House File 10 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 10 BY WHEELER , HOLT , STONE , DUNWELL , FISHER , MOORE , JENEARY , STOLTENBERG , WULF , SHIPLEY , BRADLEY , GOLDING , DEYOE , P. THOMPSON , WILLS , JOHNSON , BODEN , GEHLBACH , SORENSEN , OSMUNDSON , HENDERSON , GRABER , SIEGRIST , WINDSCHITL , BOSSMAN , GRASSLEY , and GERHOLD A BILL FOR An Act relating to education, including requirements related to 1 mandatory reporters, a process for investigating complaints 2 against licensed practitioners, and the responsibilities 3 of the department of education, school districts, charter 4 schools, accredited nonpublic schools, and the board of 5 educational examiners. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 1705YH (2) 90 jda/jh

H.F. 10 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 full-time school employee who is eighteen years of age or 18 older, or an 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 an individual 31 with a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, or 32 statement of recognition issued by the board of educational 33 examiners who is employed by the board of directors of a 34 school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 35 -1- LSB 1705YH (2) 90 jda/jh 1/ 8

H.F. 10 nonpublic school, or the governing board of a charter school 1 has committed a felony or has engaged in conduct described in 2 section 272.15, subsection 1, paragraph “a” , subparagraph (1), 3 subparagraph divisions (a) through (d). 4 b. The process shall prohibit the boards of directors of 5 a school district, the authorities in charge of an accredited 6 nonpublic school, and the governing board of a charter school 7 from entering into any of the following: 8 (1) A written or oral agreement that prohibits the board 9 of directors of the school district, the authorities in charge 10 of an accredited nonpublic school, the governing board of 11 a charter school, an employee of the school district, the 12 accredited nonpublic school, or the charter school, or a 13 contractor of the school district, the accredited nonpublic 14 school, or the charter school from discussing an incident, past 15 performance or actions, past allegations leading to discipline 16 or adverse employment action, or employee resignation with any 17 governmental agent, governmental officer, or any potential 18 employer. 19 (2) A written or oral agreement that waives the liability 20 of an individual with a license, endorsement, certification, 21 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the 22 board of educational examiners related to or arising from an 23 incident, past performance or action, or past allegations of 24 wrongdoing. 25 c. The board of directors of a school district, the 26 authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or 27 the governing board of a charter school, and contractors of 28 the school district, the accredited nonpublic school, or the 29 charter school shall be immune from any civil liability arising 30 from discussing an incident, past performance or actions, 31 past allegations leading to discipline or adverse employment 32 action, or employee resignation with any governmental agent, 33 governmental officer, or any potential employer. 34 d. If the board of educational examiners finds that the 35 -2- LSB 1705YH (2) 90 jda/jh 2/ 8

H.F. 10 board of directors of a school district, the authorities in 1 charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or the governing 2 board of a charter school has intentionally failed to follow 3 the process established by this subsection regarding an 4 incident, or the reporting requirements established pursuant 5 to section 272.15, the board of educational examiners shall 6 assess a fine against an administrator of the school district, 7 the accredited nonpublic school, or the charter school who 8 failed to ensure compliance with the process of not less than 9 five hundred dollars and not more than five thousand dollars. 10 Payments of the fine provided in this paragraph shall be 11 remitted to the treasurer of the state for deposit in the 12 general fund of the state. 13 e. If the board of educational examiners finds that the 14 board of directors of a school district, the authorities in 15 charge of an accredited nonpublic school, or the governing 16 board of a charter school has intentionally concealed, or 17 attempted to conceal from any governmental agent, governmental 18 officer, or potential employer a founded incident, or any 19 conduct required to be reported pursuant to section 272.15, the 20 board of educational examiners shall assess a fine against an 21 administrator of the school district, the accredited nonpublic 22 school, or the charter school who assisted in the concealment, 23 or attempted concealment, of an incident, or any conduct 24 required to be reported pursuant to section 272.15, of not more 25 than ten thousand dollars. Payments of the fine provided in 26 this paragraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of the state 27 for deposit in the general fund of the state. 28 Sec. 5. Section 256E.7, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended 29 by adding the following new paragraph: 30 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0i. Be subject to and comply with the 31 requirements of section 280.33 in the same manner as a school 32 district. 33 Sec. 6. Section 272.2, subsection 14, paragraph b, 34 subparagraph (1), unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2023, is amended 35 -3- LSB 1705YH (2) 90 jda/jh 3/ 8

