House Study Bill 683 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HITE) A BILL FOR An Act relating to facial covering policies adopted by the 1 boards of directors of school districts or the authorities 2 in charge of accredited nonpublic schools and providing 3 civil penalties. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 6163YC (2) 89 jda/jh

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 280.31, Code 2022, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 280.31 Facial coverings. 3 1. The board of directors of a school district, the 4 superintendent or chief administering officer of a school 5 or school district, and the authorities in charge of each 6 accredited nonpublic school shall not adopt, enforce, or 7 implement a policy that requires its employees, students, or 8 members of the public to wear a facial covering for any purpose 9 while on the school district’s or accredited nonpublic school’s 10 property unless the facial covering is necessary for a specific 11 extracurricular or instructional purpose, or is required by 12 section 280.10 or 280.11 or any other provision of law. 13 2. a. If the board of directors of a school district or the 14 authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school adopt a 15 facial covering policy as a necessary accommodation for a child 16 with disabilities, the board or authorities shall grant an 17 exception to the policy to any student whose parent or guardian 18 provides written notice to the school district or accredited 19 nonpublic school indicating that wearing a facial covering is 20 detrimental to the student’s education. 21 b. The board of directors of a school district and the 22 authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school shall 23 process all written notices submitted pursuant to paragraph “a” 24 within twenty-four hours after receipt. 25 c. The board of directors of a school district or the 26 authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school shall 27 not take any adverse action against a student who is granted 28 an exception to a policy that requires students to wear 29 facial coverings as a necessary accommodation for a child with 30 disabilities. 31 d. The department of education shall adopt rules pursuant 32 to chapter 17A to create a process to accept complaints from 33 parents and guardians related to violations of this subsection. 34 If, after investigation, the department of education determines 35 -1- LSB 6163YC (2) 89 jda/jh 1/ 3

H.F. _____ that any employee or contractor of the board of directors of a 1 school district or the authorities in charge of an accredited 2 nonpublic school has violated this subsection, the department 3 of education shall assess a civil penalty against the employee 4 or contractor not to exceed five hundred dollars for each 5 violation. Revenue from the civil penalty provided in this 6 paragraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for 7 deposit in the general fund of the state. 8 EXPLANATION 9 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 10 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 11 This bill relates to facial covering policies adopted by 12 the boards of directors of school districts or the authorities 13 in charge of accredited nonpublic schools and provides civil 14 penalties. 15 The bill requires that if the board of directors of a 16 school district or the authorities in charge of an accredited 17 nonpublic school adopt a facial covering policy as a necessary 18 accommodation for a child with disabilities, the board or 19 authorities shall grant an exception to the policy to any 20 student whose parent or guardian provides written notice to 21 the school district or accredited nonpublic school indicating 22 that wearing a facial covering is detrimental to the student’s 23 education. Additionally, the bill requires the board of 24 directors of a school district and the authorities in charge of 25 an accredited nonpublic school to process these requests within 26 24 hours after receipt and prohibits any adverse action against 27 a student who is granted an exception. 28 The bill requires the department of education to adopt 29 rules to create a process to accept complaints from parents 30 and guardians related to violations of the bill’s provisions. 31 The bill provides that if the department determines that 32 any employee or contractor of the board of directors of a 33 school district or the authorities in charge of an accredited 34 nonpublic school has violated the bill’s provisions, the 35 -2- LSB 6163YC (2) 89 jda/jh 2/ 3

H.F. _____ department shall assess a civil penalty against the employee or 1 contractor not to exceed $500 for each violation. 2 -3- LSB 6163YC (2) 89 jda/jh 3/ 3