House File 430 - Reprinted HOUSE FILE 430 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO HF 10) (As Amended and Passed by the House March 8, 2023 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to education, including requirements related to 1 mandatory reporters, a process for investigating complaints 2 against school employees, and the responsibilities of the 3 department of education, school districts, charter schools, 4 accredited nonpublic schools, and the board of educational 5 examiners. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md
H.F. 430 Section 1. Section 232.69, subsection 1, unnumbered 1 paragraph 1, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows: 2 The classes of persons enumerated in this subsection shall 3 make a report within twenty-four hours and as provided in 4 section 232.70 , of cases of child abuse. In addition, the 5 classes of persons enumerated in this subsection shall make a 6 report of abuse of a child who is under twelve years of age and 7 may make a report of abuse of a child who is twelve years of age 8 or older, which would be defined as child abuse under section 9 232.68, subsection 2 , paragraph “a” , subparagraph (3) or (5), 10 except that the abuse resulted from the acts or omissions of 11 a person other than a person responsible for the care of the 12 child. 13 Sec. 2. Section 232.69, subsection 1, paragraph b, 14 subparagraph (4), Code 2023, is amended to read as follows: 15 (4) A licensed school employee, certified para-educator, 16 holder of a coaching authorization issued under section 272.31 , 17 school employee who is eighteen years of age or older, or an 18 instructor employed by a community college. 19 Sec. 3. Section 232.70, subsection 5, Code 2023, is amended 20 by adding the following new paragraph: 21 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0f. If the person making the report is a 22 licensed school employee who reasonably believes the person 23 responsible for the injury is also a licensed school employee, 24 the identity of the licensed school employee the person making 25 the report believes is responsible for the injury. 26 Sec. 4. Section 256.9, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 27 following new subsection: 28 NEW SUBSECTION . 66. a. Develop and implement a process 29 for the reporting and investigation of any incident that arises 30 that may reasonably lead to the conclusion that any individual 31 who is employed by the board of directors of a school district, 32 the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, 33 or the governing board of a charter school, including an 34 individual with a license, endorsement, certification, 35 -1- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 1/ 10
H.F. 430 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the 1 board of educational examiners, has committed a felony or, 2 in the case of an individual with a license, endorsement, 3 certification, authorization, or statement of recognition 4 issued by the board of educational examiners, has engaged in 5 conduct described in section 272.15, subsection 1, paragraph 6 “a” , subparagraph (1), subparagraph divisions (a) through (d). 7 b. The process shall prohibit the board of directors of a 8 school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 9 nonpublic school, and the governing board of a charter school 10 from entering into any of the following: 11 (1) A written or oral agreement that prohibits the board 12 of directors of the school district, the authorities in charge 13 of an accredited nonpublic school, the governing board of 14 a charter school, an employee of the school district, the 15 accredited nonpublic school, or the charter school, or a 16 contractor of the school district, the accredited nonpublic 17 school, or the charter school from discussing an incident, past 18 performance or actions, past allegations leading to discipline 19 or adverse employment action, or employee resignation with any 20 governmental agent, governmental officer, or any potential 21 employer. 22 (2) A written or oral agreement that waives the liability 23 of an individual with a license, endorsement, certification, 24 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the 25 board of educational examiners related to or arising from an 26 incident, past performance or action, or past allegations of 27 wrongdoing. 28 c. The process shall require the board of directors of a 29 school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 30 nonpublic school, and the governing board of a charter school 31 to finalize the investigation of the incident even if the 32 employee resigns or the employee’s contract is terminated 33 during the investigation. The board of directors of a school 34 district, the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic 35 -2- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 2/ 10
