HSB 43 (LSB 1430XD (5) 91)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to education, including by modifying provisions related to community college and department of education reporting requirements, the national board certification pilot project, and employees of the Iowa educational services for the blind and visually impaired program or the Iowa school for the deaf, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

DIVISION I
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

    Section 1.  Section 256.7, subsection 23, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   23.  Adopt rules directing the community colleges to annually and uniformly submit data, including individual-level data, from the most recent fiscal year to the community colleges bureau department, using criteria determined and prescribed by the bureau department via the management information system.
   a.  Financial data submitted to the division department by a community college shall be broken down by fund.
   b.  Community colleges shall provide data to the community colleges bureau department by a deadline set by the bureau department. The deadline shall be set for a date that permits the bureau department to include the data in a report submitted for to the state board approval and the general assembly for review by December March 15 of each year by the house and senate standing education committees and the joint subcommittee on education appropriations.
   c.  The department shall include a statewide summary of the financial data submitted in accordance with paragraph “a” in the submit an annual condition of community colleges report, which upon approval of to the state board, shall be submitted to and the general assembly on or before February 1 for review by March 15 of each year.  The report must include community college program level educational and employment outcomes reports upon availability of all underlying data.
    Sec. 2.  Section 260C.14, subsection 21, paragraph c, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  The department shall submit a report to the general assembly summarizing incorporate the data submitted in paragraph “a” by January 15 annually into the annual condition of community colleges report described in section 256.7, subsection 23, paragraph “c”.
    Sec. 3.  Section 261E.3, subsection 3, paragraph j, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   j.  All eligible postsecondary institutions providing programming under this chapter shall include the unique student identifier assigned to students while in the kindergarten through grade twelve system as a part of the institution’s student data management system. Eligible postsecondary institutions providing programming under this chapter shall cooperate with the department on data requests related to the programming. All eligible postsecondary institutions providing programming under this chapter shall collect data and report to the department on the proportion of females and minorities enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-oriented educational opportunities provided in accordance with this chapter. The department shall submit incorporate the programming data and the department’s findings and recommendations in a report to the general assembly annually by January 15 into the annual condition of community colleges report described in section 256.7, subsection 23, paragraph “c”.
DIVISION II
NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION PROGRAM AND STIPENDS

    Sec. 4.  Section 256.44, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   A national board certification pilot project program is established to be administered by the department of education. A teacher, as defined in section 256.145, who registers for or achieves national board for professional teaching standards certification, and who is employed by a school district in Iowa and receiving a salary as a classroom teacher, may be eligible for the following:
    Sec. 5.  Section 284.13, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  (1)  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025, to the department, the amount of five hundred eight thousand two hundred fifty dollars for the issuance of national board certification awards in accordance with section 256.44. Of the amount allocated under this paragraph, not less than eighty-five thousand dollars shall be used to administer the ambassador to education position in accordance with section 256.45.
   (2)  Notwithstanding section 8.33, funds appropriated for purposes of this paragraph which remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year for which the funds were appropriated shall not revert but shall be available for expenditure by the department for purposes of providing stipends to individuals who receive an advanced dyslexia specialist endorsement from the board of educational examiners. The department shall consider the amount of funds available under this subparagraph when determining the amount of such stipend.
    Sec. 6.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  The following, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment:
   The section of this division of this Act amending section 284.13.
DIVISION III
IOWA EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PROGRAM AND THE IOWA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF

    Sec. 7.  Section 256.103, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   256.103  Employees —— contracts —— termination and discharge procedures.
   1.  Sections 279.12 through 279.19B and section 279.27 apply to employees of the Iowa educational services for the blind and visually impaired program and employees of the Iowa school for the deaf, who are licensed pursuant to subchapter VII, part 3.  Section 279.27 applies to employees of the Iowa educational services for the blind and visually impaired program and employees of the Iowa school for the deaf, whether or not licensed pursuant to subchapter VII, part 3, who are responsible for the care, instruction, or supervision of children. In following those sections in chapter 279, the references to boards of directors of school districts shall be interpreted to apply to the department.
   2.  Notwithstanding chapter 8A, subchapter IV, the department of administrative services shall, in consultation with the department of education, establish an annual compensation schedule applicable to all employees of the Iowa educational services for the blind and visually impaired program and all employees of the Iowa school for the deaf and shall set the employee benefits for such employees.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to education, including by modifying provisions related to community college and department of education (DE) reporting requirements, the national board certification pilot project, and employees of the Iowa educational services for the blind and visually impaired program or the Iowa school for the deaf.
   DIVISION I —— REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. Current law requires the state board of education to adopt rules directing the community colleges to submit certain specified data from the most recent fiscal year to the community colleges bureau using criteria determined by the community colleges bureau. The bill modifies these provisions to instead require the data to be submitted directly to DE. The bill makes several other modifications related to data submitted by the community colleges to DE, and related to data submitted by DE to the state board and the general assembly, including modifications related to the information to be included in the annual condition of community colleges report.
   DIVISION II —— NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION PROGRAM AND STIPENDS. The bill changes the name of the national board certification pilot project established in Code section 256.44 to the national board certification program.
   The bill provides that funds appropriated for purposes of the student achievement and teacher quality program that are allocated to DE for the issuance of national board certification awards that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall be available for expenditure by DE for purposes of providing stipends to individuals who receive an advanced dyslexia specialist endorsement from the board of educational examiners (BOEE). This provision takes effect upon enactment.
   DIVISION III —— IOWA EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PROGRAM AND THE IOWA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF.  The bill provides that Code section 279.27 (discharge of a teacher) applies to employees of the Iowa educational services for the blind and visually impaired program and employees of the Iowa school for the deaf, whether or not licensed by the BOEE, who are responsible for the care, instruction, or supervision of children.
   The bill requires the department of administrative services, in consultation with DE, to establish an annual compensation schedule applicable to all employees of the Iowa educational services for the blind and visually impaired program and all employees of the Iowa school for the deaf and to set the employee benefits for such employees.