House File 430 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 430 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO HF 10) A BILL FOR An Act relating to education, including requirements related to 1 mandatory reporters, a process for investigating complaints 2 against school employees, and the responsibilities of the 3 department of education, school districts, charter schools, 4 accredited nonpublic schools, and the board of educational 5 examiners. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh

H.F. 430 Section 1. Section 232.69, subsection 1, unnumbered 1 paragraph 1, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows: 2 The classes of persons enumerated in this subsection shall 3 make a report within twenty-four hours and as provided in 4 section 232.70 , of cases of child abuse. In addition, the 5 classes of persons enumerated in this subsection shall make a 6 report of abuse of a child who is under twelve years of age and 7 may make a report of abuse of a child who is twelve years of age 8 or older, which would be defined as child abuse under section 9 232.68, subsection 2 , paragraph “a” , subparagraph (3) or (5), 10 except that the abuse resulted from the acts or omissions of 11 a person other than a person responsible for the care of the 12 child. 13 Sec. 2. Section 232.69, subsection 1, paragraph b, 14 subparagraph (4), Code 2023, is amended to read as follows: 15 (4) A licensed school employee, certified para-educator, 16 holder of a coaching authorization issued under section 272.31 , 17 school employee who is eighteen years of age or older, or an 18 instructor employed by a community college. 19 Sec. 3. Section 232.70, subsection 5, Code 2023, is amended 20 by adding the following new paragraph: 21 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0f. If the person making the report is a 22 licensed school employee who reasonably believes the person 23 responsible for the injury is also a licensed school employee, 24 the identity of the licensed school employee the person making 25 the report believes is responsible for the injury. 26 Sec. 4. Section 256.9, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 27 following new subsection: 28 NEW SUBSECTION . 66. a. Develop and implement a process 29 for the reporting and investigation of any incident that arises 30 that may reasonably lead to the conclusion that any individual 31 who is employed by the board of directors of a school district, 32 the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, 33 or the governing board of a charter school, including an 34 individual with a license, endorsement, certification, 35 -1- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 1/ 13

H.F. 430 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the 1 board of educational examiners, has committed a felony or, 2 in the case of an individual with a license, endorsement, 3 certification, authorization, or statement of recognition 4 issued by the board of educational examiners, has engaged in 5 conduct described in section 272.15, subsection 1, paragraph 6 “a” , subparagraph (1), subparagraph divisions (a) through (d). 7 b. The process shall prohibit the board of directors of a 8 school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 9 nonpublic school, and the governing board of a charter school 10 from entering into any of the following: 11 (1) A written or oral agreement that prohibits the board 12 of directors of the school district, the authorities in charge 13 of an accredited nonpublic school, the governing board of 14 a charter school, an employee of the school district, the 15 accredited nonpublic school, or the charter school, or a 16 contractor of the school district, the accredited nonpublic 17 school, or the charter school from discussing an incident, past 18 performance or actions, past allegations leading to discipline 19 or adverse employment action, or employee resignation with any 20 governmental agent, governmental officer, or any potential 21 employer. 22 (2) A written or oral agreement that waives the liability 23 of an individual with a license, endorsement, certification, 24 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the 25 board of educational examiners related to or arising from an 26 incident, past performance or action, or past allegations of 27 wrongdoing. 28 c. The process shall require the board of directors of a 29 school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 30 nonpublic school, and the governing board of a charter school 31 to finalize the investigation of the incident even if the 32 employee resigns or the employee’s contract is terminated 33 during the investigation. 34 d. The process shall require the board of directors of a 35 -2- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 2/ 13