H.F. 430 school, or the governing board of a charter school, as 1 applicable, shall provide the board of educational examiners 2 with the results of the investigation if the employee who 3 was investigated has a license, endorsement, certification, 4 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the board 5 of educational examiners. 6 d. The process shall require the board of directors of a 7 school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 8 nonpublic school, and the governing board of a charter school 9 to take all of the following actions with respect to employees 10 who do not hold a license, endorsement, certification, 11 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the board 12 of educational examiners: 13 (1) Collect and retain all complaints and reports related to 14 incidents reported under this subsection that are associated 15 with the employee and that relate to the health and safety of 16 students. 17 (2) Notify the school district, accredited nonpublic 18 school, or charter school that employs, or is seeking to 19 employ, the employee of the existence and nature of the 20 complaints and reports related to incidents reported under 21 this subsection that are associated with the employee and that 22 relate to the health and safety of students if contacted by 23 the school district, accredited nonpublic school, or charter 24 school. This subparagraph shall not be construed to require 25 the board of directors of a school district, the authorities 26 in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or the governing 27 board of a charter school to disclose unfounded, closed 28 investigations. 29 e. The board of directors of a school district, the 30 authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or 31 the governing board of a charter school, and contractors of 32 the school district, the accredited nonpublic school, or the 33 charter school shall be immune from any civil liability arising 34 from discussing an incident, past performance or actions, 35 -3- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 3/ 10
H.F. 430 past allegations leading to discipline or adverse employment 1 action, or employee resignation with any governmental agent, 2 governmental officer, or any potential employer. 3 f. If the board of educational examiners finds that the 4 board of directors of a school district, the authorities in 5 charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or the governing 6 board of a charter school has intentionally failed to follow 7 the process established by this subsection regarding an 8 incident, or the reporting requirements established pursuant 9 to section 272.15, related to an employee who holds a license, 10 endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of 11 recognition issued by the board of educational examiners, the 12 board of educational examiners shall assess a fine against 13 an administrator of the school district, the accredited 14 nonpublic school, or the charter school who intentionally 15 failed to ensure compliance with the process of not less than 16 five hundred dollars and not more than five thousand dollars. 17 Payments of the fine provided in this paragraph shall be 18 remitted to the treasurer of the state for deposit in the 19 general fund of the state. 20 g. If the department finds that the board of directors of 21 a school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 22 nonpublic school, or the governing board of a charter school 23 has intentionally failed to follow the process established by 24 this subsection regarding an incident related to an employee 25 who does not hold a license, endorsement, certification, 26 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the board 27 of educational examiners, the department shall assess a fine 28 against an administrator of the school district, the accredited 29 nonpublic school, or the charter school who intentionally 30 failed to ensure compliance with the process of not less than 31 five hundred dollars and not more than five thousand dollars. 32 Payments of the fine provided in this paragraph shall be 33 remitted to the treasurer of the state for deposit in the 34 general fund of the state. 35 -4- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 4/ 10
H.F. 430 h. If the board of educational examiners finds that the 1 board of directors of a school district, the authorities in 2 charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or the governing 3 board of a charter school has intentionally concealed, or 4 attempted to conceal from any governmental agent, governmental 5 officer, or potential employer a founded incident, or any 6 conduct required to be reported pursuant to section 272.15, 7 related to an employee who holds a license, endorsement, 8 certification, authorization, or statement of recognition 9 issued by the board of educational examiners, the board 10 of educational examiners shall assess a fine against an 11 administrator of the school district, the accredited nonpublic 12 school, or the charter school who intentionally assisted in the 13 concealment, or attempted concealment, of an incident, or any 14 conduct required to be reported pursuant to section 272.15, 15 of not more than ten thousand dollars. Payments of the fine 16 provided in this paragraph shall be remitted to the treasurer 17 of the state for deposit in the general fund of the state. 