This Week at the Statehouse – Week 5
New bills for consideration continue to be filed daily. This link will provide a complete list of bills the Board of Regents are tracking (in the box marked as lobbyist, type in Mary Braun).
Bills the Regents are monitoring that had action this week:
HF 252 (formerly HF 16) COMPREHENSIVE TRANSITION SCHOLARSHIPS – UI REACH. If moneys are appropriated, requires College Student Aid to develop a scholarship program for individuals over 18 who have intellectual, development or learning disabilities and who are enrolled in a comprehensive transition program postsecondary program. The bill passed the House Education Committee and is on the House floor for consideration. There is no Senate companion bill.
HF 243 (formerly HSB 74) AUTISM SPECTRUM COVERAGE. The bill relates to insurance coverage for covered individuals for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder. The bill passed the House Commerce Committee and is on the House floor for consideration. The Senate companion bill is SSB 1050, which is in the Senate Commerce Committee for consideration.
HF 244 (formerly HSB 47) MENTAL HEALTH PRACTITIONER LOAN REPAYMENTS. Requires College Student aid to make loan repayments for mental health practitioners and establishes provisions for proportional payments for part-time practitioners. Effective for loan repayments on enactment. The bill passed the House Education Committee and is on the House floor for consideration. The Senate companion bill is SF 253, which is on the Senate floor for consideration.
HF 255 (formerly HF 4) ALTERNATIVE PATHWAYS TO TEACHING LICENSES. The bill puts in the Iowa Code the alternative pathway to licensure (RAPIL program) that is currently in Iowa Department of Education rules. The bill also allows an out of state company to provide an online only course for those with a baccalaureate degree to pass and then can get their temporary teaching license (no student teaching required). The bill passed the House Education Committee and is on the House floor for consideration. There is no Senate companion bill.
HF 256 (formerly HF 100) TEACHING LICENSURE AGE. Strikes the requirement that an applicant for a teaching license must be 21. The bill passed the House Education Committee and is on the House floor for consideration. There is no Senate companion bill.
HSB 111 PAYING STUDENT TEACHERS. The House Education Subcommittee voted to amend the bill and move it to the full committee for consideration. The bill says school districts "may" pay a student teacher; it is left up to each school district. We applaud the legislature to talk about paying student teachers, especially as more and more states are beginning to do it. However, this bill could possibly hurt our teacher preparation program placements. Our concern is about creating a scenario where some districts will offer these incentives and others will not and how this may affect universities placing students. Will those districts that do accept them accept fewer because they won't have the money to pay them all? Will this cause a disparity for our students as some would get paid and others would not? If we cannot place student teachers, they cannot complete their program of study to become a teacher. There is no Senate companion bill.
HSB 119 GOVERNOR EDUCATION BILL – TEACHER LIBRARIANS AND WORLD LANGUAGE. On a vote of 3-2, the House Education Subcommittee moved the bill to the full committee for consideration. The two provisions we’re following include removing the requirement that teacher librarians have a master’s degree and allows someone who is a public librarian to work in the school without additional training. The second provision changes the state requirement that all K-12 districts are required to offer four years of a world language (e.g. Spanish 1, 2, 3, 4), to two sequential units (e.g. Spanish 1, 2 only). The Senate companion bill is SSB 1076, which is in the Senate Education Committee for consideration.
HSB 144 PUBLIC RECORD REQUESTS. House State Government Subcommittee moved this bill to the full committee for consideration. The bill provides that upon receipt of a public records request, the lawful custodian shall promptly provide the lawful custodian’s contact information, approximate date of the records release, and an estimate of any reasonable fees associated with the records request. The Senate companion bill is SF 202, which is on the Senate floor for consideration.
SF 252 (Formerly SF 58) UNIVERSITY PREGNANCY ACCOMMODATIONS. The bill requires reasonable accommodations for students who are pregnant or who recently gave birth who attend the Regents universities and community colleges. The Senate Education Committee amended SF 58; SF 252 is the amended bill. The bill is on the Senate floor for consideration. There is no House companion bill.
SSB 1049 TEACHING PROGRAMS & INCENTIVES. The Senate Education Subcommittee moved this bill to the full committee for consideration. The bill puts in the Iowa Code the alternative pathway to licensure (RAPIL program) that is currently in Iowa Department of Education rules. It also amends who is eligible for the Teach Iowa Scholar grants, and allows the use of school districts management levy for teacher recruitment incentives. There is no House companion bill.
SSB 1121 OPEN RECORD/MEETING COMPLAINTS. The Senate State Government Subcommittee moved this bill to the full committee for consideration. The bill gives a person 90 days, not the current 60 days, to file a complaint with the Iowa Public Information Board after an alleged violation of Code chapter 21 (open meetings) or Code chapter 22 (open records) occurred or the complainant could have become aware of the alleged violation. The House companion bill is HSB 145, which passed the House State Government Subcommittee and is in the full committee for consideration.
Upcoming Dates
February 13 – President Mark Nook, along with the presidents of Iowa State and Iowa, will present UNI’s budget request to the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee
February 14 – UNI Day at the Capitol
February 14 – Randy Pilkington, Executive Director of UNI BCS, and Dan Beenken, Director of UNI Family Business Center, will present UNI’s economic development budget request to the Senate Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee
March 3 – First Funnel – Bills not reported out of their originating committee by this date are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)
March 31 – Second Funnel – House bills not passed out of Senate committees and Senate bills not passed out of House committees are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)
April 28 – 110th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)
If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.