SF 508 (formerly SSB 1096) - Drug Policy Omnibus Including Opioid Antagonist Distribution (U) - Current law provides that a licensed healthcare professional may prescribe an opioid antagonist to a person in a position to assist. The bill expands this authorization to provide that a licensed health care provider may prescribe an opioid antagonist to a secondary distributor. A secondary distributor is defined as a law enforcement agency, emergency medical services program, fire department, school district, health care provider, licensed behavioral health provider, county health department, or the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill includes secondary distributors and the pharmacist who dispenses the opioid antagonist, provided they have acted reasonably and in good faith, to the list of persons who shall not be liable for any injury arising from the provision, administration, or assistance in the administration of an opioid antagonist. On Senate debate calendar

SF 496 (formerly SSB 1145) - Governor’s Education Policy Omnibus (A) - The bill prohibits instruction related to gender identity and sexual activity in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools in kindergarten through grade three. The bill strikes the requirement that the health curriculum provided in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools in grades 1 through 12 include instruction related to the characteristics of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The bill also strikes the requirement that the health curriculum provided in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools in grades 7 through 12 include instruction related to human papilloma virus (HPV) and the availability of a vaccine to prevent HPV. The bill provides that this one-half unit of United States government shall include an assessment of the student’s knowledge of United States government and civics. The bill provides that the most recent version of the civics test developed by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall be used as the assessment.

The bill requires each school district to publish all of the following information related to the current school year on the school district’s internet site:

1) a list of all materials that will be used to teach students in each class in the school district;

2) a list of all persons in direct contact with students enrolled in the school district who contract with or

otherwise receive moneys from the board of directors of the school district;

3) a list of all books available to students in the classroom and in libraries operated by the school district;

4) a detailed explanation of the procedures in effect for the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the

school district to request the removal of educational material that is available to students in the

classroom or in a library operated by the school district;

5) and a detailed explanation of the procedures in effect to request the review of decisions made by the

board of directors of the school district.

The bill requires each school district to notify the department of education that the board of directors of the school district has removed a book from a library operated by the school district, a classroom, or any area on school district property within seven days after removal. The bill enacts new Code section 279.80, which requires a school district to immediately notify the parent or guardian of a minor child enrolled in the school district if any employee of the school district reasonably believes the minor child has expressed a gender identity that is different than the biological sex listed on the minor child’s official birth certificate or certificate issued upon adoption if the certificate was issued at or near the time of the minor child’s birth. The bill requires a school district to receive the prior written consent of the parent or guardian of a minor child enrolled in the school district before allowing any employee of the school district to address the minor child using a nickname or a pronoun that does not correspond to the biological sex that is listed on the minor child’s official birth certificate. Approved by the Senate 34-16.

SF 483 (formerly SF 177) - Seizures - The bill requires by the start of the school year beginning July 1, 2024, for the Board of Directors of each school district and the authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school to have at least one school employee at each school who has met the training requirements necessary to administer or assist with the self-administration of a seizure rescue medication or medication prescribed to treat seizure disorder symptoms and approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and a manual dose of prescribed electrical stimulation using a vagus nerve stimulator magnet approved by the United States food and drug administration. On Senate debate calendar

SF 391 (formerly SSB 1076) - Governor’s Education Policy Omnibus (A) - Included in this 30-page policy bill is an update to the kindergarten through grade 12 guidance and counseling program parameters developed by the BOEE. The bill states that “the program be designed to ensure that the guidance counselor can work collaboratively with students, teachers, support staff, and administrators to support the curricular goals of the school by offering responsive services that address the growth and development needs of students and the attainment of student competencies in academic, career, and social areas.” Approved by the Senate 33-16. Amended and approved by the House 62-24.

SF 253 (formerly SSB 1024) - MH Professional Professional Loan Program Repayments - The bill provides that if the individual receiving a Mental Health Professional Loan fails to fulfill the obligation to practice as a mental health professional in a service area for the applicable amount of time, the commission is prohibited from making additional loan repayments to the individual. The bill also provides that, after the completion of a year of full-time practice, the annual amount of loan repayment the commission may make to an individual under the program is $8,000. On Senate debate calendar

SF 251 (formerly SF 12) - School District Administrative Costs Cap - The bill provides that for budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2024, the portion of the total authorized expenditures of a school district that is budgeted for administrative costs shall not exceed 5 percent of the total authorized expenditures of a school district. “Administrative costs” shall be defined by rules adopted by the department of education. Approved by the Senate 36-12. Referred to House Education Committee