H.F. 430 school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 1 nonpublic school, and the governing board of a charter school 2 to take all of the following actions with respect to employees 3 who do not hold a license, endorsement, certification, 4 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the board 5 of educational examiners: 6 (1) Collect and retain all complaints and reports related to 7 incidents reported under this subsection that are associated 8 with the employee. 9 (2) Notify the school district, accredited nonpublic 10 school, or charter school that employs, or is seeking to 11 employ, the employee of the existence and nature of the 12 complaints and reports related to incidents reported under this 13 subsection that are associated with the employee if contacted 14 by the school district, accredited nonpublic school, or charter 15 school. This subparagraph shall not be construed to require 16 the board of directors of a school district, the authorities 17 in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or the governing 18 board of a charter school to disclose unfounded, closed 19 investigations. 20 e. The board of directors of a school district, the 21 authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or 22 the governing board of a charter school, and contractors of 23 the school district, the accredited nonpublic school, or the 24 charter school shall be immune from any civil liability arising 25 from discussing an incident, past performance or actions, 26 past allegations leading to discipline or adverse employment 27 action, or employee resignation with any governmental agent, 28 governmental officer, or any potential employer. 29 f. If the board of educational examiners finds that the 30 board of directors of a school district, the authorities in 31 charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or the governing 32 board of a charter school has intentionally failed to follow 33 the process established by this subsection regarding an 34 incident, or the reporting requirements established pursuant 35 -3- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 3/ 13

H.F. 430 to section 272.15, related to an employee who holds a license, 1 endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of 2 recognition issued by the board of educational examiners, the 3 board of educational examiners shall assess a fine against an 4 administrator of the school district, the accredited nonpublic 5 school, or the charter school who failed to ensure compliance 6 with the process of not less than five hundred dollars and not 7 more than five thousand dollars. Payments of the fine provided 8 in this paragraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of the 9 state for deposit in the general fund of the state. 10 g. If the department finds that the board of directors of 11 a school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 12 nonpublic school, or the governing board of a charter school 13 has intentionally failed to follow the process established by 14 this subsection regarding an incident related to an employee 15 who does not hold a license, endorsement, certification, 16 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the board 17 of educational examiners, the department shall assess a fine 18 against an administrator of the school district, the accredited 19 nonpublic school, or the charter school who failed to ensure 20 compliance with the process of not less than five hundred 21 dollars and not more than five thousand dollars. Payments of 22 the fine provided in this paragraph shall be remitted to the 23 treasurer of the state for deposit in the general fund of the 24 state. 25 h. If the board of educational examiners finds that the 26 board of directors of a school district, the authorities in 27 charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or the governing 28 board of a charter school has intentionally concealed, or 29 attempted to conceal from any governmental agent, governmental 30 officer, or potential employer a founded incident, or any 31 conduct required to be reported pursuant to section 272.15, 32 related to an employee who holds a license, endorsement, 33 certification, authorization, or statement of recognition 34 issued by the board of educational examiners, the board 35 -4- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 4/ 13

H.F. 430 of educational examiners shall assess a fine against an 1 administrator of the school district, the accredited nonpublic 2 school, or the charter school who assisted in the concealment, 3 or attempted concealment, of an incident, or any conduct 4 required to be reported pursuant to section 272.15, of not more 5 than ten thousand dollars. Payments of the fine provided in 6 this paragraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of the state 7 for deposit in the general fund of the state. 8 i. If the department finds that the board of directors of 9 a school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 10 nonpublic school, or the governing board of a charter school 11 has intentionally concealed, or attempted to conceal from 12 any governmental agent, governmental officer, or potential 13 employer a founded incident related to an employee who does 14 not hold a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, 15 or statement of recognition issued by the board of educational 16 examiners, the department shall assess a fine against an 17 administrator of the school district, the accredited nonpublic 18 school, or the charter school who assisted in the concealment, 19 or attempted concealment, of an incident of not more than 20 ten thousand dollars. Payments of the fine provided in this 21 paragraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of the state for 22 deposit in the general fund of the state. 23 Sec. 5. Section 256E.7, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended 24 by adding the following new paragraphs: 25 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0j. Be subject to and comply with the 26 requirements of section 280.33 relating to the reporting and 27 investigation of an incident involving the possible commission 28 of a felony by any person who has been issued a license, 29 endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of 30 recognition by the board of educational examiners in the same 31 manner as a school district. 32 NEW PARAGRAPH . 00j. Be subject to and comply with the 33 requirements of section 280.34 relating to the requirement 34 to view the board of educational examiners’ public license 35 -5- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 5/ 13

