Bill Text: IA SF2313 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to employment matters involving public employees including collective bargaining, educator employment matters, personnel records and settlement agreements, city civil service requirements, and health insurance matters, and including effective date, applicability, and transition provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-02-19 - Subcommittee: Driscoll, Donahue, and Guth. [SF2313 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2023-SF2313-Introduced.html

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Senate File 2313 - Introduced
SENATE FILE 2313
BY DONAHUE
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to employment matters involving public
employees including collective bargaining, educator
employment matters, personnel records and settlement
agreements, city civil service requirements, and
health insurance matters, and including effective date,
applicability, and transition provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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DIVISION I
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Section 1. Section 20.3, subsections 11 and 13, Code 2024,
are amended by striking the subsections.
Sec. 2. Section 20.6, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
1. Administer Interpret, apply, and administer the
provisions of this chapter and delegate the powers and duties
of the board to the executive director or persons employed by
the board, as appropriate.
Sec. 3. Section 20.6, subsections 6 and 7, Code 2024, are
amended by striking the subsections.
Sec. 4. Section 20.7, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
2. Hire, evaluate, promote, demote, transfer, assign, and
retain public employees in positions within the public agency.
Sec. 5. Section 20.8, subsection 5, Code 2024, is amended by
striking the subsection.
Sec. 6. Section 20.9, Code 2024, is amended by striking the
section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
20.9 Scope of negotiations.
1. The public employer and the employee organization
shall meet at reasonable times, including meetings reasonably
in advance of the public employer’s budget-making process,
to negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours,
vacations, insurance, holidays, leaves of absence, shift
differentials, overtime compensation, supplemental pay,
seniority, transfer procedures, job classifications, health and
safety matters, evaluation procedures, procedures for staff
reduction, in-service training, and other matters mutually
agreed upon. Negotiations shall also include terms authorizing
dues checkoff for members of the employee organization and
grievance procedures for resolving any questions arising under
the agreement, which shall be embodied in a written agreement
and signed by the parties. If an agreement provides for dues
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checkoff, a member’s dues may be checked off only upon the
member’s written request and the member may terminate the dues
checkoff at any time by giving thirty days’ written notice.
Such obligation to negotiate in good faith does not compel
either party to agree to a proposal or make a concession.
2. Nothing in this section shall diminish the authority
and power of the department of administrative services, board
of regents’ merit system, Iowa public broadcasting board’s
merit system, or any civil service commission established by
constitutional provision, statute, charter, or special act to
recruit employees, prepare, conduct and grade examinations,
rate candidates in order of their relative scores for
certification for appointment or promotion or for other matters
of classification, reclassification, or appeal rights in the
classified service of the public employer served.
3. All retirement systems shall be excluded from the scope
of negotiations.
Sec. 7. Section 20.10, subsection 3, paragraph j, Code 2024,
is amended by striking the paragraph.
Sec. 8. Section 20.12, subsection 5, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
5. If an employee organization or any of its officers
is held to be in contempt of court for failure to comply
with an injunction pursuant to this section , or is convicted
of violating this section , the employee organization shall
be immediately decertified, shall cease to represent the
bargaining unit, shall cease to receive any dues by checkoff,
and may again be certified only after twenty-four twelve months
have elapsed from the effective date of decertification and
only if after a new petition for certification pursuant to
compliance with section 20.14 is filed and a new certification
election pursuant to section 20.15 is held . The penalties
provided in this section may be suspended or modified by the
court, but only upon request of the public employer and only
if the court determines the suspension or modification is in
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the public interest.
Sec. 9. Section 20.15, Code 2024, is amended by striking the
section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
20.15 Elections.
1. Upon the filing of a petition for certification of an
employee organization, the board shall submit a question to
the public employees at an election in the bargaining unit
found appropriate by the board. The question on the ballot
shall permit the public employees to vote for no bargaining
representation or for any employee organization which has
petitioned for certification or which has presented proof
satisfactory to the board of support of ten percent or more of
the public employees in the appropriate unit.
