Education

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jun 16, 2025

SF 518: A bill for an act requiring school employees to be put on administrative leave in certain specified circumstances.

SF 518 requires Iowa school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools to immediately place certain employees on administrative leave (temporary leave without pay) when two specific conditions occur: (1) an employee has a pending child abuse case before the Board of Educational Examiners with a probable cause finding, or (2) an employee was involved in a criminal/civil case where a court found negligence and the school is investigating. Employees must remain on leave until the Board of Educational Examiners case or school investigation concludes. This law directly affects school employees facing these specific legal or disciplinary circumstances. It creates a mandatory leave requirement for school employers in these defined scenarios.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationRequires administrative leave for employees with child abuse/criminal negligence findings to protect student safety, aligning with educational protection goals.90% confidence

Track

signed · Iowa · House May 27, 2025

HF 835: A bill for an act relating to school personnel training, including by implementing provisions related to emergency care planning, authorizations for assisting, and limitations of liability concerning students with epilepsy or seizure disorder, and requiring the department of education to convene a health care-related training for school personnel work group.

HF 835 requires schools to train personnel on emergency care for students with epilepsy or seizure disorders. It mandates specific emergency care planning, authorizes staff to assist students during seizures, and limits their liability when acting in good faith. The bill also directs the Department of Education to form a work group to develop health care training standards for school staff. These changes directly affect school personnel and students with seizure disorders across the state.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationMandates school staff training for student seizure emergencies, enhancing safety and access for students with epilepsy, directly supporting educational environment95% confidence

in committee · Iowa · House May 15, 2025

HF 623: A bill for an act relating to early childhood education and care, including by modifying provisions related to the statewide preschool program, the child development coordinating council, programs for at-risk children, the responsibilities of the department of education, the early childhood Iowa initiative, and the state child care assistance program, and establishing the child care continuum partnership grants pilot program within the department of health and human services.

HF 623 proposes changes to Iowa's early childhood education and care programs. It significantly modifies the statewide preschool program by allowing community-based providers to directly participate and receive state funding, independent of school district partnerships. The bill establishes new requirements for these directly participating community providers, including standards for instruction, data collection, and professional development. It also clarifies how state preschool foundation aid will be allocated and used, specifying it cannot fund facility construction. Additionally, the bill establishes a new child care continuum partnership grants pilot program within the Department of Health and Human Services and modifies other early childhood initiatives.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationExpands early childhood education access by enabling community providers to directly receive state preschool funding and establish new quality standards, strengthening educational opportunities.92% confidence

Sub-Topics Early Childhood

Track

in committee · Iowa · House May 15, 2025

HF 1009: A bill for an act authorizing the use of revenues from the district management levy to pay costs related to school safety and security and including applicability provisions.

HF 1009 authorizes school districts to use revenues from their existing district management levy for school safety and security purposes. This bill directly affects school districts by expanding the allowable uses for these funds. Specifically, the funds can be used to pay for school safety and security infrastructure, such as weapons detection and door monitoring systems. Additionally, the levy can cover costs for employing or retaining various security personnel, including school resource officers, private security with weapon permits, reserve or peace officers, and individuals with at least two years of law enforcement or security experience. This Act applies to school budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationAuthorizes existing levy funds for school safety infrastructure and personnel, directly enhancing student safety and security in educational settings, which supports learning environments and access.85% confidence

Sub-Topics School Funding School Safety

Track

signed · Iowa · House May 27, 2025

HF 865: A bill for an act modifying provisions related to the harassment or bullying of students enrolled in school districts or accredited nonpublic schools.

HF 865 modifies how Minnesota school districts and accredited nonpublic schools address student harassment or bullying. It updates existing policies to clarify procedures for reporting, investigating, and responding to incidents. The bill directly affects students and school staff by changing the framework for handling these cases within schools. As signed into law on May 27, 2025, it establishes concrete requirements for school districts to follow regarding harassment and bullying prevention and response.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill strengthens student safety protocols by clarifying bullying/harassment reporting and response procedures in schools, directly protecting students and improving school environment.85% confidence

Sub-Topics School Safety

signed · Iowa · House Jun 11, 2025

HF 516: A bill for an act relating to medical residency and fellowship positions, including priority for admission to the university of Iowa’s colleges of medicine and dentistry, and hospitals and clinics.

HF 516 creates priority access for residency and fellowship positions at the University of Iowa’s colleges of medicine and dentistry, directly affecting UI’s medical programs and their affiliated hospitals and clinics. The bill requires state-funded training programs to prioritize applicants from these UI institutions when filling medical residency and fellowship roles. Now law after Governor signed it on June 11, 2025, this policy change aims to strengthen UI’s medical education pipeline without altering broader admission standards for other institutions.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationPrioritizes University of Iowa medical students for residency positions, strengthening its medical education pipeline and directly supporting higher education at a specific institution.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill prioritizes University of Iowa medical residency programs to strengthen healthcare workforce pipeline, directly advancing medical education and future provider capacity per its summary.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Higher Education

passed · Iowa · Senate May 15, 2025

SF 445: A bill for an act relating to early childhood education and care, including by modifying provisions related to the statewide preschool program, the child development coordinating council, programs for at-risk children, the responsibilities of the department of education, the early childhood Iowa initiative, and the state child care assistance program, establishing the child care continuum partnership grants pilot program within the department of health and human services, making appropriations and reducing appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

SF 445 modifies Iowa's early childhood education programs to expand access and improve quality. It allows community-based child care centers to directly participate in the statewide preschool program (rather than only partnering with school districts) and sets new requirements for these centers, including demonstrating readiness for high-quality instruction and participating in data collection. The bill also establishes a new "child care continuum partnership grants pilot program" within the Department of Health and Human Services to support coordinated early care services. These changes affect school districts, community child care providers, and children enrolled in preschool programs, with funding adjustments included to support the modifications.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationExpands preschool access by allowing community child care centers to directly participate, establishes new grants for quality improvement, and modifies programs to enhance early childhood education access and quality.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Early Childhood

Track

signed · Iowa · Senate May 2, 2026

SF 273: A bill for an act relating to mandatory reporting to the board of educational examiners of licensed school employees who engage in grooming behavior toward students.

This bill modifies the definition of "grooming behavior" for which licensed school employees must be reported to the Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE). Currently, "grooming behavior" is defined as actions to entice a student with the intent to engage in a sex act. This bill expands the definition to a "pattern of behavior" intended to entice or entrap a student. The updated definition clarifies that the intent is to "take advantage of such student for the benefit of the individual," which includes engaging in a sex act, but is not limited to it. School administrators remain responsible for reporting disciplinary actions related to this behavior.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationExpands mandatory reporting for staff grooming behavior to better protect students, strengthening school safety protocols and accountability for educators.95% confidence

signed · Iowa · Senate May 6, 2025

SF 277: A bill for an act modifying provisions related to compulsory education, truancy, and chronic absenteeism.

SF 277 is a bill that modifies existing laws related to compulsory education, truancy, and chronic absenteeism. This legislation directly affects students, their parents or guardians, and school districts by altering the legal framework surrounding school attendance requirements. Without the full bill text, specific details on how these provisions are modified, such as changes to definitions or new intervention strategies, cannot be provided.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill modifies compulsory education and truancy laws to address absenteeism, strengthening attendance requirements and school compliance within education framework.85% confidence

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

Sub-Topics Student Financial Aid