H.F. 10 to read as follows: 1 The person entered a plea of guilty to, or has been found 2 guilty of, or the board has found by a preponderance of the 3 evidence that the person committed, any of the following 4 offenses, whether or not a sentence is imposed: 5 Sec. 7. Section 272.2, subsection 15, Code 2023, is amended 6 to read as follows: 7 15. a. Adopt rules that require specificity in written 8 complaints that are filed by individuals who have personal 9 knowledge of an alleged violation and which are accepted by 10 the board, provide that the jurisdictional requirements as set 11 by the board in administrative rule are met on the face of the 12 complaint before initiating an investigation of allegations, 13 provide that any investigation be limited to the allegations 14 contained on the face of the complaint, provide for an adequate 15 interval between the receipt of a complaint and public notice 16 of the complaint, permit parties to a complaint to mutually 17 agree to a resolution of the complaint filed with the board, 18 allow the respondent the right to review any investigative 19 report upon a finding of probable cause for further action by 20 the board, require that the conduct providing the basis for 21 the complaint occurred within three years of discovery of the 22 event by the complainant unless good cause can be shown for 23 an extension of this limitation, and require complaints to be 24 resolved within one hundred eighty days unless good cause can 25 be shown for an extension of this limitation. 26 b. Adopt rules that require the collection and retention of 27 written complaints that are filed. If the board determines a 28 written complaint is not founded, the complaint and all records 29 related to the complaint shall be kept confidential and are not 30 subject to chapter 22. 31 c. Adopt rules that require the board to notify the school 32 that employs, or is seeking to employ, a licensed practitioner 33 who is the subject of an ongoing investigation initiated under 34 paragraph “a” , of the existence and nature of the written 35 -4- LSB 1705YH (2) 90 jda/jh 4/ 8

H.F. 10 complaint filed against the licensed practitioner. This 1 paragraph shall not be construed to require the board to 2 disclose unfounded, closed investigations initiated under 3 paragraph “a” . 4 d. Adopt rules that require the evaluation of complaints 5 that did not result in any discipline or sanction if similar 6 complaints are filed against the same licensed practitioner. 7 e. Adopt rules that require the board to investigate an 8 administrator who is employed by the school that employs a 9 licensed practitioner who is the subject of an investigation 10 initiated under paragraph “a” . The rules shall require 11 the board to investigate whether the administrator filed a 12 written complaint pursuant to this subsection and whether the 13 administrator was required to report to the board pursuant to 14 section 272.15. 15 Sec. 8. Section 279.69, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 16 following new subsection: 17 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. Prior to hiring an individual who 18 has been issued a license, endorsement, certification, 19 authorization, or statement of recognition by the board of 20 educational examiners, a school district shall contact the 21 board of educational examiners to determine if the individual 22 is the subject of an ongoing investigation initiated pursuant 23 to section 272.2, subsection 15, if a complaint has been filed 24 against the individual pursuant to section 272.2, subsection 25 15, if a report has been filed against the individual pursuant 26 to section 272.15, or if the individual surrendered a license, 27 endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of 28 recognition prior to the final disposition of an investigation. 29 Information provided pursuant to this subsection shall be 30 kept confidential, is not subject to chapter 22, and may only 31 be shared with individuals directly involved in the hiring 32 process. This subsection shall not be construed to require the 33 board of educational examiners to disclose unfounded, closed 34 investigations. 35 -5- LSB 1705YH (2) 90 jda/jh 5/ 8