2. If a majority of the votes cast on the question is
for no bargaining representation, the public employees in
the bargaining unit found appropriate by the board shall not
be represented by an employee organization. If a majority
of the votes cast on the question is for a listed employee
organization, then that employee organization shall represent
the public employees in the bargaining unit found appropriate
by the board.
3. If none of the choices on the ballot receive the vote
of a majority of the public employees voting, the board shall
conduct a runoff election among the two choices receiving the
greatest number of votes.
4. Upon written objections filed by any party to the
election within ten days after notice of the results of
the election, if the board finds that misconduct or other
circumstances prevented the public employees eligible to
vote from freely expressing their preferences, the board may
invalidate the election and hold a second election for the
public employees.
5. Upon completion of a valid election in which the majority
choice of the employees voting is determined, the board shall
certify the results of the election and shall give reasonable
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notice of the order to all employee organizations listed on the
ballot, the public employers, and the public employees in the
appropriate bargaining unit.
6. a. A petition for certification as exclusive bargaining
representative of a bargaining unit shall not be considered
by the board for a period of one year from the date of the
noncertification of an employee organization as the exclusive
bargaining representative of that bargaining unit following a
certification election. A petition for certification as the
exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit shall
also not be considered by the board if the bargaining unit is
at that time represented by a certified exclusive bargaining
representative.
b. A petition for the decertification of the exclusive
bargaining representative of a bargaining unit shall not be
considered by the board for a period of one year from the date
of its certification, or within one year of its continued
certification following a decertification election, or during
the duration of a collective bargaining agreement which, for
purposes of this section, shall be deemed not to exceed two
years. However, if a petition for decertification is filed
during the duration of a collective bargaining agreement, the
board shall award an election under this section not more than
one hundred eighty days and not less than one hundred fifty
days prior to the expiration of the collective bargaining
agreement. If an employee organization is decertified, the
board may receive petitions under section 20.14, provided that
no such petition and no election conducted pursuant to such
petition within one year from decertification shall include as
a party the decertified employee organization.
c. A collective bargaining agreement with the state, its
boards, commissions, departments, and agencies shall be for two
years. The provisions of a collective bargaining agreement or
arbitrator’s award affecting state employees shall not provide
for renegotiations which would require the refinancing of
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salary and fringe benefits for the second year of the term of
the agreement, except as provided in section 20.17, subsection
6. The effective date of any such agreement shall be July 1 of
odd-numbered years, provided that if an exclusive bargaining
representative is certified on a date which will prevent the
negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement prior to
July 1 of odd-numbered years for a period of two years, the
certified collective bargaining representative may negotiate
a one-year contract with the public employer which shall be
effective from July 1 of the even-numbered year to July 1
of the succeeding odd-numbered year when new contracts shall
become effective.
Sec. 10. Section 20.17, subsection 8, Code 2024, is amended
by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the
following:
8. The salaries of all public employees of the state under
a merit system and all other fringe benefits which are granted
to all public employees of the state shall be negotiated with
the governor or the governor’s designee on a statewide basis,
except those benefits which are not subject to negotiations
pursuant to the provisions of section 20.9.
Sec. 11. Section 20.17, Code 2024, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 8A. A public employee or any employee
organization shall not negotiate or attempt to negotiate
directly with a member of the governing board of a public
employer if the public employer has appointed or authorized
a bargaining representative for the purpose of bargaining
with the public employees or their representative, unless the
member of the governing board is the designated bargaining
representative of the public employer.
Sec. 12. Section 20.22, subsections 2, 3, 7, 9, and 10, Code
2024, are amended to read as follows:
2. Each party shall serve its final offer on each of
the impasse items upon the other party within four days of
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the board’s receipt of the request for arbitration , or by a
deadline otherwise agreed upon by the parties . The parties may
continue to negotiate all offers until an agreement is reached
or an award is rendered by the arbitrator. The full costs of
arbitration under this section shall be shared equally by the
parties to the dispute.
