This Week at the Statehouse – Week 15
Happy Earth Day!
Since Wednesday, the Senate have gaveled in for procedural purposes only. All week, the House has gaveled in for procedural purposes only. Legislators cannot go more than three days without convening during a legislative session. Their weekly per diem expense checks ran out on Tuesday.
There is currently a stalemate on certain pieces of legislation to get to adjournment. We’re hearing the biggest difference is on the school choice or school voucher bill; depending on your polital party determines what you call the bill. There are two different bills, the House’s HF 2577 and the Senate and Governor’s SF 2369. These two bills also include language regarding high school civics exams. The House bill (HF 2577) requires the most recent version of the civics test developed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services be used as the assessment of student’s knowledge of US government and civics, and on or before June 30 of each year, each school district and nonpublic school must submit the results of the assessment to the Department of Education. The Senate bill (SF 2369) also requires a student answer at least 70% of the questions on the civics test correctly as a condition of graduation from high school. A student who fails to answer at least 70% of the questions correctly may retake the civics test as many times as necessary.
The state budget bills also need to be completed before adjournment. The House has sent the Senate nine budget bills. One budget bill remains that we have not seen, the standings and miscellaneous provisions bill. This bill is always the last budget to be voted on.
When the majority party comes to an agreement, the Legislature will come back into session and finish their work prior to adjournment. At this time, it is hard to determine when this will happen.
Budget Bills:
HF 2560 AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES
HF 2565 ADMINISTRATION & REGULATION
HF 2564 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
HF 2575 EDUCATION
HF 2578 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
HF 2558 JUDICIAL BRANCH
HF 2559 JUSTICE SYSTEMS
HF 2579 REBUILD IOWA INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (RIIF)
HF 2557 ROAD USE TAX FUND (DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION)
Highlights of Eligible Policy Bills:
HF 604 Language development for deaf and hard of hearing children. (to Governor)
HF 2081 Eliminates taking Praxis II test to receive teaching license. Requires 80 field experience hours for traditional prep programs and 50 field experience hours for intern teaching prep programs (RAPIL). (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate) – This language is also included in SF 2369, the school choice/school voucher bill.
HF 2083 Allows all applicants preparing to become a teacher be eligible for Teach Iowa Scholar grants (not just top 25% academically) if the teacher is going to teach in-state. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate) – This language is also included in SF 2377, the Senate’s alternative pathway to teacher licensure bill.
HF 2302 Establishes affirmative defenses for entities using cybersecurity programs. (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)
HF 2398 No renewal requirement for teachers employed for at least ten years and who possesses a master’s or doctoral degree, unless the teacher holds an evaluator approval endorsement, which must be renewed at least once every ten years. Requires continuing background checks every five years for teachers who are not subject to these renewal requirements. Allows the BOEE to charge a reasonable fee for these background checks. Adds charter schools and private schools to background checks. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate) – Similar language is also included in SF 2369, the school choice/school voucher bill.
HF 2443 Contract enforceability regarding smart contracts and distributed ledger technology. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate)
HF 2461 Allows some recourse in the case of a ransomware attack. (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)
HF 2495 If moneys are appropriated, the college student aid commission shall develop and administer a scholarship program to provide scholarships to individuals with intellectual, developmental, or learning disabilities who are at least eighteen years of age and who are enrolled in a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program that has been approved by the United States department of education, to help offset the cost associated with the tuition and fees (i.e. UI REACH). (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)
HF 2496 Relates to procedural requirements for placing an officer’s name on a Brady-Giglio list. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate)
HF 2580 Relates to AEAs and professional development, and includes a requirement that the legislature create their own committee during the 2022 and 2023 legislative interim, to review teacher practitioner preparation programs. (Eligible for House floor debate)
SF 2196 Employers must give one copy of an employee’s personnel file at no cost, upon request. (Passed Senate, eligible for House floor debate)
SF 2369 Governor’s K-12 school choice/school voucher bill. (Passed Senate, eligible in House Appropriations Committee)
SF 2377 Provides an alternative pathway for teacher licensure, adjusts the Teach Iowa scholar program, residency requirements for BOEE licenses and use of school district management levy for teacher recruitment. (Passed Senate, eligible for House floor debate)
If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.