18 i. If the department finds that the board of directors of 19 a school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 20 nonpublic school, or the governing board of a charter school 21 has intentionally concealed, or attempted to conceal from 22 any governmental agent, governmental officer, or potential 23 employer a founded incident related to an employee who does 24 not hold a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, 25 or statement of recognition issued by the board of educational 26 examiners, the department shall assess a fine against an 27 administrator of the school district, the accredited nonpublic 28 school, or the charter school who intentionally assisted in the 29 concealment, or attempted concealment, of an incident of not 30 more than ten thousand dollars. Payments of the fine provided 31 in this paragraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of the 32 state for deposit in the general fund of the state. 33 Sec. 5. Section 256E.7, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended 34 by adding the following new paragraphs: 35 -5- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 5/ 10
H.F. 430 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0j. Be subject to and comply with the 1 requirements of section 280.33 relating to the reporting and 2 investigation of an incident involving the possible commission 3 of a felony by any person who has been issued a license, 4 endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of 5 recognition by the board of educational examiners in the same 6 manner as a school district. 7 NEW PARAGRAPH . 00j. Be subject to and comply with the 8 requirements of section 280.34 relating to the requirement 9 to view the board of educational examiners’ public license 10 information prior to hiring an individual who has been issued 11 a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, or 12 statement of recognition by the board of educational examiners 13 in the same manner as a school district. 14 Sec. 6. Section 272.2, subsection 14, paragraph b, 15 subparagraph (1), unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2023, is amended 16 to read as follows: 17 The person entered a plea of guilty to, or has been found 18 guilty of, or the board has found by a preponderance of the 19 evidence that the person committed, any of the following 20 offenses, whether or not a sentence is imposed: 21 Sec. 7. Section 272.2, subsection 15, Code 2023, is amended 22 to read as follows: 23 15. a. Adopt rules that require specificity in written 24 complaints that are filed by individuals who have personal 25 knowledge of an alleged violation and which are accepted by 26 the board, provide that the jurisdictional requirements as set 27 by the board in administrative rule are met on the face of the 28 complaint before initiating an investigation of allegations, 29 provide that any investigation be limited to the allegations 30 contained on the face of the complaint, provide for an adequate 31 interval between the receipt of a complaint and public notice 32 of the complaint, permit parties to a complaint to mutually 33 agree to a resolution of the complaint filed with the board, 34 allow the respondent the right to review any investigative 35 -6- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 6/ 10
H.F. 430 report upon a finding of probable cause for further action by 1 the board, require that the conduct providing the basis for 2 the complaint occurred within three years of discovery of the 3 event by the complainant unless good cause can be shown for 4 an extension of this limitation, and require complaints to be 5 resolved within one hundred eighty days unless good cause can 6 be shown for an extension of this limitation , and require the 7 board to finalize the investigation of the written complaint 8 even if the licensed practitioner resigns or surrenders the 9 licensed practitioner’s license, certificate, authorization, or 10 statement of recognition during the investigation . 11 b. Adopt rules that require the collection and retention of 12 written complaints that are filed. If the board determines a 13 written complaint is not founded, the complaint and all records 14 related to the complaint shall be kept confidential and are not 15 subject to chapter 22. 16 c. Adopt rules that require the board to notify the public 17 when a licensed practitioner who is the subject of an ongoing 18 investigation initiated under paragraph “a” has a case pending 19 with a finding of probable cause. This paragraph shall not be 20 construed to require the board to disclose unfounded, closed 21 investigations initiated under paragraph “a” . 22 d. Adopt rules that require the evaluation of complaints 23 that did not result in any discipline or sanction if similar 24 complaints are filed against the same licensed practitioner. 25 e. Adopt rules that require the board to investigate an 26 administrator who is employed by the school that employs a 27 licensed practitioner who is the subject of an investigation 28 initiated under paragraph “a” . The rules shall require 29 the board to investigate whether the administrator filed a 30 written complaint pursuant to this subsection and whether the 31 administrator was required to report to the board pursuant to 32 section 272.15. 33 Sec. 8. Section 272.3, Code 2023, is amended by striking the 34 section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 35 -7- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 7/ 10