3. The submission of the impasse items to the arbitrator
shall be limited to those items upon which the parties have
not reached agreement. With respect to each such item, the
arbitrator’s award shall be restricted to the final offers on
each impasse item submitted by the parties to the arbitrator ,
except as provided in subsection 10 , paragraph “b” .
7. For an arbitration involving a bargaining unit that
has at least thirty percent of members who are public safety
employees, the The arbitrator shall consider and specifically
address in the arbitrator’s determination , in addition to any
other relevant factors, the following factors:
a. Past collective bargaining contracts between the parties
including the bargaining that led up to such contracts.
b. Comparison of wages, hours, and conditions of employment
of the involved public employees with those of other public
employees doing comparable work, giving consideration to
factors peculiar to the area and the classifications involved.
c. The interests and welfare of the public, the ability of
the public employer to finance economic adjustments, and the
effect of such adjustments on the normal standard of services.
d. The power of the public employer to levy taxes and
appropriate funds for the conduct of its operations.
9. a. The arbitrator may administer oaths, examine
witnesses and documents, take testimony and receive evidence,
and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and
the production of records. The arbitrator may petition the
district court at the seat of government or of the county
in which the hearing is held to enforce the order of the
arbitrator compelling the attendance of witnesses and the
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production of records.
b. Except as required for purposes of the consideration of
the factors specified in subsection 7 , paragraphs “a” through
“c” , and subsection 8 , paragraph “a” , subparagraphs (1) through
(3), the parties shall not introduce, and the arbitrator
shall not accept or consider, any direct or indirect evidence
regarding any subject excluded from negotiations pursuant to
section 20.9 .
10. a. The arbitrator shall select within fifteen
days after the hearing the most reasonable offer, in the
arbitrator’s judgment, of the final offers on each impasse item
submitted by the parties.
b. (1) However, for an arbitration involving a bargaining
unit that does not have at least thirty percent of members who
are public safety employees, with respect to any increase in
base wages, the arbitrator’s award shall not exceed the lesser
of the following percentages in any one-year period in the
duration of the bargaining agreement:
(a) Three percent.
(b) A percentage equal to the increase in the consumer
price index for all urban consumers for the midwest region,
if any, as determined by the United States department of
labor, bureau of labor statistics, or a successor index. Such
percentage shall be the change in the consumer price index
for the twelve-month period beginning eighteen months prior
to the month in which the impasse item regarding base wages
was submitted to the arbitrator and ending six months prior to
the month in which the impasse item regarding base wages was
submitted to the arbitrator.
(2) To assist the parties in the preparation of their final
offers on an impasse item regarding base wages, the board
shall provide information to the parties regarding the change
in the consumer price index for all urban consumers for the
midwest region for any twelve-month period. The department of
workforce development shall assist the board in preparing such
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information upon request.
Sec. 13. Section 20.22, subsection 8, Code 2024, is amended
by striking the subsection.
Sec. 14. Section 20.26, subsection 4, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
4. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
voluntary contributions by individuals to political parties
or candidates , provided that such contributions are not made
through payroll deductions .
Sec. 15. Section 20.29, Code 2024, is amended to read as
follows:
20.29 Filing agreement —— public access —— internet site .
1. Collective bargaining agreements shall be in writing and
shall be signed by the parties.
2. A copy of a collective bargaining agreement entered into
between a public employer and a certified employee organization
and made final under this chapter shall be filed with the board
by the public employer within ten days of the date on which the
agreement is entered into.
3. Copies of collective bargaining agreements entered
into between the state and the state employees’ bargaining
representatives and made final under this chapter shall be
filed with the secretary of state and be made available to the
public at cost.
4. The board shall maintain an internet site that allows
searchable access to a database of collective bargaining
agreements and other collective bargaining information.
Sec. 16. Section 20.30, Code 2024, is amended by striking
the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
20.30 Supervisory member —— no reduction before retirement.
1. A supervisory member of any department or agency
employed by the state of Iowa shall not be granted a voluntary
reduction to a nonsupervisory rank or grade during the six
months preceding retirement of the member. A member of any
department or agency employed by the state of Iowa who retires
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in less than six months after voluntarily requesting and
receiving a reduction in rank or grade from a supervisory to a
nonsupervisory position shall be ineligible for a benefit to
which the member is entitled as a nonsupervisory member but is
not entitled as a supervisory member.
