House Study Bill 283 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON WHEELER) A BILL FOR An Act requiring the board of educational examiners to issue 1 certificates when directed by the board of directors 2 of a school district to individuals who have attained a 3 minimum of a baccalaureate degree and who have expertise or 4 significant professional experience in a subject area that 5 allows the individual to provide instruction in that subject 6 area to students enrolled in the school district in grades 7 nine through twelve. 8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 9 TLSB 2657YC (4) 91 jda/jh

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 256.9, Code 2025, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 69. Publish on the department’s internet 3 site the number of certificates awarded to adjunct instructors 4 pursuant to section 279.87, broken down by school district, 5 attendance center, grade level in which the adjunct instructor 6 provides instruction, and the subject area in which the adjunct 7 instructor provides instruction. 8 Sec. 2. Section 256.146, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 9 following new subsection: 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 28. Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 11 that require the board of educational examiners to issue a 12 certificate to an adjunct instructor that allows the adjunct 13 instructor to provide instruction to students enrolled in a 14 school district in grades nine through twelve when directed 15 by the board of directors of the school district pursuant to 16 section 279.87, and to renew such a certificate when directed 17 by the board of directors of the school district pursuant to 18 section 279.87, unless the applicant for the certificate is 19 disqualified for any reason specified in subsection 13. 20 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 279.87 Adjunct instructors —— 21 certificates. 22 1. As used in this section: 23 a. “Adjunct instructor” means an individual who has attained 24 a minimum of a baccalaureate degree and who has expertise or 25 significant professional experience in a core subject area or 26 a noncore subject area. 27 b. “Core subject” means any of the following subject areas: 28 (1) English-language arts. 29 (2) Social studies. 30 (3) Mathematics. 31 (4) Science. 32 c. “Noncore subject” means any subject area that is not a 33 core subject. 34 d. “Supervising teacher” means a teacher employed by a 35 -1- LSB 2657YC (4) 91 jda/jh 1/ 6

H.F. _____ school district who has at least three years of teaching 1 experience and who has received at least satisfactory 2 evaluations while employed by the school district as a teacher. 3 e. “Teacher” means the same as defined in section 256.145. 4 2. a. The board of directors of a school district 5 may direct the board of educational examiners to award a 6 certificate to an adjunct instructor who is not disqualified 7 for any reason specified in section 256.146, subsection 13, 8 that allows the adjunct instructor to provide instruction to 9 students enrolled in grades nine through twelve, including 10 instruction provided in accordance with section 256.43, for 11 one school year on a full-time or part-time basis subject 12 to requirements established by the school district. The 13 requirements established by the school district must be 14 published on the school district’s internet site and must 15 include all of the following: 16 (1) If the adjunct instructor applies to teach a core 17 subject, the adjunct instructor must demonstrate subject area 18 mastery of the core subject by passing a subject area test or 19 producing evidence of a related industry certification. 20 (2) If the adjunct instructor applies to teach a noncore 21 subject, the adjunct instructor must demonstrate subject area 22 mastery of the noncore subject by passing a subject area test, 23 producing evidence of a related industry certification, or 24 producing evidence of significant professional experience in 25 the noncore subject. 26 b. Prior to directing the board of educational examiners to 27 award a certificate to an adjunct instructor under paragraph 28 “a” , the school district shall initiate a state criminal history 29 record check of the adjunct instructor through the division 30 of criminal investigation of the department of public safety, 31 submit the adjunct instructor’s fingerprints to the division 32 for submission to the federal bureau of investigation for a 33 national criminal history record check, and review the sex 34 offender registry information under section 692A.121 available 35 -2- LSB 2657YC (4) 91 jda/jh 2/ 6

H.F. _____ to the general public, the central registry for child abuse 1 information established under section 235A.14, and the central 2 registry for dependent adult abuse information established 3 under section 235B.5 for information regarding the adjunct 4 instructor. 5 3. The board of directors of a school district shall do all 6 of the following: 7 a. Assign a supervising teacher to oversee, mentor, and 8 evaluate the progress of an adjunct instructor providing 9 instruction pursuant to subsection 2, paragraph “a” . 10 b. Annually evaluate the performance of each adjunct 11 instructor providing instruction pursuant to subsection 2, 12 paragraph “a” . 13 c. Report annually to the director of the department of 14 education the number of certificates the board of educational 15 examiners awarded to adjunct instructors employed by the school 16 district, broken down by whether the adjunct instructor teaches 17 full time or part time, the grade level in which the adjunct 18 instructor provides instruction, and the subject area in which 19 the adjunct instructor provides instruction. 20 4. a. If the board of directors of a school district 21 determines that an adjunct instructor providing instruction 22 pursuant to subsection 2, paragraph “a” , in a core subject has 23 performed effectively in providing instruction to students, 24 the board of directors of the school district may direct 25 the board of educational examiners to renew the adjunct 26 instructor’s certificate for the immediately subsequent school 27 year; provided, however, that an adjunct instructor shall not 28 provide instruction to students in a core subject for more than 29 three consecutive or nonconsecutive school years pursuant to a 30 certificate awarded under subsection 2, paragraph “a” . 31 b. If the board of directors of a school district determines 32 that an adjunct instructor providing instruction pursuant to 33 subsection 2, paragraph “a” , in a noncore subject has performed 34 effectively in providing instruction to students, the board 35 -3- LSB 2657YC (4) 91 jda/jh 3/ 6

