House File 2209 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2209 BY WILLIAMS , LARSON , FETT , THOMSON , HENDERSON , HAYES , MOMMSEN , BEHN , WATKINS , LAWLER , SIEGRIST , SIECK , WENGRYN , HORA , SORENSEN , WULF , DIEKEN , JONES , YOUNG , BLOOMINGDALE , SITZMANN , GERHOLD , CISNEROS , SHIPLEY , HARRIS , DUNWELL , GEARHART , BRADLEY , BARKER , GOLDING , NORDMAN , THOMPSON , GUSTOFF , HOLT , WOOD , KNIFF McCULLA , and WHEELER A BILL FOR An Act providing for the admission of students to the Iowa 1 state university of science and technology college of 2 veterinary medicine. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5188HH (6) 91 da/jh

H.F. 2209 Section 1. Section 262.9, Code 2026, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 39A. The board of regents and Iowa state 3 university shall adopt policies governing the admission of 4 students with an Iowa background to the college of veterinary 5 medicine as provided in chapter 266, subchapter VI. 6 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 266.61 Definitions. 7 As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise 8 requires: 9 1. “College of veterinary medicine” or “college” means 10 Iowa state university of science and technology college of 11 veterinary medicine. 12 2. “DVM degree program” means the four-year doctor of 13 veterinary medicine professional degree program administered by 14 the college of veterinary medicine. 15 3. “Iowa graduate veterinarian” means a person who has 16 received a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the 17 college of veterinary medicine and becomes licensed to practice 18 veterinary medicine in this state under chapter 169. 19 4. “Iowa resident” means any of the following: 20 a. An individual who graduated from an Iowa high school. 21 b. An individual who has lived in Iowa for at least four 22 consecutive years immediately preceding the date the individual 23 would begin classes at the college. 24 5. “Iowa rural community” means a county in the state with 25 a population of less than twenty-five thousand according to 26 the most recent decennial census released by the United States 27 census bureau. 28 6. “Iowa state university” means Iowa state university of 29 science and technology. 30 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 266.62 Admissions policies —— 31 objective. 32 The board of regents and Iowa state university shall 33 adopt policies governing the admission of students with Iowa 34 backgrounds to the college of veterinary medicine in its DVM 35 -1- LSB 5188HH (6) 91 da/jh 1/ 5

H.F. 2209 degree program who will become Iowa graduate veterinarians 1 entering private practice in an Iowa rural community. 2 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 266.63 Admissions policies —— criteria 3 and preferences. 4 1. The board of regents and Iowa state university shall 5 adopt a policy requiring that not less than eighty percent 6 of the students who are admitted to the college’s DVM degree 7 program be Iowa residents or persons who were, prior to 8 applying to the college, enrolled in an eligible postsecondary 9 institution as defined in section 261E.2. 10 2. The board of regents and Iowa state university shall 11 adopt a policy providing a preference in admitting students to 12 the college’s DVM degree program who meet all of the following 13 criteria: 14 a. Declares an intention to elect a mixed animal option 15 track of college courses. 16 b. Declares an intention to enter private practice in an 17 Iowa rural community. 18 3. In evaluating applicants for admission to the college’s 19 DVM degree program, no consideration shall be given to a 20 test that purports to assess noncognitive skills, ethics, 21 and interpersonal traits, including but not limited to the 22 computer-based assessment for sampling personal characteristics 23 (CASPer) test. 24 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 266.64 Admissions policies —— 25 application criteria. 26 The board of regents and Iowa state university shall adopt a 27 policy requiring an application for admission to the college in 28 the DVM degree program include in the application all of the 29 following: 30 1. Information regarding the applicant’s background 31 including an attestation that includes whether or not all of 32 the following apply: 33 a. That the applicant was born in Iowa or graduated from an 34 Iowa high school. 35 -2- LSB 5188HH (6) 91 da/jh 2/ 5