SF 246 (formerly SF 53) - Supplemental Funding For At Risk Students - This bill modifies the maximum modified supplemental amount (for a school district’s program for at-risk students, secondary students who attend alternative programs and alternative schools, or returning dropouts and dropout prevention,) calculation for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2023, but before July 1, 2027, by increasing the 2.5 percent ratio figure by 0.5 percent each fiscal year until the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027, and each fiscal year thereafter, when the maximum ratio percentage is set at 5 percent for all school districts. Ways and Means Subcommittee: Cournoyer, Dawson, and Quirmbach

SF 210 (formerly SSB 1078) - Brain Health (U) - This bill creates the term “brain health” and defines it as, “all aspects of the brain impacted by biological, neurological, and physical characteristics of the brain affecting mood and behavior.” The bill makes clear that the use or recognition of the term “brain health” does not replace the terms “behavioral health”, “mental health”, or “mental illness” as those terms relate to medical billing, insurance regulation, or state professional licensure. On Senate debate calendar

SF 149 (formerly SSB 1005) - School Permissible Physical Contact Expansion - This bill relates to civil actions associated with permissible physical contact between certain specified school employees or volunteers and students. Specifically, the bill extends current civil and criminal immunity provided to school employees who, in the reasonable course of the employee’s employment responsibilities, comes into physical contact with a student to school volunteers. On Senate debate calendar

HF 610 (formerly HF 285) - Autism Excused Absences (U) - This bill requires the policies and rules adopted by a public school district’s board of directors to include excusing the absence of a student diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to attend an appointment with a health care practitioner; to receive services generally recognized to assist people with autism spectrum disorder including applied behavioral analysis, speech therapy, and occupational therapy; or to travel to these appointments or services. Approved by the House 97-0. Approved by Senate Education Committee subcommittee

HF 608 (formerly HF 379) - Seizures - The bill requires by the start of the school year beginning July 1, 2024, for the Board of Directors of each school district and the authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school to have at least one school employee at each school who has met the training requirements necessary to administer or assist with the self-administration of a seizure rescue medication or medication prescribed to treat seizure disorder symptoms and approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and a manual dose of prescribed electrical stimulation using a vagus nerve stimulator magnet approved by the United States food and drug administration. Approved by the House 96-1.

HF 604 (formerly HSB 206) - School Issues Omnibus (U) - This bill authorizes the Ombudsman to investigate complaints received by individuals who hold a license, certificate, authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the Board of Educational Examiners. The bill also requires a classroom teacher employed by a school district to report any incident of violence that results in injury or property damage or assault by a student enrolled in the school to the principal or the lead administrator of the school within 24 hours after the incident of violence occurs. The principal or lead administrator of the school must notify the parent or guardian of the student who caused the incident within 24 hours after the classroom teacher reports the incident of violence to the principal or lead administrator. Finally, the bill also establishes a hierarchy for the removal of disruptive students. Approved by the House 89-6.

HF 602 (formerly HF 101) - Your Life Iowa on School IDs (F) - This bill requires public schools to include on either side of identification cards issued to students in grades seven through twelve the Your Life Iowa crisis telephone and text numbers. The bill authorizes a public school that issues identification cards to students in grades five and six to do so as well. The bill applies to student identification cards issued on or after the effective date of the bill. A school that has a supply of unused student identification cards shall use that supply prior to complying with the requirements of the bill. Approved by the House 91-4.

HF 595 (formerly HSB 104) - Drug Policy Omnibus Including Opioid Antagonist Distribution (U) - Current law provides that a licensed healthcare professional may prescribe an opioid antagonist to a person in a position to assist. The bill expands this authorization to provide that a licensed health care provider may prescribe an opioid antagonist to a secondary distributor. A secondary distributor is defined as a law enforcement agency, emergency medical services program, fire department, school district, health care provider, licensed behavioral health provider, county health department, or the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill includes secondary distributors and the pharmacist who dispenses the opioid antagonist, provided they have acted reasonably and in good faith, to the list of persons who shall not be liable for any injury arising from the provision, administration, or assistance in the administration of an opioid antagonist. Approved by the House 91-3.