2. The provisions of this section shall be effective during
the collective bargaining agreement in effect from July 1,
1979, to June 30, 1981.
Sec. 17. Section 20.31, subsection 2, unnumbered paragraph
1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
A mediator shall not be required to testify in any judicial,
administrative, arbitration, or grievance proceeding regarding
any matters occurring in the course of a mediation, including
any verbal or written communication or behavior, other than
facts relating exclusively to the timing or scheduling of
mediation. A mediator shall not be required to produce or
disclose any documents, including notes, memoranda, or other
work product, relating to mediation, other than documents
relating exclusively to the timing or scheduling of mediation.
This subsection shall not apply in any of the following
circumstances:
Sec. 18. Section 22.7, subsection 69, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
69. The evidence of public employee support for
the certification , retention and recertification, or
decertification of an employee organization as defined in
section 20.3 that is submitted to the public employment
relations board as provided in section 20.14 or 20.15 .
Sec. 19. Section 22.7, subsection 70, Code 2024, is amended
by striking the subsection.
Sec. 20. Section 70A.17A, Code 2024, is amended by adding
the following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 3. This section shall not affect a payroll
deduction elected by a state employee pursuant to section
70A.19.
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Sec. 21. Section 70A.19, Code 2024, is amended by striking
the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
70A.19 Duration of state payroll deduction for dues of
employee organization member.
A state employee who elects a payroll deduction for
membership dues to an employee organization pursuant to the
provisions of a collective bargaining agreement negotiated
under the provisions of chapter 20 shall maintain the deduction
for a period of one year or until the expiration of the
collective bargaining agreement, whichever occurs first. A
state employee who transfers employment to a position covered
by a different collective bargaining agreement or who becomes
a management employee is not subject to this requirement.
With respect to state employees, this section supersedes the
provisions of section 20.9 allowing termination of a dues
checkoff at any time but does not supersede the requirement for
thirty days’ written notice of termination.
Sec. 22. Section 412.2, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
1. From the proceeds of the assessments on the wages
and salaries of employees, of any such waterworks system,
or other municipally owned and operated public utility,
eligible to receive the benefits thereof. Notwithstanding
any provisions of section 20.9 to the contrary, a council,
board of waterworks, or other board or commission which
establishes a pension and annuity retirement system pursuant to
this chapter, shall negotiate in good faith with a certified
employee organization as defined in section 20.3, which is the
collective bargaining representative of the employees, with
respect to the amount or rate of the assessment on the wages
and salaries of employees and the method or methods for payment
of the assessment by the employees.
Sec. 23. Section 602.1401, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code
2024, is amended to read as follows:
b. For purposes of chapter 20 , the certified representative,
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which on July 1, 1983, represents employees who become judicial
branch employees as a result of 1983 Iowa Acts, ch. 186 , shall
remain the certified representative when the employees become
judicial branch employees and thereafter, unless the public
employee organization is not retained and recertified or is
decertified in an election held under section 20.15 or amended
or absorbed into another certified organization pursuant to
chapter 20 . Collective bargaining negotiations shall be
conducted on a statewide basis and the certified employee
organizations which engage in bargaining shall negotiate on a
statewide basis, although bargaining units shall be organized
by judicial district. The public employment relations board
shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to implement this
subsection .
Sec. 24. REPEAL. Sections 20.32 and 20.33, Code 2024, are
repealed.
Sec. 25. TRANSITION PROCEDURES —— DEADLINE —— EMERGENCY
RULES.
