Senate File 2377 - Introduced SENATE FILE 2377 BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS (SUCCESSOR TO SF 2202) (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3067) A BILL FOR An Act relating to education, including eligibility for grants 1 under the teach Iowa scholar program, licenses issued by the 2 board of educational examiners, and the use of revenues from 3 the district management levy, and including applicability 4 provisions. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 5492SZ (1) 89 jda/jh
S.F. 2377 Section 1. Section 256.16, subsection 1, Code 2022, is 1 amended by adding the following new paragraph: 2 NEW PARAGRAPH . n. If a higher education institution 3 providing practitioner preparation offers a program that is 4 designed to assist students in attaining a teacher intern 5 license from the board of educational examiners, the program 6 shall require participants to satisfy all of the following 7 requirements before completing the program: 8 (1) A participant in the program must have graduated from an 9 accredited or state-approved college or university. 10 (2) A participant in the program must have at least three 11 years of post-baccalaureate work experience. 12 (3) A participant in the program must submit with the 13 application to the program a copy of an offer of employment 14 from a school. 15 (4) A participant in the program must have completed the 16 required pedagogy training. 17 (5) A participant in the program must work under the 18 supervision of a teacher leader assigned by the school district 19 or accredited nonpublic school, including during co-teaching 20 and planning time. 21 (6) A participant in the program must complete at least 22 fifteen additional hours of coursework. 23 Sec. 2. Section 261.110, subsection 3, Code 2022, is amended 24 by adding the following new paragraph: 25 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. The total value of grants awarded under 26 this section each year to applicants who are preparing to 27 teach in a school district, charter school, or an accredited 28 nonpublic school shall be as follows: 29 (1) Fifty percent shall be awarded to applicants preparing 30 to teach in a school district with less than or equal to one 31 thousand two hundred students, a charter school with less than 32 or equal to one thousand two hundred students, or an accredited 33 nonpublic school with less than or equal to one thousand 34 two hundred students. However, if the amount requested by 35 -1- LSB 5492SZ (1) 89 jda/jh 1/ 7
S.F. 2377 applicants pursuant to subparagraph (2) is less than the amount 1 reserved for applicants under subparagraph (2), the commission 2 may award the difference to applicants under this subparagraph. 3 (2) Fifty percent shall be awarded to applicants preparing 4 to teach in a school district with greater than one thousand 5 two hundred students, a charter school with greater than one 6 thousand two hundred students, or an accredited nonpublic 7 school with greater than one thousand two hundred students. 8 However, if the amount requested by applicants pursuant 9 to subparagraph (1) is less than the amount reserved for 10 applicants under subparagraph (1), the commission may award the 11 difference to applicants under this subparagraph. 12 Sec. 3. Section 272.2, subsection 1, Code 2022, is amended 13 by adding the following new paragraph: 14 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection 15 establishing criteria for applicants for licenses who have 16 completed an accredited or state-approved teacher preparation 17 program and who are applying for the applicant’s first Iowa 18 teaching license shall not require the applicant to be an Iowa 19 resident if the applicant provides the board with a copy of an 20 offer of employment as a teacher from a school located in this 21 state. 22 Sec. 4. Section 272.2, subsection 13, Code 2022, is amended 23 to read as follows: 24 13. Adopt rules to provide for nontraditional preparation 25 options for licensing persons who hold a bachelor’s degree 26 or higher from an accredited or state-approved college or 27 university, who do not meet other requirements for licensure. 28 The rules shall, at a minimum, require the board to do all of 29 the following: 30 a. Issue a teacher intern license for instruction in grades 31 six through twelve to an applicant who has completed a program 32 established pursuant to section 256.16, subsection 1, paragraph 33 “n” . 34 b. Allow a licensee who has attained a teacher intern 35 -2- LSB 5492SZ (1) 89 jda/jh 2/ 7
S.F. 2377 license pursuant to paragraph “a” to apply for an initial 1 teaching license if the school that employed the licensee 2 during the licensee’s completion of the program established 3 pursuant to section 256.16, subsection 1, paragraph “n” , and 4 the higher education institution that operated the program, 5 recommend that the licensee be allowed to apply for an initial 6 teaching license. 7 Sec. 5. Section 272.2, Code 2022, is amended by adding the 8 following new subsection: 9 NEW SUBSECTION . 27. Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 10 17A that allow an individual seeking a career and technical 11 secondary authorization to apply, and if eligible, be issued 12 the secondary authorization prior to accepting an offer of 13 employment with a school. 14 Sec. 6. Section 279.46, Code 2022, is amended to read as 15 follows: 16 279.46 Retirement incentives and teacher recruitment 17 incentives —— tax. 18 1. The board of directors of a school district may adopt 19 a program for payment of a monetary bonus, continuation of 20 health or medical insurance coverage, or other incentives 21 for encouraging its employees to retire before the normal 22 retirement date as defined in chapter 97B . The program is 23 available only to employees who notify the board of directors 24 prior to April 1 of the fiscal year that they intend to retire 25 not later than the start of the next following school calendar. 26 The age at which employees shall be designated eligible for the 27 program shall be at the discretion of the board. An employee 28 retiring under this section this subsection may apply for a 29 retirement allowance under chapter 97B or chapter 294 . The 30 board may include in the district management levy an amount to 31 pay the total estimated accumulated cost to the school district 32 of the health or medical insurance coverage, bonus, or other 33 incentives for employees fifty-five years of age or older who 34 retire under this section subsection . 35 -3- LSB 5492SZ (1) 89 jda/jh 3/ 7
