House File 2217 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2217 BY CROKEN , MADISON , KURTH , WILSON , KRESSIG , AMOS JR. , BROWN-POWERS , RAMIREZ , WILBURN , LEVIN , and JAMES A BILL FOR An Act relating to radon testing in schools, including 1 responsibilities of nonpublic schools, applicability to 2 charter and innovation zone schools, establishing a school 3 testing and mitigation of radon grant program within 4 the department of education, making appropriations, and 5 including effective date provisions. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 5091YH (5) 91 mb/jh

H.F. 2217 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 256.20 School testing and 1 mitigation of radon grant program —— appropriation. 2 1. The department shall develop and administer a radon 3 testing and mitigation grant program to provide grants to 4 school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter 5 schools, and innovation zone schools to offset the costs of 6 testing and mitigating radon in attendance centers. 7 2. The state board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 8 17A to administer this section, including rules relating to 9 grant application materials, eligibility requirements, and 10 award criteria. The state board is responsible for approving 11 or rejecting applications submitted pursuant to this section. 12 3. Moneys awarded under this section shall be used to 13 supplement, not supplant, existing public funding used by a 14 school district for similar purposes, including funding under 15 section 423F.3, subsection 3. 16 4. A school radon testing and mitigation grant program 17 fund is established in the state treasury. The fund shall be 18 administered by the department and shall consist of moneys 19 appropriated by the general assembly and other moneys received 20 by the department for deposit in the fund. The moneys in the 21 fund are appropriated to the radon testing and mitigation 22 grant program. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the 23 fund at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert to 24 the general fund of the state but shall remain available for 25 expenditure for the radon testing and mitigation grant program 26 for subsequent fiscal years. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, 27 subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall 28 be credited to the fund. 29 Sec. 2. Section 256E.7, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended 30 by adding the following new paragraph: 31 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0t. Be subject to and comply with the 32 requirements in section 280.32 relating to radon testing, 33 reporting, and mitigation in the same manner as a school 34 district. 35 -1- LSB 5091YH (5) 91 mb/jh 1/ 5

H.F. 2217 Sec. 3. Section 256F.4, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended 1 by adding the following new paragraph: 2 NEW PARAGRAPH . v. Be subject to and comply with the 3 requirements in section 280.32 relating to radon testing, 4 reporting, and mitigation in the same manner as a school 5 district. 6 Sec. 4. Section 280.32, subsections 2, 3, and 4, Code 2026, 7 are amended to read as follows: 8 2. The board of directors of each public school district 9 and the authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic 10 school shall establish a radon plan and schedule for short-term 11 tests for radon gas to be performed at each attendance center 12 under its control at least once by July 1, 2027, and at least 13 once every five years thereafter. Short-term testing shall be 14 performed between October 1 and March 31. Each school district 15 and accredited nonpublic school shall publish testing results 16 on the district’s or accredited nonpublic school’s internet 17 site in a timely manner. Additionally, each school district 18 and accredited nonpublic school shall provide testing results 19 to the department of health and human services. Testing 20 results of school districts shall be considered public records 21 under chapter 22. Each school district required to conduct 22 short-term radon testing as of June 30, 2025, shall provide an 23 update of testing results to the department of health and human 24 services by July 1, 2026. 25 3. Radon testing pursuant to this section conducted on and 26 after July 1, 2022, shall be conducted by a person certified to 27 conduct such testing pursuant to section 136B.1 or by district 28 or accredited nonpublic school employees that have completed 29 a school radon testing training program approved by the 30 department of education and the department of health and human 31 services. District or accredited nonpublic school employees 32 that have completed training shall not perform testing services 33 in locations other than the employee’s employing district or 34 accredited nonpublic school . The department of health and 35 -2- LSB 5091YH (5) 91 mb/jh 2/ 5