H.F. 10 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 280.33 Incidents related to licensed 1 practitioners —— reporting and investigation. 2 The board of directors of a school district and the 3 authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school shall 4 follow the process created by the department of education 5 pursuant to section 256.9, subsection 66, related to the 6 reporting and investigation of an incident involving the 7 possible commission of a felony by any person who has been 8 issued a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, or 9 statement of recognition by the board of educational examiners. 10 EXPLANATION 11 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 12 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 13 This bill relates to education, including requirements 14 related to mandatory reporters, a process for investigating 15 complaints against licensed practitioners, and the 16 responsibilities of the department of education (DE), school 17 districts, charter schools, accredited nonpublic schools, and 18 the board of educational examiners (BOEE). 19 Current Code section 232.69 (mandatory and permissive 20 reporters) requires certain persons to report cases of abuse 21 of a child who is under 12 years of age and authorizes those 22 persons to make a report of abuse of a child who is 12 years 23 of age or older. The bill requires the persons governed by 24 Code section 232.69 to make a report of the abuse of a child, 25 regardless of whether the child is 12 years of age or older. 26 Additionally, the bill requires full-time school employees 27 who are 18 years of age or older to report cases of abuse of 28 children. The bill also requires that if a person making a 29 report of abuse of children is a licensed school employee who 30 reasonably believes the person responsible for the injury is 31 also a licensed school employee, the person making the report 32 shall identify the licensed school employee when making the 33 report. 34 The bill requires the director of the DE to develop and 35 -6- LSB 1705YH (2) 90 jda/jh 6/ 8

H.F. 10 implement a process for the reporting and investigation of 1 any incident that arises which may reasonably lead to the 2 conclusion that an individual with a license, endorsement, 3 certification, authorization, or statement of recognition 4 issued by the BOEE, and who is employed by the board of 5 directors of a school district, the authorities in charge 6 of an accredited nonpublic school, or a charter school, has 7 committed certain specified felonies or engaged in certain 8 specified conduct. The bill requires the boards of directors 9 of school districts, the authorities in charge of accredited 10 nonpublic schools, and charter schools to follow this process. 11 The bill prohibits the board, the authorities in charge of an 12 accredited nonpublic school, and charter schools from entering 13 into certain specified agreements related to certain incidents. 14 The bill immunizes the board, the authorities in charge of 15 an accredited nonpublic school, and charter schools, and the 16 board’s, the accredited nonpublic school’s, or the charter 17 school’s contractors against any civil liability arising from 18 discussing an incident, past performance or actions, past 19 allegations leading to discipline, or resignation with certain 20 specified persons. The bill requires the BOEE to assess a 21 civil penalty of not less than $500 and not more than $5,000 22 against the administrator of a school district, an accredited 23 nonpublic school, or a charter school if the administrator 24 fails to follow the process relating to incidents, and a civil 25 penalty not to exceed $10,000 if the administrator assists in 26 the concealment, or attempted concealment, of an incident or 27 certain conduct that is required to be reported. 28 Current law requires the BOEE to adopt rules that require 29 the disqualification of an applicant for licensure, or the 30 revocation of a license, if the person entered a plea of 31 guilty to, or has been found guilty of, certain specified 32 offenses. The bill modifies this provision to also require 33 the disqualification of an applicant for licensure, or 34 the revocation of a license, if the BOEE has found by a 35 -7- LSB 1705YH (2) 90 jda/jh 7/ 8

H.F. 10 preponderance of the evidence that the person committed certain 1 specified offenses. 2 Current law requires the BOEE to adopt rules related to 3 complaints that are filed by individuals who have personal 4 knowledge of an alleged violation and the investigation of 5 those complaints. The bill requires the BOEE to adopt rules 6 that require the collection and retention of those complaints 7 and the evaluation of complaints that did not result in 8 any discipline if similar complaints are filed against the 9 licensed practitioner. The bill requires the BOEE to adopt 10 rules that require the BOEE to notify the school that employs, 11 or is seeking to employ, a licensed practitioner who is 12 the subject of an investigation of the existence and nature 13 of the complaint filed against the licensed practitioner. 14 Additionally, the bill requires the BOEE to investigate an 15 administrator employed by a school that employs a licensed 16 practitioner who is the subject of an investigation to 17 determine whether the administrator filed a written complaint 18 against the licensed practitioner and to determine whether the 19 administrator was required to report the licensed practitioner 20 to the BOEE. 21 The bill requires school districts, prior to hiring an 22 individual with a license, endorsement, certification, 23 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the 24 BOEE, to contact the BOEE to determine if the individual 25 is the subject of an ongoing investigation, if a complaint 26 or report has been filed against the individual, or if the 27 individual surrendered a license, endorsement, certification, 28 authorization, or statement of recognition prior to final 29 disposition of an investigation. 30 -8- LSB 1705YH (2) 90 jda/jh 8/ 8