H.F. 430 272.3 Membership. 1 1. The board of educational examiners shall consist of 2 eleven members, subject to the following requirements: 3 a. Five members shall be the parent or guardian of a student 4 who is either currently enrolled or has been enrolled within 5 the seven years immediately prior to the member’s appointment 6 in a school district, nonpublic school, or charter school 7 located in this state and shall not currently hold any elective 8 office, shall not be an employee or contractor of a school 9 district, nonpublic school, or charter school, and shall not 10 have been an employee or contractor of a school district, 11 nonpublic school, or charter school within the ten years 12 immediately prior to the member’s appointment. 13 b. Five members shall be licensed practitioners. One of 14 the members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall be an 15 administrator and one shall be a special education teacher. 16 c. One member shall be a member of the board of directors of 17 a school district. 18 2. The membership of the board shall comply with the 19 requirements of sections 69.16 and 69.16A. A quorum of the 20 board shall consist of six members. Members shall elect a 21 chairperson of the board. Members shall be appointed by the 22 governor subject to confirmation by the senate. 23 Sec. 9. Section 272.4, subsection 1, Code 2023, is amended 24 to read as follows: 25 1. Members , except for the director of the department of 26 education or the director’s designee, shall be appointed to 27 serve staggered terms of four years. A member shall not serve 28 more than two consecutive terms , except for the director of the 29 department of education or the director’s designee, who shall 30 serve until the director’s term of office expires . A member of 31 the board , except for the two public members and the director 32 of the department of education or the director’s designee, who 33 is a licensed practitioner appointed pursuant to section 272.3, 34 subsection 1, paragraph “b” , shall hold a valid practitioner’s 35 -8- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 8/ 10
H.F. 430 license during the member’s term of office. A vacancy exists 1 when any of the following occur: 2 a. A nonpublic member’s license The license of a licensed 3 practitioner appointed pursuant to section 272.3, subsection 1, 4 paragraph “b” , expires, is suspended, or is revoked. 5 b. A nonpublic member licensed practitioner appointed 6 pursuant to section 272.3, subsection 1, paragraph “b” , retires 7 or terminates employment as a practitioner. 8 c. A member dies, resigns, is removed from office, or is 9 otherwise physically unable to perform the duties of office. 10 d. A member’s term of office expires. 11 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 280.33 Incidents related to licensed 12 practitioners —— reporting and investigation. 13 The board of directors of a school district and the 14 authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school shall 15 follow the process created by the department of education 16 pursuant to section 256.9, subsection 66, related to the 17 reporting and investigation of an incident involving the 18 possible commission of a felony by any employee of the board of 19 directors of the school district or the authorities in charge 20 of the accredited nonpublic school. 21 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 280.34 Requirement to view public 22 license information. 23 Prior to hiring an individual who has been issued a license, 24 endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of 25 recognition by the board of educational examiners, a school 26 district or an accredited nonpublic school, as applicable, 27 shall view the board of educational examiners’ public license 28 information to determine if the individual has a case pending 29 with a finding of probable cause or any licensure sanction. 30 This section shall not be construed to require the board 31 of educational examiners to disclose unfounded, closed 32 investigations. 33 Sec. 12. BOARD OF EDUCATIONAL EXAMINERS MEMBERSHIP —— 34 TRANSITION. 35 -9- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 9/ 10
H.F. 430 1. The terms of office associated with the members of the 1 board of educational examiners shall, as of the effective 2 date of this Act, be deemed to have expired, notwithstanding 3 the terms of office associated with the members under section 4 272.3. 5 2. For the members of the board of educational examiners 6 first appointed by the governor on or after the effective date 7 of this Act, five shall serve an initial term of two years 8 and six shall serve an initial term of four years. When the 9 governor appoints such members, the governor shall indicate 10 whether the appointee’s term shall be for two years or for four 11 years. For purposes of the limitation on consecutive terms a 12 member may serve under section 272.4, subsection 1, a term of 13 two years shall be considered a full term. 14 -10- HF 430 (3) 90 jda/jh/md 10/ 10