H.F. _____ of directors of the school district may direct the board 1 of educational examiners to renew the adjunct instructor’s 2 certificate for the immediately subsequent school year. 3 5. This section shall not be construed to prohibit an 4 adjunct instructor who is providing instruction pursuant to 5 subsection 2, paragraph “a” , from applying for and seeking 6 any license, certificate, authorization, or statement of 7 recognition issued by the board of educational examiners, 8 including during the time in which the adjunct instructor is 9 providing instruction under this section. 10 6. The rights available to a teacher under sections 279.15, 11 279.16, 279.18, and 279.27 apply to an adjunct instructor 12 providing instruction pursuant to subsection 2, paragraph “a” . 13 EXPLANATION 14 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 15 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 16 This bill requires the board of educational examiners (BOEE) 17 to issue certificates when directed by the board of directors 18 of a school district to individuals who have attained a minimum 19 of a baccalaureate degree and who have expertise or significant 20 professional experience in a subject area that allows the 21 individual to provide instruction in that subject area to 22 students enrolled in the school district in grades 9 through 23 12. 24 The bill defines “adjunct instructor” as an individual who 25 has attained a minimum of a baccalaureate degree and who has 26 expertise or significant professional experience in a core 27 subject area or a noncore subject area. The bill defines 28 “core subject” to mean English-language arts, social studies, 29 mathematics, and science. Additionally, the bill defines 30 “noncore subject” as a subject area that is not a core subject. 31 The bill also defines “supervising teacher” as a teacher 32 employed by a school district who has at least three years of 33 teaching experience and who has received at least satisfactory 34 evaluations while employed by the school district as a teacher. 35 -4- LSB 2657YC (4) 91 jda/jh 4/ 6

H.F. _____ Additionally, the bill defines “teacher” as a licensed member 1 of a school’s instructional staff who diagnoses, prescribes, 2 evaluates, and directs student learning in a manner which is 3 consistent with professional practice and school objectives, 4 shares responsibility for the development of an instructional 5 program and any coordinating activities, evaluates or assesses 6 student progress before and after instruction, and who uses 7 the student evaluation or assessment information to promote 8 additional student learning. 9 The bill requires the BOEE to adopt rules that require 10 the BOEE to issue a certificate to an adjunct instructor 11 that allows the adjunct instructor to provide instruction to 12 students enrolled in a school district in grades 9 through 12 13 when directed by the board of directors of the school district, 14 and to renew such a certificate, unless the applicant for the 15 certificate is disqualified for any reason specified in Code 16 section 256.146(13). 17 The bill allows a school district to direct the BOEE to award 18 a certificate to an adjunct instructor that allows the adjunct 19 instructor to provide instruction to students enrolled in 20 grades 9 through 12 for one school year subject to requirements 21 established by the school district. The requirements 22 established by the school district must be published on the 23 school district’s internet site and must include requirements 24 associated with the adjunct instructor demonstrating subject 25 area mastery. The bill requires the school district to perform 26 certain specified criminal history checks on the adjunct 27 instructor prior to the BOEE awarding a certificate to the 28 adjunct instructor. The bill establishes renewal requirements 29 related to the certificates. 30 The bill requires a school district to assign a supervising 31 teacher to oversee, mentor, and evaluate the progress of an 32 adjunct instructor providing instruction pursuant to the 33 bill’s provisions and to annually evaluate the performance 34 of each adjunct instructor providing instruction pursuant 35 -5- LSB 2657YC (4) 91 jda/jh 5/ 6

H.F. _____ to the bill’s provisions. The bill also requires a school 1 district to report annually to the director of the department 2 of education information related to the certificates the BOEE 3 awarded to adjunct instructors. The director of the department 4 of education is required to publish this information on the 5 department’s internet site. 6 The bill provides that the rights available to a teacher 7 under Code sections 279.15 (notice of termination —— request 8 for hearing), 279.16 (private hearing —— decision —— record), 9 279.18 (appeal by teacher to court), and 279.27 (discharge of 10 teacher) apply to an adjunct instructor providing instruction 11 pursuant to the bill’s provisions. 12 -6- LSB 2657YC (4) 91 jda/jh 6/ 6