1. As of the effective date of this division of this Act,
parties, mediators, and arbitrators engaging in any collective
bargaining procedures provided for in chapter 20, Code 2024,
who have not, before the effective date of this division
of this Act, completed such procedures, shall immediately
terminate any such procedures in process. A collective
bargaining agreement negotiated pursuant to such procedures in
process shall not become effective. Parties, mediators, and
arbitrators shall not engage in further collective bargaining
procedures except as provided in this section. Such parties
shall commence collective bargaining in accordance with section
20.17, as amended in this division of this Act. Such parties
shall complete such bargaining not later than June 30, 2024,
unless the parties mutually agree to a different deadline.
2. The public employment relations board shall adopt
emergency rules under section 17A.4, subsection 3, and section
17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, to provide for procedures
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as deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this
section within five business days of the effective date of
this Act and shall submit such rules to the administrative
rules coordinator and the administrative code editor pursuant
to section 17A.5, subsection 1, within the same period. The
rules shall be effective immediately upon filing unless a later
date is specified in the rules. Such rules shall include but
are not limited to alternative deadlines for completion of the
procedures provided in sections 20.17 and 20.22, as amended by
this division of this Act, and sections 20.19 and 20.20, which
deadlines may be waived by mutual agreement of the parties.
3. The department of administrative services shall adopt
emergency rules under section 17A.4, subsection 3, and
section 17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, to provide for the
implementation of section 70A.19, as amended by this division
of this Act within five business days of the effective date
of this Act and shall submit such rules to the administrative
rules coordinator and the administrative code editor pursuant
to section 17A.5, subsection 1, within the same period. The
rules shall be effective immediately upon filing unless a later
date is specified in the rules.
Sec. 26. ELECTIONS —— DIRECTIVES TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
RELATIONS BOARD.
1. The public employment relations board shall cancel any
elections scheduled or in process pursuant to section 20.15,
subsection 2, Code 2024, as of the effective date of this Act.
2. Notwithstanding section 20.15, subsection 1, paragraph
“c”, Code 2024, the public employment relations board
shall consider a petition for certification of an employee
organization as the exclusive representative of a bargaining
unit for which an employee organization was not retained and
recertified as the exclusive representative of that bargaining
unit regardless of the amount of time that has elapsed since
the retention and recertification election at which an employee
organization was not retained or recertified.
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Sec. 27. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act, being
deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
Sec. 28. APPLICABILITY. With the exception of the
section of this division of this Act amending section 20.6,
subsection 1, this division of this Act does not apply to
collective bargaining agreements which have been ratified in a
ratification election referred to in section 20.17, subsection
4, for which an arbitrator has made a final determination as
described in section 20.22, subsection 11, or which have become
effective, when such events occurred before the effective
date of this division of this Act. This division of this Act
applies to all collective bargaining procedures provided for in
chapter 20 occurring on and after the effective date of this
division of this Act and collective bargaining agreements for
which a ratification election referred to in section 20.17,
subsection 4, is held, for which an arbitrator makes a final
determination as described in section 20.22, subsection 11, or
which become effective on or after the effective date of this
division of this Act.
DIVISION II
EDUCATOR EMPLOYMENT MATTERS
Sec. 29. Section 279.13, subsections 2 and 5, Code 2024, are
amended to read as follows:
2. The contract shall remain in force and effect for the
period stated in the contract and shall be automatically
continued for equivalent periods except as modified or
terminated by mutual agreement of the board of directors and
the teacher or as modified or terminated in accordance with
the provisions specified in this chapter . A contract shall
not be offered by the employing board to a teacher under its
jurisdiction prior to March 15 of any year. A teacher who has
not accepted a contract for the ensuing school year tendered
by the employing board may resign effective at the end of the
current school year by filing a written resignation with the
secretary of the board. The resignation must be filed not
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later than the last day of the current school year or the date
specified by the employing board for return of the contract,
whichever date occurs first. However, a teacher shall not be
required to return a contract to the board or to resign less
than twenty-one days after the contract has been offered.
5. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section , a
temporary contract may be issued to a teacher for a period of
up to six months. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this
section , a temporary contract may also be issued to a teacher
to fill a vacancy created by a leave of absence in accordance
with the provisions of section 29A.28 , which contract shall
automatically terminate upon return from military leave of the
former incumbent of the teaching position . Temporary contracts
and which contract shall not be subject to the provisions of
sections 279.15 through 279.19 , or section 279.27 . A separate
extracurricular contract issued pursuant to section 279.19A to
a person issued a temporary contract under this section shall
automatically terminate with the termination of the temporary
contract as required under section 279.19A, subsection 8 .