H.F. 430 information prior to hiring an individual who has been issued 1 a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, or 2 statement of recognition by the board of educational examiners 3 in the same manner as a school district. 4 Sec. 6. Section 272.2, subsection 14, paragraph b, 5 subparagraph (1), unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2023, is amended 6 to read as follows: 7 The person entered a plea of guilty to, or has been found 8 guilty of, or the board has found by a preponderance of the 9 evidence that the person committed, any of the following 10 offenses, whether or not a sentence is imposed: 11 Sec. 7. Section 272.2, subsection 15, Code 2023, is amended 12 to read as follows: 13 15. a. Adopt rules that require specificity in written 14 complaints that are filed by individuals who have personal 15 knowledge of an alleged violation and which are accepted by 16 the board, provide that the jurisdictional requirements as set 17 by the board in administrative rule are met on the face of the 18 complaint before initiating an investigation of allegations, 19 provide that any investigation be limited to the allegations 20 contained on the face of the complaint, provide for an adequate 21 interval between the receipt of a complaint and public notice 22 of the complaint, permit parties to a complaint to mutually 23 agree to a resolution of the complaint filed with the board, 24 allow the respondent the right to review any investigative 25 report upon a finding of probable cause for further action by 26 the board, require that the conduct providing the basis for 27 the complaint occurred within three years of discovery of the 28 event by the complainant unless good cause can be shown for 29 an extension of this limitation, and require complaints to be 30 resolved within one hundred eighty days unless good cause can 31 be shown for an extension of this limitation , and require the 32 board to finalize the investigation of the written complaint 33 even if the licensed practitioner resigns or surrenders the 34 licensed practitioner’s license, certificate, authorization, or 35 -6- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 6/ 13

H.F. 430 statement of recognition during the investigation . 1 b. Adopt rules that require the collection and retention of 2 written complaints that are filed. If the board determines a 3 written complaint is not founded, the complaint and all records 4 related to the complaint shall be kept confidential and are not 5 subject to chapter 22. 6 c. Adopt rules that require the board to notify the public 7 when a licensed practitioner who is the subject of an ongoing 8 investigation initiated under paragraph “a” has a case pending 9 with a finding of probable cause. This paragraph shall not be 10 construed to require the board to disclose unfounded, closed 11 investigations initiated under paragraph “a” . 12 d. Adopt rules that require the evaluation of complaints 13 that did not result in any discipline or sanction if similar 14 complaints are filed against the same licensed practitioner. 15 e. Adopt rules that require the board to investigate an 16 administrator who is employed by the school that employs a 17 licensed practitioner who is the subject of an investigation 18 initiated under paragraph “a” . The rules shall require 19 the board to investigate whether the administrator filed a 20 written complaint pursuant to this subsection and whether the 21 administrator was required to report to the board pursuant to 22 section 272.15. 23 Sec. 8. Section 272.3, Code 2023, is amended by striking the 24 section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 25 272.3 Membership. 26 1. The board of educational examiners shall consist of 27 eleven members, subject to the following requirements: 28 a. Six members shall be the parent or guardian of a student 29 who is either currently enrolled or has been enrolled within 30 the seven years immediately prior to the member’s appointment 31 in a school district, nonpublic school, or charter school 32 located in this state and shall not currently hold any elective 33 office, shall not be an employee or contractor of a school 34 district, nonpublic school, or charter school, and shall not 35 -7- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 7/ 13