H.F. 2209 b. That the applicant has immediate family members or 1 in-laws who reside in Iowa. 2 c. That the applicant graduated from a public or private 3 university, a college, or a community college located in Iowa. 4 d. That the applicant resided in an Iowa rural community. 5 e. That the applicant resided in a rural community other 6 than an Iowa rural community, if all of the following apply: 7 (1) The applicant’s rural community had similar 8 characteristics to a similarly sized Iowa rural community. 9 (2) The applicant’s rural community experienced a lack of 10 private practicing veterinarians. 11 f. That none of the paragraphs “a” through “e” apply to the 12 applicant, but that the applicant is planning on becoming an 13 Iowa graduate licensed veterinarian. 14 g. That none of the paragraphs “a ” through “f” apply to the 15 applicant, but the applicant is interested in attending the 16 college’s DVM degree program. 17 2. A declaration that the applicant intends to do any of the 18 following: 19 a. Elect a mixed animal option track of courses. 20 b. Enter private practice in an Iowa rural community. 21 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 266.65 Admissions policies —— report. 22 1. Iowa state university shall submit a college of 23 veterinary medicine admission report to the governor and 24 general assembly by January 15 of each year. 25 2. The report described in subsection 1 shall include all 26 of the following: 27 a. The number of applicants who are Iowa residents who were 28 accepted to the college’s DVM degree program, and the number of 29 those applicants that were admitted and not admitted, including 30 as a percentage. The report shall include a brief statement 31 explaining why each applicant was not admitted. 32 b. The number of applicants who were, prior to applying 33 to the college, enrolled in an eligible postsecondary 34 institution as defined in section 261E.2, and the number of 35 -3- LSB 5188HH (6) 91 da/jh 3/ 5

H.F. 2209 those applicants that were admitted and not admitted, including 1 as a percentage. The report shall include a brief statement 2 explaining why each applicant was not admitted. 3 c. The number of applicants who declared an intention to 4 elect a mixed animal option track of college courses and the 5 number of those applicants that were admitted and not admitted, 6 including as a percentage. The report shall include a brief 7 statement explaining why each applicant was not admitted. 8 d. The number of applicants who declared an intention to 9 enter private practice in an Iowa rural community and the 10 number of those applicants that were admitted and not admitted, 11 including as a percentage. The report shall include a brief 12 statement explaining why each applicant was not admitted. 13 3. Personal information regarding an applicant in an 14 annual report submitted pursuant to this section shall be kept 15 confidential as required under the federal Family Educational 16 Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. §1232g, and in the same 17 manner as personal information in student records maintained, 18 created, collected, or assembled by or for a school corporation 19 or educational institution in accordance with section 22.7, 20 subsection 1. 21 Sec. 7. DIRECTIONS TO CODE EDITOR. The Code editor is 22 directed to arrange the following sections in chapter 266, as 23 enacted by this Act, into a new subchapter VI: 24 Sections 266.61 through 266.70. 25 EXPLANATION 26 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 27 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 28 GENERAL. This bill provides for the admission of students 29 to the Iowa state university of science and technology (ISU) 30 college of veterinary medicine (college). The bill is based on 31 provisions enacted in 2025 Iowa Acts, chapter 164, requiring 32 similar policies for the admission of students to the college 33 of medicine or the college of dentistry at the state university 34 of Iowa. 35 -4- LSB 5188HH (6) 91 da/jh 4/ 5

H.F. 2209 OBJECTIVE. Under the bill, the board of regents and ISU 1 are required to adopt policies governing the admission of 2 Iowa students to the college’s four-year veterinary medicine 3 professional degree program (DVM program) to accomplish the 4 objective of graduating veterinarians who will enter private 5 practice in an Iowa rural community (having a population of 6 less than 25,000). 7 PERCENTAGE REQUIREMENT. The bill requires that not less 8 than 80 percent of students who are admitted to the college’s 9 DVM degree program be Iowa residents or individuals who, 10 prior to applying to the college, were enrolled in an Iowa 11 postsecondary institution. 12 APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. The bill requires the board of 13 regents and ISU to adopt a policy providing a preference in 14 admitting students to the college’s DVM degree program who 15 declare an intention to (1) elect a mixed animal option track 16 of college courses and (2) enter private practice in an Iowa 17 rural community. In addition, consideration cannot be given 18 to a test that purports to assess noncognitive skills, ethics, 19 and interpersonal traits (e.g., the CASPer test). The bill 20 provides that an applicant must attest to facts regarding the 21 applicant’s Iowa background and declare whether the applicant 22 intends to elect a mixed animal option college course track 23 and after graduation enter private practice in an Iowa rural 24 community. 25 REPORT. ISU is required to submit an annual report to 26 the governor and general assembly describing its progress 27 in meeting the statutory objective. Personal information 28 regarding an applicant is required to be confidential. 29 -5- LSB 5188HH (6) 91 da/jh 5/ 5