Sec. 30. Section 279.13, subsection 4, unnumbered paragraph
1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
For purposes of this section , sections 279.14 , 279.15 ,
279.16 through 279.17 , 279.19 , and 279.27 , unless the context
otherwise requires, “teacher” includes the following individuals
employed by a community college:
Sec. 31. Section 279.14, Code 2024, is amended to read as
follows:
279.14 Evaluation criteria and procedures.
1. The board shall establish evaluation criteria and shall
implement evaluation procedures. If an exclusive bargaining
representative has been certified, the board shall negotiate
in good faith with respect to evaluation procedures pursuant
to chapter 20.
2. The determination of standards of performance expected
of school district personnel shall be reserved as an exclusive
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management right of the school board and shall not be subject
to mandatory negotiations under chapter 20 . Objections
Notwithstanding chapter 20, objections to the procedures,
use, or content of an evaluation in a teacher termination
proceeding brought before the school board in a hearing held in
accordance with section 279.16 or 279.27 shall not be subject
to any the grievance procedures negotiated in accordance with
chapter 20 . A school district shall not be obligated to
process any evaluation grievance after service of a notice and
recommendation to terminate an individual’s continuing teaching
contract in accordance with this chapter.
Sec. 32. Section 279.15, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code
2024, is amended to read as follows:
c. Within five days of the receipt of the written notice
that the superintendent is recommending termination of the
contract, the teacher may request, in writing to the secretary
of the board, a private hearing with the board. The private
hearing shall not be subject to chapter 21 and shall be held
no sooner than twenty ten days and no later than forty twenty
days following the receipt of the request unless the parties
otherwise agree. The secretary of the board shall notify the
teacher in writing of the date, time, and location of the
private hearing, and at least ten five days before the hearing
shall also furnish to the teacher any documentation which
may be presented to the board at the private hearing and a
list of persons who may address the board in support of the
superintendent’s recommendation at the private hearing. At
least seven three days before the hearing, the teacher shall
provide any documentation the teacher expects to present at
the private hearing, along with the names of any persons who
may address the board on behalf of the teacher. This exchange
of information shall be at the time specified unless otherwise
agreed.
Sec. 33. Section 279.16, Code 2024, is amended by striking
the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
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279.16 Private hearing —— decision —— record.
1. The participants at the private hearing shall be
at least a majority of the members of the board, their
legal representatives, if any, the superintendent, the
superintendent’s designated representatives, if any, the
teacher’s immediate supervisor, the teacher, the teacher’s
representatives, if any, and the witnesses for the parties.
The evidence at the private hearing shall be limited to the
specific reasons stated in the superintendent’s notice of
recommendation of termination. No participant in the hearing
shall be liable for any damages to any person if any statement
at the hearing is determined to be erroneous as long as the
statement was made in good faith. The superintendent shall
present evidence and argument on all issues involved and
the teacher may cross-examine, respond and present evidence
and argument in the teacher’s behalf relevant to all issues
involved. Evidence may be by stipulation of the parties and
informal settlement may be made by stipulation, consent, or
default or by any other method agreed upon by the parties in
writing. The board shall employ a certified shorthand reporter
to keep a record of the private hearing. The proceedings
or any part thereof shall be transcribed at the request of
either party with the expense of transcription charged to the
requesting party.
2. The presiding officer of the board may administer oaths
in the same manner and with like effect and under the same
penalties as in the case of magistrates exercising criminal
or civil jurisdiction. The board shall cause subpoenas to be
issued for such witnesses and the production of such books
and papers as either the board or the teacher may designate.
The subpoenas shall be signed by the presiding officer of the
board.
