House Study Bill 519 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HITE) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the eligibility for grants under the teach 1 Iowa scholar program. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5356YC (3) 89 jda/jh

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 261.110, subsection 3, Code 2022, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 3. Criteria for eligibility shall be established by the 3 commission and shall include but are not limited to the 4 following: 5 a. The applicant was in the top twenty-five fifty percent 6 academically of students exiting a teacher preparation program 7 approved by the state board of education pursuant to section 8 256.7, subsection 3 , or a similar teacher preparation program 9 in another state, or had earned other comparable academic 10 credentials. 11 b. The applicant is preparing to teach in fields including 12 but not limited to science, technology, engineering, or 13 mathematics; English as a second language or special education 14 instruction; or is preparing to teach in a hard-to-staff 15 subject as identified by the department. The department shall 16 take into account the varying regional needs in the state for 17 teachers in these subject areas when applying the criterion 18 of this paragraph. The department shall annually identify 19 and designate hard-to-staff subjects for the purpose of this 20 paragraph. The eligibility of an applicant who receives a 21 teach Iowa scholar grant and who is preparing to teach in a 22 hard-to-staff subject as identified by the department shall 23 not be affected in subsequent years if the department does not 24 continue to identify that subject as a hard-to-staff subject 25 any of the following located in this state: 26 (1) A school district . 27 (2) A charter school. 28 (3) An area education agency. 29 (4) An accredited nonpublic school. 30 c. The applicant met all of the eligibility requirements 31 of this section on or after January 1, 2013. A person who met 32 the program eligibility requirements of this section prior to 33 January 1, 2013, is ineligible for this program. 34 d. On or after July 1, 2022, the total value of grants 35 -1- LSB 5356YC (3) 89 jda/jh 1/ 3

H.F. _____ awarded under this section each year to applicants who are 1 preparing to teach in a school district shall be as follows: 2 (1) Fifty percent shall be awarded to applicants preparing 3 to teach in a school district with less than or equal to 4 one thousand students. However, if the amount requested by 5 applicants pursuant to subparagraph (2) is less than the amount 6 reserved for applicants under subparagraph (2), the commission 7 may award the difference to applicants under this subparagraph. 8 (2) Fifty percent shall be awarded to applicants preparing 9 to teach in a school district with greater than one thousand 10 students. However, if the amount requested by applicants 11 pursuant to subparagraph (1) is less than the amount reserved 12 for applicants under subparagraph (1), the commission may award 13 the difference to applicants under this subparagraph. 14 EXPLANATION 15 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 16 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 17 This bill relates to the eligibility for grants under the 18 teach Iowa scholar program. 19 The teach Iowa scholar program, administered by the 20 college student aid commission, provides grants to certain 21 high-caliber, full-time teachers in Iowa in amounts not to 22 exceed $4,000 annually or $20,000 over five years. Under 23 current law, the eligibility criteria established by the 24 commission for grants under the program include that the 25 applicant was in the top 25 percent academically of students 26 exiting a teacher preparation program and the applicant is 27 preparing to teach in certain specified fields. The bill 28 modifies these provisions to provide that the applicant was in 29 the top 50 percent academically of students exiting a teacher 30 preparation program and the applicant is preparing to teach at 31 a school district, charter school, area education agency, or 32 accredited nonpublic school located in the state. 33 The bill provides that on or after July 1, 2022, the total 34 value of grants awarded under the program to applicants 35 -2- LSB 5356YC (3) 89 jda/jh 2/ 3

H.F. _____ who are preparing to teach in a school district shall be 1 equally divided between applicants preparing to teach in a 2 school district with less than or equal to 1,000 students and 3 applicants preparing to teach in a school district with greater 4 than 1,000 students. The bill authorizes the commission to 5 award different amounts to each group of applicants if the 6 amount requested by applicants of either group is less than the 7 amount reserved for that group. 8 -3- LSB 5356YC (3) 89 jda/jh 3/ 3