H.F. 2217 human services shall maintain and make available to school 1 districts and accredited nonpublic schools a list of such 2 approved school radon testing training programs. Testing shall 3 be based on recognized national standards that outline school 4 radon testing practices. 5 4. a. If the results of a short-term test at an attendance 6 center are at or above four picocuries per liter, the board 7 of directors of the public school district or the authorities 8 in charge of the accredited nonpublic school shall conduct a 9 second short-term test for radon gas and radon decay products 10 in the spaces with elevated results within sixty days of the 11 first test. 12 b. If the averaged results of the first and second tests 13 at an attendance center pursuant to paragraph “a” are at or 14 above four picocuries per liter, the board of directors of 15 the public school district or the authorities in charge of 16 the accredited nonpublic school shall retain or employ a 17 person credentialed pursuant to section 136B.1 to develop a 18 radon mitigation plan that must include corrective measures 19 and active mitigation, and may include further diagnostic 20 testing , corrective measures, and active mitigation . The board 21 or the authorities shall complete the radon mitigation plan 22 within two years of the first test. A However, a district or 23 accredited nonpublic school is not required to mitigate radon 24 at an attendance center if the district or accredited nonpublic 25 school intends to abandon the building within five years or has 26 a plan to renovate the attendance center within five years and 27 the renovation will include radon mitigation. 28 Sec. 5. EMERGENCY RULES. The state board of education 29 may adopt emergency rules under section 17A.4, subsection 3, 30 and section 17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, to implement 31 section 256.20, as enacted by this Act, and the rules shall 32 be effective immediately upon filing unless a later date is 33 specified in the rules. Any rules adopted in accordance with 34 this section shall also be published as a notice of intended 35 -3- LSB 5091YH (5) 91 mb/jh 3/ 5

H.F. 2217 action as provided in section 17A.4. 1 Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 2 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 3 EXPLANATION 4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 5 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 6 This bill relates to radon testing for accredited nonpublic 7 schools, public school districts, charter schools, and 8 innovation zone schools. 9 The bill establishes the school testing and mitigation 10 of radon grant program within the department of education 11 to provide grants to school districts, accredited nonpublic 12 schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools 13 to offset the costs of testing and mitigating radon in 14 attendance centers. The bill requires the state board of 15 education to adopt rules to administer the grant program, 16 including rules relating to grant application materials, 17 eligibility requirements, and award criteria. The state 18 board is responsible for approving or rejecting applications 19 submitted by school districts under the grant program. The 20 bill establishes a school testing and mitigation of radon grant 21 program fund in the state treasury. The bill also allows the 22 state board of education to adopt emergency rules to administer 23 the grant program. 24 The bill requires accredited nonpublic schools to establish 25 a radon plan and schedule for short-term tests for radon gas 26 to be performed at each attendance center at least once by 27 July 1, 2027, and at least once every five years thereafter. 28 Short-term testing shall be performed between October 1 and 29 March 31. The bill also requires accredited nonpublic schools 30 to publish testing results on the school’s internet site in a 31 timely manner, and requires school districts and accredited 32 nonpublic schools to provide testing results to the department 33 of health and human services. Testing results of school 34 districts shall be considered public records under Code chapter 35 -4- LSB 5091YH (5) 91 mb/jh 4/ 5

H.F. 2217 22 (open records). Further, the bill requires that each school 1 district that was required to conduct short-term radon testing 2 as of June 30, 2025, to provide an update of testing results to 3 the department of health and human services by July 1, 2026. 4 The bill imposes other responsibilities on accredited 5 nonpublic schools related to testing for radon gas, including 6 requiring testing by an employee that has completed a school 7 radon testing training program. The bill requires the 8 authorities in charge of the accredited nonpublic school to 9 conduct a second short-term test for radon gas and radon decay 10 products within 60 days of the first test, if the results of 11 the first short-term test at an attendance center are at or 12 above four picocuries per liter. If the averaged results of 13 the first and second tests are at or above four picocuries per 14 liter, the authorities in charge of the accredited nonpublic 15 school shall employ a person to develop a mitigation plan that 16 includes corrective measures and active mitigation, and may 17 include further diagnostic testing, completed within two years 18 of the first test. 19 The bill requires charter schools and innovation zone school 20 to be subject to the same testing, mitigation, and reporting 21 requirements as public school districts in Code section 280.32. 22 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 23 -5- LSB 5091YH (5) 91 mb/jh 5/ 5