teachers providing special education, and 50% to teachers in rural school districts (defined as districts with fewer than 1,000 students). These changes directly affect eligible teachers seeking program funding, shifting focus toward rural and special education roles.
SF 2018 requires accredited nonpublic schools in Iowa to directly provide special education services to students with disabilities enrolled in those schools, including identifying needs, developing written plans similar to federal Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and employing licensed staff. Previously, area education agencies provided these services, but the bill shifts this responsibility to nonpublic schools, which must now cover all associated costs and cannot use agency funding for this purpose. The bill ensures students in nonpublic schools receive services comparable to those in public schools, while area education agencies must continue making such services available in the same manner. These changes align with federal special education requirements and update how services are delivered to students in nonpublic settings.
