House File 604 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 604 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 206) A BILL FOR An Act relating to education, including authorizing the 1 ombudsman to investigate complaints received by individuals 2 who hold a license, certificate, authorization, or statement 3 of recognition issued by the board of educational examiners, 4 modifying the responsibilities of school districts, 5 accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools, 6 and authorizing teachers employed by school districts, 7 accredited nonpublic schools, or charter schools to remove 8 disruptive students from the classroom. 9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 10 TLSB 2259HV (1) 90 jda/jh

H.F. 604 Section 1. Section 2C.9, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 1 following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. Investigate, on complaint, any 3 complaint received by an individual who holds a license, 4 certificate, authorization, or statement of recognition issued 5 by the board of educational examiners related to violence in 6 the classroom, on school property, and any other violations of 7 state law. The ombudsman shall maintain secrecy in respect to 8 the identities of the complainants. 9 Sec. 2. Section 256E.7, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended 10 by adding the following new paragraphs: 11 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0j. Be subject to and comply with the 12 requirements of section 280.33 relating to notifications to 13 the parents or guardians of a student in the event a classroom 14 teacher witnesses the student suffer a bodily injury in the 15 same manner as a school district. 16 NEW PARAGRAPH . 00j. Be subject to and comply with the 17 requirements of section 280.34 relating to prohibiting 18 retaliation against employees or contractors for disclosing 19 certain specified information in the same manner as a school 20 district. 21 NEW PARAGRAPH . 000j. Be subject to and comply with the 22 requirements of section 280.35 relating to the removal of 23 disruptive students from the classroom in the same manner as 24 a school district. 25 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 279.77 Professional development —— 26 notification. 27 If a school district requires an employee to participate 28 in a particular professional development program, the school 29 district shall provide notice to the employee indicating the 30 section of the Code, or rules adopted by the state board of 31 education or the board of educational examiners, the school 32 district determines requires the employee to participate in 33 the professional development program. For purposes of this 34 section, “professional development program” means the same as 35 -1- LSB 2259HV (1) 90 jda/jh 1/ 6

H.F. 604 defined in section 272.1. 1 Sec. 4. Section 280.21, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 2 following new subsection: 3 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. A public school district, accredited 4 nonpublic school, or area education agency shall provide to all 5 teachers employed by the public school district, accredited 6 nonpublic school, or area education agency a copy of this 7 section after entering into an initial contract with the 8 teacher and each time the contract is renewed. 9 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 280.33 Notice to parents or guardians 10 related to student injuries. 11 A teacher employed by a school district or an accredited 12 nonpublic school shall notify the parent or guardian of a 13 student enrolled in the school district or accredited nonpublic 14 school by telephonic means within twenty-four hours after the 15 teacher witnesses the student suffer a bodily injury. 16 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 280.34 Retaliation prohibition. 17 The board of directors of a school district or the 18 authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school 19 shall not take any disciplinary action against an employee 20 or contractor of the school district or accredited nonpublic 21 school for disclosing information to any public official 22 or law enforcement agency, including a disclosure to the 23 ombudsman pursuant to section 2C.9, subsection 2A, if the 24 employee or contractor reasonably believes the information 25 evidences a violation of law or rule, mismanagement, a gross 26 abuse of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and 27 specific danger to public health or safety. For purposes of 28 this section, “disciplinary action” includes termination of 29 employment or the contractual relationship, suspension from 30 employment, demotion, financial penalties, and written or 31 verbal reprimands. 32 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 280.35 Removal of disruptive students 33 from the classroom. 34 1. As used in this section: 35 -2- LSB 2259HV (1) 90 jda/jh 2/ 6