3. In case a witness is duly subpoenaed and refuses to
attend, or in case a witness appears and refuses to testify
or to produce required books or papers, the board shall,
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in writing, report such refusal to the district court of
the county in which the administrative office of the school
district is located, and the court shall proceed with the
person or witness as though the refusal had occurred in a
proceeding legally pending before the court.
4. The board shall not be bound by common law or statutory
rules of evidence or by technical or formal rules of procedure,
but it shall hold the hearing in such manner as is best suited
to ascertain and conserve the substantial rights of the
parties. Process and procedure under sections 279.13 through
279.19 shall be as summary as reasonably may be.
5. At the conclusion of the private hearing, the
superintendent and the teacher may file written briefs and
arguments with the board within three days or such other time
as may be agreed upon.
6. If the teacher fails to timely request a private hearing
or does not appear at the private hearing, the board may
proceed and make a determination upon the superintendent’s
recommendation. If the teacher fails to timely file a request
for a private hearing, the determination shall be not later
than May 31. If the teacher fails to appear at the private
hearing, the determination shall be not later than five days
after the scheduled date for the private hearing. The board
shall convene in open session and by roll call vote determine
the termination or continuance of the teacher’s contract
and, if the board votes to continue the teacher’s contract,
whether to suspend the teacher with or without pay for a period
specified by the board.
7. Within five days after the private hearing, the board
shall, in executive session, meet to make a final decision
upon the recommendation and the evidence as herein provided.
The board shall also consider any written brief and arguments
submitted by the superintendent and the teacher.
8. The record for a private hearing shall include:
a. All pleadings, motions and intermediate rulings.
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b. All evidence received or considered and all other
submissions.
c. A statement of all matters officially noticed.
d. All questions and offers of proof, objections, and
rulings thereon.
e. All findings and exceptions.
f. Any decision, opinion, or conclusion by the board.
g. Findings of fact shall be based solely on the evidence in
the record and on matters officially noticed in the record.
9. The decision of the board shall be in writing and shall
include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately
stated. Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory language,
shall be accompanied by a concise and explicit statement of
the underlying facts supporting the findings. Each conclusion
of law shall be supported by cited authority or by reasoned
opinion.
10. When the board has reached a decision, opinion, or
conclusion, it shall convene in open meeting and by roll
call vote determine the continuance or discontinuance of the
teacher’s contract and, if the board votes to continue the
teacher’s contract, whether to suspend the teacher with or
without pay for a period specified by the board. The record
of the private conference and findings of fact and exceptions
shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 22 . The
secretary of the board shall immediately mail notice of the
board’s action to the teacher.
Sec. 34. NEW SECTION . 279.17 Appeal by teacher to
adjudicator.
1. If the teacher is no longer a probationary teacher, the
teacher may, within ten days, appeal the determination of the
board to an adjudicator by filing a notice of appeal with the
secretary of the board. The notice of appeal shall contain a
concise statement of the action which is the subject of the
appeal, the particular board action appealed from, the grounds
on which relief is sought and the relief sought.
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2. Within five days following receipt by the secretary
of the notice of appeal, the board or the board’s legal
representative, if any, and the teacher or the teacher’s
representative, if any, may select an adjudicator who resides
within the boundaries of the merged area in which the school
district is located. If an adjudicator cannot be mutually
agreed upon within the five-day period, the secretary shall
notify the chairperson of the public employment relations board
by transmitting the notice of appeal, and the chairperson of
the public employment relations board shall within five days
provide a list of five adjudicators to the parties. Within
three days from receipt of the list of adjudicators, the
parties shall select an adjudicator by alternately removing a
name from the list until only one name remains. The person
whose name remains shall be the adjudicator. The parties shall
determine by lot which party shall remove the first name from
the list submitted by the chairperson of the public employment
relations board. The secretary of the board shall inform the
chairperson of the public employment relations board of the
name of the adjudicator selected.
3. If the teacher does not timely request an appeal to an
adjudicator, the decision, opinion, or conclusion of the board
shall become final and binding.
