House File 2398 - Reprinted HOUSE FILE 2398 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 656) (As Amended and Passed by the House March 2, 2022 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to certain specified employees of school 1 districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter 2 schools, including renewal requirements associated with 3 licenses issued by the board of educational examiners 4 to practitioners with master’s or doctoral degrees, fees 5 associated with the review of certain specified records, 6 and background checks for employees of school districts, 7 accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools. 8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 9 HF 2398 (2) 89 jda/jh/md

H.F. 2398 Section 1. Section 256E.7, subsection 1, Code 2022, is 1 amended by adding the following new paragraph: 2 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0i. Be subject to and comply with sections 3 279.13 and 279.69 relating to state criminal history checks for 4 teachers and registry checks for school employees in the same 5 manner as a school district. 6 Sec. 2. Section 272.2, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2022, 7 is amended to read as follows: 8 a. License practitioners, which includes the authority to 9 establish do all of the following: 10 (1) Establish criteria for the licenses ; establish . 11 (2) Establish issuance and renewal requirements, provided 12 that a continuing education requirement may be completed 13 by electronic means ; create , and there shall be no renewal 14 requirement for a practitioner who has been employed as 15 a practitioner for at least ten years and who possesses a 16 master’s or doctoral degree, unless the practitioner holds an 17 evaluator approval endorsement, which must be renewed at least 18 once every ten years. 19 (3) Create application and renewal forms ; create . 20 (4) Create licenses that authorize different instructional 21 functions or specialties ; develop . 22 (5) Develop a code of professional rights and 23 responsibilities, practices, and ethics, which shall, among 24 other things, address the all of the following: 25 (a) The failure of a practitioner to fulfill contractual 26 obligations under section 279.13 , the . 27 (b) The failure of an administrator to protect the safety of 28 staff and students , the . 29 (c) The failure of an administrator to meet mandatory 30 reporter obligations , the . 31 (d) The refusal of a practitioner to implement provisions of 32 an individualized education program or behavioral intervention 33 plan , and habitual . 34 (e) Habitual nonparticipation in professional development ; 35 -1- HF 2398 (2) 89 jda/jh/md 1/ 5

H.F. 2398 and develop . 1 (f) The development of any other classifications, 2 distinctions, and procedures which may be necessary to exercise 3 licensing duties. In addressing the failure of a practitioner 4 to fulfill contractual obligations, the board shall consider 5 factors beyond the practitioner’s control. 6 Sec. 3. Section 272.2, subsection 17, Code 2022, is amended 7 to read as follows: 8 17. Adopt rules to require that a background investigation 9 be conducted by the division of criminal investigation of the 10 department of public safety on all initial applicants for 11 licensure. The board shall also require all initial applicants 12 to submit a completed fingerprint packet and shall use the 13 packet to facilitate a national criminal history background 14 check. The board shall have access to, and shall review 15 the sex offender registry information under section 692A.121 16 available to the general public, information in the Iowa court 17 information system available to the general public, the central 18 registry for child abuse information established under chapter 19 235A , and the dependent adult abuse records maintained under 20 chapter 235B for information regarding applicants for license 21 renewal and, every five years, for practitioners who are not 22 subject to renewal requirements pursuant to subsection 1, 23 paragraph “a” , subparagraph (2) . The board may charge such 24 a practitioner who is not subject to renewal requirements a 25 reasonable fee for the review of the sex offender registry 26 information, information in the Iowa court information system, 27 the central registry for child abuse information, and the 28 dependent adult abuse records. 29 Sec. 4. Section 272.7, subsection 1, Code 2022, is amended 30 to read as follows: 31 1. A license issued under board authority is valid 32 for the period of time for which it is issued, unless the 33 license is suspended or revoked. No Except as provided in 34 section 272.2, subsection 1, paragraph “a” , subparagraph (2), 35 -2- HF 2398 (2) 89 jda/jh/md 2/ 5

