Senate File 2377 - Reprinted SENATE FILE 2377 BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS (SUCCESSOR TO SF 2202) (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3067) (As Amended and Passed by the Senate March 29, 2022 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to education, including eligibility for grants 1 under the teach Iowa scholar program, licenses issued by the 2 board of educational examiners, and the use of revenues from 3 the district management levy, and including applicability 4 provisions. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 SF 2377 (2) 89 jda/jh/mb

S.F. 2377 Section 1. Section 256.16, subsection 1, Code 2022, is 1 amended by adding the following new paragraph: 2 NEW PARAGRAPH . n. If a higher education institution 3 providing practitioner preparation offers a program that is 4 designed to assist students in attaining a teacher intern 5 license from the board of educational examiners, the program 6 shall require participants to satisfy all of the following 7 requirements before completing the program: 8 (1) A participant in the program must have graduated from 9 an accredited or state-approved college or university and must 10 meet the requirements for an endorsement area approved by the 11 board of educational examiners for a teacher intern license. 12 (2) A participant in the program must have at least three 13 years of post-baccalaureate work experience. 14 (3) A participant in the program must submit with the 15 application to the program a copy of an offer of employment 16 from a school. 17 (4) A participant in the program must have completed the 18 required pedagogy training. 19 (5) A participant in the program must work under the 20 supervision of a teacher leader assigned by the school district 21 or accredited nonpublic school, including during co-teaching 22 and planning time. 23 (6) A participant in the program must complete at least 24 fifteen additional hours of coursework. 25 Sec. 2. Section 261.110, subsection 3, paragraphs a and b, 26 Code 2022, are amended to read as follows: 27 a. The applicant was in the top twenty-five thirty percent 28 academically of students exiting a teacher preparation program 29 approved by the state board of education pursuant to section 30 256.7, subsection 3 , or a similar teacher preparation program 31 in another state, or had earned other comparable academic 32 credentials. 33 b. The applicant is preparing to teach in fields including 34 but not limited to science, technology, engineering, or 35 -1- SF 2377 (2) 89 jda/jh/mb 1/ 6

S.F. 2377 mathematics; English as a second language or special education 1 instruction; or is preparing to teach in a hard-to-staff 2 subject as identified by the department. The department shall 3 take into account the varying regional needs in the state for 4 teachers in these subject areas when applying the criterion 5 of this paragraph. The department shall annually identify 6 and designate hard-to-staff subjects for the purpose of this 7 paragraph. The eligibility of an applicant who receives a 8 teach Iowa scholar grant and who is preparing to teach in a 9 hard-to-staff subject as identified by the department shall 10 not be affected in subsequent years if the department does not 11 continue to identify that subject as a hard-to-staff subject 12 become a teacher who provides classroom instruction . 13 Sec. 3. Section 261.110, subsection 3, Code 2022, is amended 14 by adding the following new paragraph: 15 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. The total value of grants awarded under 16 this section each year to applicants who are preparing to 17 teach in a school district, charter school, or an accredited 18 nonpublic school shall be as follows: 19 (1) Fifty percent shall be awarded to applicants preparing 20 to teach in a school district with less than or equal to one 21 thousand two hundred students, a charter school with less than 22 or equal to one thousand two hundred students, or an accredited 23 nonpublic school with less than or equal to one thousand 24 two hundred students. However, if the amount requested by 25 applicants pursuant to subparagraph (2) is less than the amount 26 reserved for applicants under subparagraph (2), the commission 27 may award the difference to applicants under this subparagraph. 28 (2) Fifty percent shall be awarded to applicants preparing 29 to teach in a school district with greater than one thousand 30 two hundred students, a charter school with greater than one 31 thousand two hundred students, or an accredited nonpublic 32 school with greater than one thousand two hundred students. 33 However, if the amount requested by applicants pursuant 34 to subparagraph (1) is less than the amount reserved for 35 -2- SF 2377 (2) 89 jda/jh/mb 2/ 6

S.F. 2377 applicants under subparagraph (1), the commission may award the 1 difference to applicants under this subparagraph. 2 Sec. 4. Section 272.2, subsection 1, Code 2022, is amended 3 by adding the following new paragraph: 4 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection 5 establishing criteria for applicants for licenses who have 6 completed an accredited or state-approved teacher preparation 7 program and who are applying for the applicant’s first Iowa 8 teaching license shall not require the applicant to be an Iowa 9 resident if the applicant provides the board with a copy of an 10 offer of employment as a teacher from a school located in this 11 state. 12 Sec. 5. Section 272.2, subsection 13, Code 2022, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 13. Adopt rules to provide for nontraditional preparation 15 options for licensing persons who hold a bachelor’s degree 16 or higher from an accredited or state-approved college or 17 university, who do not meet other requirements for licensure. 18 The rules shall, at a minimum, require the board to do all of 19 the following: 20 a. Issue a teacher intern license for instruction in grades 21 six through twelve to an applicant who has enrolled in a 22 program established pursuant to section 256.16, subsection 1, 23 paragraph “n” . 24 b. Allow a licensee who has attained a teacher intern 25 license pursuant to paragraph “a” to apply for an initial 26 teaching license if the school that employed the licensee 27 during the licensee’s completion of the program established 28 pursuant to section 256.16, subsection 1, paragraph “n” , and 29 the higher education institution that operated the program, 30 recommend that the licensee be allowed to apply for an initial 31 teaching license. 32 Sec. 6. Section 272.2, Code 2022, is amended by adding the 33 following new subsection: 34 NEW SUBSECTION . 27. Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 35 -3- SF 2377 (2) 89 jda/jh/mb 3/ 6