HF 430 (formerly HF 10) - BOEE Complaints (U) - The bill requires mandatory and permissive reporters to make a report of the abuse of a child, regardless of whether the child is 12 years of age or older. Additionally, the bill requires full-time school employees who are 18 years of age or older to report cases of abuse of children. The bill also requires that if a person making a report of abuse of children is a licensed school employee who reasonably believes the person responsible for the injury is also a licensed school employee, the person making the report shall identify the licensed school employee when making the report. The bill also requires the director of the Department of Education to develop and implement a process for the reporting and investigation of any incident that arises which may reasonably lead to the conclusion that an individual with a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the BOEE, and who is employed by the board of directors of a school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or a charter school, has committed certain specified felonies or engaged in certain specified conduct. Also, the bill requires school districts, prior to hiring an individual with a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the BOEE, to contact the BOEE to determine if the individual is the subject of an ongoing investigation, if a complaint or report has been filed against the individual, or if the individual surrendered a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of recognition prior to final disposition of an investigation. The bill also changes the composition of the BOEE to an 11 member body with 5 education practitioners, 5 parents and 1 school board member. Approved by the House 68-29. Referred to Senate Education. Subcommittee: Cournoyer, Donahue, and Sinclair

HF 348 (formerly HF 8) - Kindergarten Thru Grade Three Sex Ed - This bill prohibits instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation in school districts and charter schools in kindergarten through grade three. The bill also requires the human growth and development instruction provided in the kindergarten program to be both age-appropriate and research-based. Approved by the House 60-35. Referred to the Senate Education Committee. Subcommittee: Rozenboom, Kraayenbrink, and Quirmbach

HF 180 (formerly HF 9) - School Gender Identity (A) - The bill prohibits school districts and charter schools from facilitating any accommodation that is intended to affirm a student’s gender identity, if that gender identity is different than the sex listed on the student’s official birth certificate, without the written consent of the student’s parent or guardian. The bill also prohibits school districts and charter school from the following:

- encouraging or coercing any student to withhold information from the student’s parent or guardian related to the student’s gender identity;

- willfully withholding information from, or knowingly giving false or misleading information to, the parent or guardian of a student regarding the student’s gender identity or intention to transition to a gender that is different than the sex listed on a student’s official birth certificate;

- encouraging, pressuring, or coercing a student to undergo any medical procedure, treatment, or intervention that is designed to affirm the student’s gender identity if that gender identity is different than the sex listed on a student’s official birth certificate;

- encouraging, pressuring, or coercing a student’s parent or guardian to allow the student to undergo any medical procedure, treatment, or intervention that is designed to affirm the student’s gender identity if that gender identity is different than the sex listed on the student’s official birth certificate.

Finally the bill defines “gender identity” as a gender-related identity of a person, regardless of the person’s assigned sex at birth. On House debate calendar.

HF 152 - Rural School Resource Officers - This bill directs the Department of Education to establish a rural school security grant program to provide grants to school districts with basic enrollments for the budget year of 1,000 or less for the hiring and equipping of a school resource officer. Under the bill, a school district may collaborate and partner with one or more school districts or law enforcement agencies to hire and equip the school resource officer position for which the grant application is filed. Appropriations Subcommittee: Collins, Ehlert and Nordman

HF 151 (formerly HSB 9) - Mental Health Practitioner Loan Repayment Program - The bill repeals the Mental Health Professional Loan repayment program enacted last legislative session and replaces it with a similar program for both prescribers and non prescribers. On House debate calendar

HF 93 (formerly HSB 8) - MH Professionals Employment Agreements - This bill prohibits an employer from entering into an agreement with a licensed mental health professional that limits the location at which the licensee may practice, prohibits the licensee from contacting for professional services a person previously treated by the licensee, or imposes a time restriction on the practice of the licensee. The bill defines “mental health professional” to mean an individual holds at least a master’s degree in a mental health field, including but not limited to psychology, counseling and guidance, nursing, and social work, but does not include a psychiatrist. Approved by the House 95-0. Subcommittee: Garrett, Rowley, and Trone Garriott

Bills signed into law:

SF 482 (formerly SF 335) - School Bathrooms - This bill requires elementary and secondary public schools to designate and allow the use of multiple occupancy restrooms and changing areas only by persons of the same biological sex. The bill prohibits a person from entering a single or multiple occupancy restroom or changing area in a school that does not correspond with the person’s biological sex. The bill allows schools to provide alternative facilities upon a request to school officials for alternative facilities from the parents of the student. Approved by the Senate 33-16. Approved by the House 57-36. Signed into law by the Governor 3/23/23.

HF 68 - (formerly HF 1) - Educational Savings Accounts - The bill establishes an educational savings account program and also allows school districts to use all or a portion of funds at the end of any fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2022, from the professional development categorical supplement, the teacher leadership categorical supplement, or the gifted and talented program for teacher salary categorical supplement purposes under the salary system. Approved by the House 55-45. Approved by the Senate 31-18. Signed into law by the Governor 1/24/23.