H.F. 2398 permanent licenses shall not be issued. A person employed as 1 a practitioner shall hold a valid license with an endorsement 2 for the type of service for which the person is employed. 3 This section does not limit the duties or powers of a school 4 board to select or discharge practitioners or to terminate 5 practitioners’ contracts. A professional development program, 6 except for a program offered by a practitioner preparation 7 institution or area education agency and approved by the state 8 board of education, must possess a valid license for the types 9 of programs offered. 10 Sec. 5. Section 279.13, subsection 1, paragraph b, 11 subparagraphs (1) and (2), Code 2022, are amended to read as 12 follows: 13 (1) Prior to entering into an initial contract with a 14 teacher who holds a license other than an initial license 15 issued by the board of educational examiners under chapter 16 272 , the school district or accredited nonpublic school 17 shall initiate a state criminal history record check of the 18 applicant through the division of criminal investigation 19 of the department of public safety, submit the applicant’s 20 fingerprints to the division for submission to the federal 21 bureau of investigation for a national criminal history record 22 check, and review the sex offender registry information under 23 section 692A.121 available to the general public, the central 24 registry for child abuse information established under section 25 235A.14 , and the central registry for dependent adult abuse 26 information established under section 235B.5 for information 27 regarding the applicant for employment as a teacher. 28 (2) The school district or accredited nonpublic school 29 may charge the applicant a fee not to exceed the actual cost 30 charged the school district or accredited nonpublic school for 31 the state and national criminal history checks and registry 32 checks conducted pursuant to subparagraph (1). 33 Sec. 6. Section 279.69, Code 2022, is amended to read as 34 follows: 35 -3- HF 2398 (2) 89 jda/jh/md 3/ 5

H.F. 2398 279.69 School employees —— background investigations. 1 1. Prior to hiring an applicant for a school employee 2 position, a school district or accredited nonpublic school 3 shall have access to and shall review the information in the 4 Iowa court information system available to the general public, 5 the sex offender registry information under section 692A.121 6 available to the general public, the central registry for 7 child abuse information established under section 235A.14 , and 8 the central registry for dependent adult abuse information 9 established under section 235B.5 for information regarding the 10 applicant. A school district shall follow the same procedure 11 by June 30, 2014, for each school employee employed by the 12 school district as of July 1, 2013. A school district or 13 accredited nonpublic school shall implement a consistent 14 policy to follow the same procedure for each school employee 15 employed by the school district or accredited nonpublic school 16 on or after July 1, 2013, at least every five years after the 17 school employee’s initial date of hire. A school district or 18 accredited nonpublic school shall not charge an employee for 19 the cost of the registry checks conducted pursuant to this 20 subsection . A school district or accredited nonpublic school 21 shall maintain documentation demonstrating compliance with this 22 subsection . 23 2. Being listed in the sex offender registry established 24 under chapter 692A , the central registry for child abuse 25 information established under section 235A.14 , or the central 26 registry for dependent adult abuse information established 27 under section 235B.5 shall constitute grounds for the immediate 28 suspension from duties of a school employee, pending a 29 termination hearing by the board of directors of a school 30 district or the authorities in charge of an accredited 31 nonpublic school . A termination hearing conducted pursuant to 32 this subsection shall be limited to the question of whether the 33 school employee was incorrectly listed in the registry. 34 3. For purposes of this section , “school employee” means 35 -4- HF 2398 (2) 89 jda/jh/md 4/ 5

H.F. 2398 an individual employed by a school district or an accredited 1 nonpublic school, as applicable , including a part-time, 2 substitute, or contract employee. “School employee” does not 3 include an individual subject to a background investigation 4 pursuant to section 272.2, subsection 17 , section 279.13, 5 subsection 1 , paragraph “b” , or section 321.375, subsection 2 . 6 -5- HF 2398 (2) 89 jda/jh/md 5/ 5