HF 2189 (LSB 6205YH (3) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2189

BY  MADISON, BAGNIEWSKI, WILBURN, STECKMAN, LEVIN, STAED, ABDUL-SAMAD, BUCK, KURTH, WESSEL-KROESCHELL, SRINIVAS, JACOBY, and WILSON

A BILL FOR

An Act authorizing the boards of directors of school districts to appoint student liaisons to the boards.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 279.3, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   279.3  Appointment of secretary and treasurer —— student liaison.
   1.  a.  The board shall appoint a secretary who shall not be a teacher employed by the board but may be another employee of the board. The board shall also appoint a treasurer who may be another employee of the board. However, the board may appoint one person to serve as the secretary and the treasurer.
   2.  b.  These officers shall be appointed from outside the membership of the board and the appointment and qualification shall be entered of record in the minutes of the secretary. They shall qualify within ten days following appointment by taking the oath of office in the manner required by section 277.28 and filing a bond as required by section 291.2 and shall hold office until their successors are appointed and qualified.
   2.  a.  The board shall develop and implement an application and selection process for the position of student liaison, who shall act as a liaison between the board, administrators, teachers, the student council, and the general student population. If an applicant for student liaison satisfies the board’s application and selection process, the board shall select at least one applicant to act as a student liaison.
   b.  The student liaison shall have a seat at the table of all regular meetings of the board and board subcommittee meetings in a nonvoting capacity, and shall have access to all nonconfidential board meeting materials. The student liaison may advocate for student interests in regular meetings of the board, provide school administrators and board members with student viewpoints, assist in developing and monitoring the implementation of education policy, and volunteer to perform other functions of benefit to the students and the district that the board deems appropriate for a student to carry out.
   c.  The student liaison shall not do any of the following:
   (1)  Participate in special meetings of the board.
   (2)  Be involved in board meetings related to the discipline of employees of the school district or students enrolled in the school district.
   (3)  Have access to documents involving the discipline of employees of the school district or students enrolled in the school district.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill authorizes the boards of directors of school districts to select students to act as liaisons between the board, administrators, teachers, the student council, and the general student population. The board must develop and implement an application and selection process. If an applicant satisfies the application and selection process, the board is required to select at least one applicant to act as a student liaison. The student liaison must have a seat at the table of all regular meetings of the board and board subcommittee meetings in a nonvoting capacity and must also have access to all nonconfidential board meeting materials. The student liaison may perform functions of benefit to the students and the district that the board deems appropriate for a student to carry out.
   The bill prohibits the student liaison from participating in special meetings of the board, being involved in board meetings related to employee or student discipline, or having access to documents involving employee or student discipline.