S.F. 2377 17A that allow an individual seeking a career and technical 1 secondary authorization to apply, and if eligible, be issued 2 the secondary authorization prior to accepting an offer of 3 employment with a school. 4 Sec. 7. Section 279.46, Code 2022, is amended to read as 5 follows: 6 279.46 Retirement incentives and teacher recruitment 7 incentives —— tax. 8 1. The board of directors of a school district may adopt 9 a program for payment of a monetary bonus, continuation of 10 health or medical insurance coverage, or other incentives 11 for encouraging its employees to retire before the normal 12 retirement date as defined in chapter 97B . The program is 13 available only to employees who notify the board of directors 14 prior to April 1 of the fiscal year that they intend to retire 15 not later than the start of the next following school calendar. 16 The age at which employees shall be designated eligible for the 17 program shall be at the discretion of the board. An employee 18 retiring under this section this subsection may apply for a 19 retirement allowance under chapter 97B or chapter 294 . The 20 board may include in the district management levy an amount to 21 pay the total estimated accumulated cost to the school district 22 of the health or medical insurance coverage, bonus, or other 23 incentives for employees fifty-five years of age or older who 24 retire under this section subsection . 25 2. a. The board of directors of a school district 26 may adopt a program for teacher recruitment incentives to 27 recruit new teachers. If the board does adopt a program 28 for teacher recruitment incentives, the board shall adopt a 29 policy to implement the program. Under the program, the board 30 of directors of a school district shall not do any of the 31 following: 32 (1) Pay a teacher a teacher recruitment incentive that 33 annually exceeds ten percent of the amount of the salary for 34 an initial teacher established pursuant to section 284.15, 35 -4- SF 2377 (2) 89 jda/jh/mb 4/ 6

S.F. 2377 subsection 2, paragraph “a” , subparagraph (1). 1 (2) Pay a teacher a teacher recruitment incentive in more 2 than five school budget years. 3 b. The board may include in the district management levy 4 an amount to pay the total estimated accumulated cost to the 5 school district of the teacher recruitment incentives adopted 6 under this subsection. 7 3. The board shall adopt either the program for early 8 retirement benefits provided in subsection 1 or the program for 9 teacher recruitment incentives provided in subsection 2, but 10 shall not adopt both concurrently. After adopting a program, 11 the board may change programs, but only after at least five 12 years. 13 4. The board of directors of a school district shall 14 discuss the adoption of the program for early retirement 15 benefits provided in subsection 1 or the program for teacher 16 recruitment incentives provided in subsection 2, as applicable, 17 at a regular or special meeting prior to adopting the program. 18 The board of directors of the school district shall provide 19 sufficient time to receive public comment on the program. The 20 board shall allow each interested member of the public to speak 21 at the meeting regarding the program, but may impose a time 22 limit on the amount of time a member of the public is allowed 23 to speak if the time limit is the same for each speaker and 24 necessary due to the amount of people wishing to speak. The 25 board of directors of a school district shall not adopt the 26 program for early retirement benefits provided in subsection 27 1 concurrently with the program for teacher recruitment 28 incentives provided in subsection 2. 29 Sec. 8. Section 298.4, subsection 1, paragraph e, Code 2022, 30 is amended to read as follows: 31 e. To pay the cost of early retirement benefits to employees 32 under section 279.46 , subsection 1, or teacher recruitment 33 incentives under section 279.46, subsection 2. A board of 34 directors of a school district shall not expend the district 35 -5- SF 2377 (2) 89 jda/jh/mb 5/ 6

S.F. 2377 management levy on the costs of both programs in the same 1 fiscal year . 2 Sec. 9. APPLICABILITY. The following applies to grants 3 awarded by the college student aid commission on or after July 4 1, 2022, to initial applicants under the teach Iowa scholar 5 program established pursuant to section 261.110: 6 The sections of this Act amending section 261.110. 7 Sec. 10. APPLICABILITY. The following apply to school 8 budget years beginning July 1, 2023: 9 1. The section of this Act amending section 279.46. 10 2. The section of this Act amending section 298.4. 11 -6- SF 2377 (2) 89 jda/jh/mb 6/ 6