Senate File 2205 - Introduced SENATE FILE 2205 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3079) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the rights of students enrolled in school 1 districts or charter schools and the rights of parents and 2 guardians of those students. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5486SV (2) 89 jda/jh
S.F. 2205 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 279.76 Parent or guardian bill of 1 rights. 2 1. All of the following parental rights are reserved to 3 the parent or guardian of a minor child without obstruction or 4 interference from the board of directors of the school district 5 or the governing board of the charter school in which the minor 6 child is enrolled: 7 a. The right to know what the board of directors of the 8 school district or the governing board of the charter school in 9 which the minor child is enrolled is teaching the minor child, 10 including the textbooks, books, articles, outlines, handouts, 11 presentations, videos, and any other similar materials the 12 board of directors of the school district or the governing 13 board of the charter school, as applicable, uses for student 14 instruction. 15 b. The right to access and review information related to 16 who is teaching the minor child, including guest lecturers and 17 outside presenters. 18 c. The right to access and review information related to 19 persons who contract with or otherwise receive moneys from the 20 board of directors of the school district or the governing 21 board of the charter school, unless otherwise prohibited by 22 state or federal law. 23 d. The right to access to the minor child while the 24 minor child is in school that a reasonable person would deem 25 necessary to ensure the health and safety of the minor child, 26 unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law or a court 27 order. 28 e. The right to access and review all school records 29 relating to the minor child, unless chapter 232, subchapter 30 III, part 2, prohibits the record from being disclosed. 31 f. The right to access and review information related to the 32 collection and transmission of information related to the minor 33 child, including assessment information, documents created by 34 the minor child, and teacher evaluations of the minor child. 35 -1- LSB 5486SV (2) 89 jda/jh 1/ 5
S.F. 2205 g. Subject to section 22.7, the right to access and 1 review information necessary to ensure the accountability and 2 transparency of the board of directors of the school district 3 or the governing board of the charter school in which the minor 4 child is enrolled. 5 h. The right to access and review information related to the 6 minor child’s safety while at school, unless the information is 7 deemed confidential under state or federal law. 8 2. a. The board of directors of a school district or the 9 governing board of a charter school shall not require any 10 student to engage in any activity, including instruction, 11 or any test, assessment, or other means of evaluation, that 12 involves sexually explicit material without the express prior 13 written consent of the student’s parent or guardian. 14 b. The board of directors of a school district or the 15 governing board of a charter school shall make every effort 16 to prohibit a minor child from accessing sexually explicit 17 material in the classroom or on a device that is owned by the 18 school district or the charter school. The board of directors 19 of a school district or the governing board of a charter school 20 shall not allow a minor child to check out sexually explicit 21 material from a library operated by the school district or the 22 charter school without the express prior written consent of the 23 minor child’s parent or guardian. 24 3. The board of directors of a school district or the 25 governing board of a charter school must receive the prior 26 written consent of a student’s parent or guardian before 27 requiring a student to take part in any of the following 28 activities: 29 a. An activity that involves the collection, disclosure, 30 or use of personal information collected from students for the 31 purpose of marketing or selling the information or providing 32 the information to any other person for its marketing or sale. 33 b. A survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals 34 information concerning any of the following: 35 -2- LSB 5486SV (2) 89 jda/jh 2/ 5
S.F. 2205 (1) The political affiliations or beliefs of the student or 1 the student’s parent or guardian. 2 (2) Mental or psychological problems of the student or the 3 student’s family. 4 (3) Sex behavior or attitudes. 5 (4) Illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating, or demeaning 6 behavior. 7 (5) Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom the 8 student has close familial relationships. 9 (6) Legally recognized privileged or analogous 10 relationships, such as those of attorneys, physicians, or 11 ministers. 12 (7) Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the 13 student or the student’s parent or guardian. 14 (8) Income, except when required by law to determine 15 eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving 16 financial assistance under such a program. 17 c. Any nonemergency, invasive physical examination or 18 screening that is required as a condition of attendance, 19 administered by the school and is scheduled in advance, and 20 that is not necessary to protect the immediate health and 21 safety of the student or other students. 22 4. The rights guaranteed to parents and guardians by this 23 section are not a comprehensive list of the rights reserved 24 to parents or guardians of a minor child. The enumeration of 25 the rights contained in this section shall not be construed to 26 limit the rights reserved to parents or guardians of a minor 27 child. 28 EXPLANATION 29 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 30 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 31 This bill relates to the rights of students enrolled in 32 school districts or charter schools and the rights of parents 33 and guardians of those students. 34 The bill creates new Code section 279.76 (parent or guardian 35 -3- LSB 5486SV (2) 89 jda/jh 3/ 5
S.F. 2205 bill of rights). The bill provides that, notwithstanding any 1 provision of law to the contrary, the following rights are 2 reserved to the parent or guardian of a minor child: the right 3 to know what the board of directors of the school district 4 or the governing board of the charter school in which the 5 minor child is enrolled is teaching the minor child; the right 6 to access and review information related to who is teaching 7 the minor child; the right to access and review information 8 related to persons who contract with or otherwise receive 9 moneys from the board of directors of the school district or 10 the governing board of the charter school; the right to access 11 to the minor child while the minor child is in school that a 12 reasonable person would deem necessary to ensure the health and 13 safety of the minor child, unless otherwise prohibited by law 14 or a court order; the right to access and review all school 15 records relating to the minor child unless Code chapter 232, 16 subchapter III, part 2 (child abuse reporting), prohibits the 17 record from being disclosed; the right to access and review 18 information related to the collection and transmission of 19 information related to the minor child; the right to access and 20 review information necessary to ensure the accountability and 21 transparency of the board of directors of the school district 22 or the governing board of the charter school; and the right 23 to access and review information related to the minor child’s 24 safety at school. 25 The bill provides that the board of directors of a school 26 district or the governing board of the charter school shall 27 not require any student to engage in any activity, including 28 instruction or any test, assessment, or other means of 29 evaluation that involves sexually explicit material without 30 the express prior written consent of the student’s parent or 31 guardian. The bill also provides that the board of directors 32 of a school district or the governing board of the charter 33 school shall make every effort to prohibit a minor child from 34 accessing sexually explicit material in a classroom or on a 35 -4- LSB 5486SV (2) 89 jda/jh 4/ 5
S.F. 2205 device owned by the school district or charter school. 1 The bill prohibits the board of directors of a school 2 district or the governing board of a charter school from 3 allowing a minor child to check out sexually explicit material 4 from a library operated by the school district or the charter 5 school without the express written consent of the minor child's 6 parent or guardian. 7 The bill requires the board of directors of a school 8 district or the governing board of a charter school to receive 9 the prior written consent of a student’s parent or guardian 10 before requiring a student to take part in certain specified 11 activities, surveys, analyses, evaluations, or physical 12 examinations or screenings. 13 The bill provides that the rights guaranteed by new Code 14 section 279.76 are not a comprehensive list of the rights 15 reserved to parents or guardians of a minor child. 16 -5- LSB 5486SV (2) 89 jda/jh 5/ 5