S.F. 2377 2. a. The board of directors of a school district may 1 adopt a program for teacher recruitment incentives to recruit 2 new teachers. If the board does adopt a program for teacher 3 recruitment incentives, the board shall adopt a policy to 4 implement the program. 5 b. The board may include in the district management levy 6 an amount to pay the total estimated accumulated cost to the 7 school district of the teacher recruitment incentives adopted 8 under this subsection. 9 c. The board shall not adopt either the program for early 10 retirement benefits provided in subsection 1 or the program 11 for teacher recruitment incentives provided in this subsection 12 within two years after adopting the other program. 13 3. The board of directors of a school district shall 14 discuss the adoption of the program for early retirement 15 benefits provided in subsection 1 or the program for teacher 16 recruitment incentives provided in subsection 2, as applicable, 17 at a regular or special meeting prior to adopting the program. 18 The board of directors of the school district shall provide 19 sufficient time to receive public comment on the program. The 20 board shall allow each interested member of the public to speak 21 at the meeting regarding the program, but may impose a time 22 limit on the amount of time a member of the public is allowed 23 to speak if the time limit is the same for each speaker and 24 necessary due to the amount of people wishing to speak. The 25 board of directors of a school district shall not adopt the 26 program for early retirement benefits provided in subsection 27 1 concurrently with the program for teacher recruitment 28 incentives provided in subsection 2. 29 Sec. 7. Section 298.4, subsection 1, paragraph e, Code 2022, 30 is amended to read as follows: 31 e. To pay the cost of early retirement benefits to employees 32 under section 279.46 , subsection 1, or teacher recruitment 33 incentives under section 279.46, subsection 2. A board of 34 directors of a school district shall not expend the district 35 -4- LSB 5492SZ (1) 89 jda/jh 4/ 7
S.F. 2377 management levy on the costs of both programs in the same 1 fiscal year . 2 Sec. 8. APPLICABILITY. The following applies to grants 3 awarded by the college student aid commission on or after July 4 1, 2022, to initial applicants under the teach Iowa scholar 5 program established pursuant to section 261.110: 6 The section of this Act amending section 261.110. 7 EXPLANATION 8 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 9 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 10 This bill relates to education, including eligibility for 11 grants under the teach Iowa scholar program, licenses issued 12 by the board of educational examiners (BOEE), and the use of 13 revenues from the district management levy. 14 The bill provides that if a higher education institution 15 providing practitioner preparation offers a program that is 16 designed to assist students in attaining a teacher intern 17 license from the BOEE, the program shall require participants 18 to satisfy certain specified requirements. 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. The bill 23 provides that the total value of grants awarded under the 24 program to applicants who are preparing to teach in a school 25 district, charter school, or an accredited nonpublic school 26 shall be equally divided between applicants preparing to 27 teach in a school district, charter school, or an accredited 28 nonpublic school with less than or equal to 1,200 students and 29 applicants preparing to teach in a school district, charter 30 school, or accredited nonpublic school with greater than 31 1,200 students. The bill authorizes the commission to award 32 different amounts to each group of applicants if the amount 33 requested by applicants of either group is less than the amount 34 reserved for that group. The bill establishes that this 35 -5- LSB 5492SZ (1) 89 jda/jh 5/ 7
S.F. 2377 provision applies to grants awarded by the commission on or 1 after July 1, 2022, to initial applicants under the program. 2 Current law authorizes the BOEE to issue a regional exchange 3 teaching license to an applicant who has completed a teacher 4 preparation program outside of the state and who is applying 5 for the applicant’s first Iowa teaching license if, among 6 other requirements, the applicant is a resident of the state. 7 The bill removes the requirement that such an applicant be a 8 resident of this state if the applicant provides the BOEE with 9 a copy of an offer of employment as a teacher from a school 10 located in this state. 11 Current law requires the BOEE to adopt rules to provide 12 for nontraditional preparation options for licensing persons 13 who hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college 14 or university and who do not meet other requirements for 15 licensure. The bill provides that the rules shall require 16 the BOEE to issue a teacher intern license to an applicant 17 who has completed a program offered by a higher education 18 institution providing practitioner preparation that is designed 19 to assist students in attaining a teacher intern license. The 20 bill requires the BOEE to allow a licensee who has attained 21 a teacher intern license under such a program to apply for 22 an initial teaching license if the school that employed 23 the licensee during the program and the higher education 24 institution recommend that the licensee be allowed to apply. 25 The bill requires the BOEE to adopt rules that allow 26 an individual seeking a career and technical secondary 27 authorization to apply, and if eligible, be issued the 28 secondary authorization prior to accepting an offer of 29 employment with a school. 30 Currently, Code section 279.46 authorizes the board of 31 directors of a school district to adopt a program for early 32 retirement benefits to encourage its employees to retire before 33 the normal retirement date. The bill modifies Code section 34 279.46 to also authorize the board of directors to adopt a 35 -6- LSB 5492SZ (1) 89 jda/jh 6/ 7
S.F. 2377 program for teacher recruitment incentives to recruit new 1 teachers. The bill requires the board of directors to discuss 2 the adoption of the program for early retirement benefits or 3 the program for teacher recruitment incentives, as applicable, 4 at a regular or special meeting prior to adopting the program 5 and allow for public comment. The bill prohibits the board 6 of directors from adopting the program for early retirement 7 benefits concurrently with the program for teacher recruitment 8 incentives. The bill also prohibits the board of directors 9 from adopting either the program for early retirement benefits 10 or the program for teacher recruitment incentives within two 11 years after adopting the other program. 12 The bill authorizes the board of directors to expend the 13 district management levy to pay the costs of either the program 14 for early retirement benefits or the program for teacher 15 recruitment incentives. The bill prohibits the board of 16 directors from expending the district management levy on the 17 costs of both programs in the same fiscal year. 18 -7- LSB 5492SZ (1) 89 jda/jh 7/ 7