H.F. 604 a. “Administrator” means the same as defined in section 1 272.1. 2 b. “School resource officer” means the same as defined in 3 34 U.S.C. §10389. 4 c. “Teacher” means the same as defined in section 272.1. 5 2. A teacher employed by a school district or an accredited 6 nonpublic school may remove a disruptive student from the 7 classroom under the supervision of a school resource officer or 8 the lead administrator located in the attendance center. 9 3. a. The first time a teacher removes a disruptive student 10 from the classroom pursuant to subsection 2 in a semester, or 11 the trimester or quarter equivalent, the school district or 12 accredited nonpublic school shall do all of the following: 13 (1) Facilitate a counseling session between the student 14 and a school counselor licensed by the board of educational 15 examiners under chapter 272. 16 (2) Place the student in one day of in-school suspension 17 after the counseling session described in subparagraph (1) 18 takes place. 19 b. The second time a teacher removes a disruptive student 20 from the classroom pursuant to subsection 2 in a semester, or 21 the trimester or quarter equivalent, the school district or 22 accredited nonpublic school shall do all of the following: 23 (1) Facilitate a counseling session between the student 24 and a school counselor licensed by the board of educational 25 examiners under chapter 272. 26 (2) Place the student in five consecutive school days of 27 in-school suspension after the counseling session described in 28 subparagraph (1) takes place. 29 c. The third time a teacher removes a disruptive student 30 from the classroom pursuant to subsection 2 in a school year, 31 the school district or accredited nonpublic school shall 32 permanently expel the student from the teacher’s class and, 33 if the student is enrolled in grades nine through twelve, the 34 student shall not receive high school credit for the class. 35 -3- LSB 2259HV (1) 90 jda/jh 3/ 6

H.F. 604 EXPLANATION 1 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 2 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 3 This bill relates to education, including authorizing the 4 ombudsman to investigate complaints received by individuals 5 who hold a license, certificate, authorization, or statement 6 of recognition issued by the board of educational examiners, 7 modifying the responsibilities of school districts, accredited 8 nonpublic schools, and charter schools, and authorizing 9 teachers employed by school districts, accredited nonpublic 10 schools, or charter schools to remove disruptive students from 11 the classroom. 12 The bill allows the ombudsman to investigate any complaint 13 received by an individual who holds a license, certificate, 14 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the board 15 of educational examiners (BOEE) related to violence in the 16 classroom, on school property, and any other violations of 17 state law. The ombudsman must maintain secrecy in respect to 18 the identities of the complainants. 19 The bill provides that if a school district requires 20 an employee to participate in a particular professional 21 development program, the school district is required to provide 22 notice to the employee indicating the section of the Code, or 23 rules adopted by the state board of education or the BOEE, 24 that the school district determines requires the employee to 25 participate in the professional development program. 26 Pursuant to Code section 280.21, an employee of a school 27 district, accredited nonpublic school, or area education agency 28 is prohibited from inflicting corporal punishment upon a 29 student. Code section 280.21 provides that physical contact 30 with a student that is reasonable and necessary under the 31 circumstances and that is not designed or intended to cause 32 pain is not corporal punishment. The bill requires school 33 districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and area education 34 agencies to provide to all teachers a copy of Code section 35 -4- LSB 2259HV (1) 90 jda/jh 4/ 6

H.F. 604 280.21 after entering into an initial contract with the teacher 1 and each time the contract is renewed. 2 The bill requires a teacher employed by a school district, 3 accredited nonpublic school, or charter school to notify the 4 parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the school by 5 telephonic means within 24 hours after the teacher witnesses 6 the student suffer a bodily injury. 7 The bill prohibits school districts, accredited nonpublic 8 schools, and charter schools from taking any disciplinary 9 action against an employee or a contractor for disclosing 10 information to any public official or law enforcement agency if 11 the employee or contractor reasonably believes the information 12 evidences a violation of law or rule, mismanagement, a gross 13 abuse of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and 14 specific danger to public health or safety. “Disciplinary 15 action” includes termination of employment or the contractual 16 relationship, suspension from employment, demotion, financial 17 penalties, and written or verbal reprimands. 18 The bill allows a teacher employed by a school district, 19 accredited nonpublic school, or charter school to remove a 20 disruptive student from the classroom under the supervision of 21 a school resource officer or the lead administrator located 22 in the attendance center. The first time a teacher removes a 23 disruptive student from the classroom in a semester the school 24 is required to facilitate a counseling session between the 25 student and a school counselor and place the student in one 26 school day of in-school suspension after the counseling session 27 takes place. The second time a teacher removes a disruptive 28 student from the classroom in a semester the school is required 29 to facilitate a counseling session between the student and a 30 school counselor and place the student in five consecutive 31 school days of in-school suspension after the counseling 32 session takes place. The third time a teacher removes a 33 disruptive student from the classroom in a school year the 34 school is required to permanently expel the student from the 35 -5- LSB 2259HV (1) 90 jda/jh 5/ 6