H.F. 430 have been an employee or contractor of a school district, 1 nonpublic school, or charter school within the ten years 2 immediately prior to the member’s appointment. 3 b. Five members shall be licensed practitioners. One of 4 the members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall be an 5 administrator and one shall be a special education teacher. 6 2. The membership of the board shall comply with the 7 requirements of sections 69.16 and 69.16A. A quorum of the 8 board shall consist of six members. Members shall elect a 9 chairperson of the board. Members shall be appointed by the 10 governor subject to confirmation by the senate. 11 Sec. 9. Section 272.4, subsection 1, Code 2023, is amended 12 to read as follows: 13 1. Members , except for the director of the department of 14 education or the director’s designee, shall be appointed to 15 serve staggered terms of four years. A member shall not serve 16 more than two consecutive terms , except for the director of the 17 department of education or the director’s designee, who shall 18 serve until the director’s term of office expires . A member of 19 the board , except for the two public members and the director 20 of the department of education or the director’s designee, who 21 is a licensed practitioner appointed pursuant to section 272.3, 22 subsection 1, paragraph “b” , shall hold a valid practitioner’s 23 license during the member’s term of office. A vacancy exists 24 when any of the following occur: 25 a. A nonpublic member’s license The license of a licensed 26 practitioner appointed pursuant to section 272.3, subsection 1, 27 paragraph “b” , expires, is suspended, or is revoked. 28 b. A nonpublic member licensed practitioner appointed 29 pursuant to section 272.3, subsection 1, paragraph “b” , retires 30 or terminates employment as a practitioner. 31 c. A member dies, resigns, is removed from office, or is 32 otherwise physically unable to perform the duties of office. 33 d. A member’s term of office expires. 34 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 280.33 Incidents related to licensed 35 -8- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 8/ 13

H.F. 430 practitioners —— reporting and investigation. 1 The board of directors of a school district and the 2 authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school shall 3 follow the process created by the department of education 4 pursuant to section 256.9, subsection 66, related to the 5 reporting and investigation of an incident involving the 6 possible commission of a felony by any employee of the board of 7 directors of the school district or the authorities in charge 8 of the accredited nonpublic school. 9 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 280.34 Requirement to view public 10 license information. 11 Prior to hiring an individual who has been issued a license, 12 endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of 13 recognition by the board of educational examiners, a school 14 district or an accredited nonpublic school, as applicable, 15 shall view the board of educational examiners’ public license 16 information to determine if the individual has a case pending 17 with a finding of probable cause or any licensure sanction. 18 This section shall not be construed to require the board 19 of educational examiners to disclose unfounded, closed 20 investigations. 21 Sec. 12. BOARD OF EDUCATIONAL EXAMINERS MEMBERSHIP —— 22 TRANSITION. 23 1. The terms of office associated with the members of the 24 board of educational examiners shall, as of the effective 25 date of this Act, be deemed to have expired, notwithstanding 26 the terms of office associated with the members under section 27 272.3. 28 2. For the members of the board of educational examiners 29 first appointed by the governor on or after the effective date 30 of this Act, five shall serve an initial term of two years 31 and six shall serve an initial term of four years. When the 32 governor appoints such members, the governor shall indicate 33 whether the appointee’s term shall be for two years or for four 34 years. For purposes of the limitation on consecutive terms a 35 -9- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 9/ 13

H.F. 430 member may serve under section 272.4, subsection 1, a term of 1 two years shall be considered a full term. 2 EXPLANATION 3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 4 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 5 This bill relates to education, including requirements 6 related to mandatory reporters, a process for investigating 7 complaints against school employees, and the responsibilities 8 of the department of education (DE), school districts, charter 9 schools, accredited nonpublic schools, and the board of 10 educational examiners (BOEE). 11 Current Code section 232.69 (mandatory and permissive 12 reporters) requires certain persons to report cases of abuse 13 of a child who is under 12 years of age and authorizes those 14 persons to make a report of abuse of a child who is 12 years 15 of age or older. The bill requires the persons governed by 16 Code section 232.69 to make a report of the abuse of a child, 17 regardless of whether the child is 12 years of age or older. 18 Additionally, the bill requires school employees who are 18 19 years of age or older to report cases of abuse of children. The 20 bill also requires that if a person making a report of abuse of 21 children is a licensed school employee who reasonably believes 22 the person responsible for the injury is also a licensed school 23 employee, the person making the report shall identify the 24 licensed school employee when making the report. 25 The bill requires the director of the DE to develop and 26 implement a process for the reporting and investigation of 27 any incident that arises which may reasonably lead to the 28 conclusion that any individual who is employed by the board 29 of directors of a school district, the authorities in charge 30 of an accredited nonpublic school, or the governing board of 31 a charter school, including an individual with a license, 32 endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of 33 recognition issued by the BOEE, has committed a felony or 34 engaged in certain specified conduct. The bill requires the 35 -10- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 10/ 13

H.F. 430 boards of directors of school districts, the authorities in 1 charge of accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools 2 to follow this process. The bill provides that the process 3 shall prohibit the board, the authorities in charge of an 4 accredited nonpublic school, and charter schools from entering 5 into certain specified agreements related to certain incidents. 6 The bill also provides that the process shall require the 7 board, the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic 8 school, and charter schools to finalize the investigation of 9 an incident even if the employee resigns or the employee’s 10 contract is terminated and to take certain specified 11 actions with respect to employees who do not hold a license, 12 endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of 13 recognition issued by the BOEE, including actions related to 14 retaining complaints and notifying potential employers of 15 complaints and reports. The bill immunizes the board, the 16 authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, and 17 charter schools, and the board’s, the accredited nonpublic 18 school’s, or the charter school’s contractors against any civil 19 liability arising from discussing an incident, past performance 20 or actions, past allegations leading to discipline, or 21 resignation with certain specified persons. The bill requires 22 the BOEE to assess a civil penalty of not less than $500 and 23 not more than $5,000 against the administrator of a school 24 district, an accredited nonpublic school, or a charter school 25 if the administrator fails to follow the process relating 26 to incidents, and a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 if 27 the administrator assists in the concealment, or attempted 28 concealment, of an incident or certain conduct that is required 29 to be reported. 30 Current law requires the BOEE to adopt rules that require 31 the disqualification of an applicant for licensure, or the 32 revocation of a license, if the person entered a plea of 33 guilty to, or has been found guilty of, certain specified 34 offenses. The bill modifies this provision to also require 35 -11- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 11/ 13

H.F. 430 the disqualification of an applicant for licensure, or 1 the revocation of a license, if the BOEE has found by a 2 preponderance of the evidence that the person committed certain 3 specified offenses. 4 Current law requires the BOEE to adopt rules related to 5 complaints that are filed by individuals who have personal 6 knowledge of an alleged violation and the investigation of 7 those complaints. The bill requires the BOEE to finalize 8 the investigation of these complaints even if the licensed 9 practitioner resigns or surrenders the licensed practitioner’s 10 license, certificate, authorization, or statement of 11 recognition during the investigation. The bill requires the 12 BOEE to adopt rules that require the collection and retention 13 of those complaints and the evaluation of complaints that did 14 not result in any discipline if similar complaints are filed 15 against the licensed practitioner. The bill requires the BOEE 16 to notify the public when a licensed practitioner who is the 17 subject of an ongoing investigation has a case pending with a 18 finding of probable cause. Additionally, the bill requires 19 the BOEE to investigate an administrator employed by a school 20 that employs a licensed practitioner who is the subject of an 21 investigation to determine whether the administrator filed a 22 written complaint against the licensed practitioner and to 23 determine whether the administrator was required to report the 24 licensed practitioner to the BOEE. 25 The bill modifies the membership of the BOEE. The bill 26 establishes that the BOEE shall consist of 11 members. Six 27 of the members shall be the parent or guardian of a student 28 who is either currently enrolled or has been enrolled within 29 the seven years immediately preceding the member’s appointment 30 in a school district, accredited nonpublic school, or charter 31 school. Five of the members shall be licensed practitioners, 32 including one administrator and one special education teacher. 33 The bill makes conforming changes. 34 The bill provides that the terms of office of the current 35 -12- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 12/ 13

H.F. 430 members of the BOEE shall, as of the effective date of the 1 bill, be deemed to have expired. Additionally, the bill 2 provides that five of the members of the BOEE first appointed 3 by the governor on or after the effective date of the bill 4 shall serve an initial term of two years, and six of the 5 members shall serve an initial term of four years. The bill 6 requires the governor to indicate whether the appointee’s term 7 shall be for two years or for four years. 8 The bill requires school districts, accredited nonpublic 9 schools, and charter schools, prior to hiring an individual 10 with a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, 11 or statement of recognition issued by the BOEE, to contact 12 the BOEE to determine if the individual is the subject of 13 an ongoing investigation, if a complaint or report has been 14 filed against the individual, or if the individual surrendered 15 a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, or 16 statement of recognition prior to final disposition of an 17 investigation. 18 -13- LSB 1705HV (2) 90 jda/jh 13/ 13