4. a. Within thirty days after filing the notice of appeal,
or within further time allowed by the adjudicator, the board
shall transmit to the adjudicator the original or a certified
copy of the entire record of the private hearing which may be
the subject of the petition. By stipulation of the parties
to review the proceedings, the record of the case may be
shortened. The adjudicator may require or permit subsequent
corrections or additions to the shortened record.
b. The record certified and filed by the board shall be the
record upon which the appeal shall be heard and no additional
evidence shall be heard by the adjudicator. In such appeal to
the adjudicator, especially when considering the credibility
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of witnesses, the adjudicator shall give weight to the fact
findings of the board but shall not be bound by them.
5. Before the date set for hearing a petition for review
of board action, which shall be within ten days after
receipt of the record unless otherwise agreed or unless the
adjudicator orders additional evidence be taken before the
board, application may be made to the adjudicator for leave to
present evidence in addition to that found in the record of the
case. If it is shown to the adjudicator that the additional
evidence is material and that there were good reasons for
failure to present it in the private hearing before the board,
the adjudicator may order that the additional evidence be taken
before the board upon conditions determined by the adjudicator.
The board may modify its findings and decision in the case by
reason of the additional evidence and shall file that evidence
and any modifications, new findings, or decisions, with the
adjudicator and mail copies of the new findings or decisions
to the teacher.
6. The adjudicator may affirm board action or remand to the
board for further proceedings. The adjudicator shall reverse,
modify, or grant any appropriate relief from the board action
if substantial rights of the teacher have been prejudiced
because the board action is any of the following:
a. In violation of a board rule or policy or contract.
b. Unsupported by a preponderance of the competent evidence
in the record made before the board when that record is viewed
as a whole.
c. Unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious, or characterized
by an abuse of discretion or a clearly unwarranted exercise of
discretion.
7. The adjudicator shall, within fifteen days after the
hearing, make a decision and shall give a copy of the decision
to the teacher and the secretary of the board. The decision
of the adjudicator shall become the final and binding decision
of the board unless either party within ten days notifies the
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secretary of the board that the decision is rejected. The
board may reject the decision by majority roll call vote, in
open meeting, entered into the minutes of the meeting. The
board shall immediately notify the teacher of its decision
by certified mail. The teacher may reject the adjudicator’s
decision by notifying the board’s secretary in writing within
ten days of the filing of such decision.
8. All costs of the adjudicator shall be shared equally by
the teacher and the board.
Sec. 35. Section 279.18, Code 2024, is amended by striking
the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
279.18 Appeal by either party to court.
1. If either party rejects the adjudicator’s decision,
the rejecting party shall, within thirty days of the initial
filing of such decision, appeal to the district court of
the county in which the administrative office of the school
district is located. The notice of appeal shall be immediately
mailed by certified mail to the other party. The adjudicator
shall transmit to the reviewing court the original or a
certified copy of the entire record which may be the subject
of the petition. By stipulation of all parties to the review
proceedings, the record of such a case may be shortened. A
party unreasonably refusing to stipulate to limit the record
may be taxed by the court for the additional cost. The court
may require or permit subsequent corrections or additions to
the shortened record.
2. In proceedings for judicial review of the adjudicator’s
decision, the court shall not hear any further evidence
but shall hear the case upon the certified record. In such
judicial review, especially when considering the credibility of
witnesses, the court shall give weight to the fact findings of
the board but shall not be bound by them. The court may affirm
the adjudicator’s decision or remand to the adjudicator or the
board for further proceedings upon conditions determined by the
court. The court shall reverse, modify, or grant any other
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appropriate relief from the board decision or the adjudicator’s
decision equitable or legal and including declaratory relief
if substantial rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced
because the action is any of the following:
a. In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions.
b. In excess of the statutory authority of the board or the
adjudicator.
c. In violation of a board rule or policy or contract.
d. Made upon unlawful procedure.
e. Affected by other error of law.
f. Unsupported by a preponderance of the competent evidence
in the record made before the board and the adjudicator when
that record is viewed as a whole.
g. Unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious, or characterized
by an abuse of discretion or a clearly unwarranted exercise of
discretion.
3. An aggrieved or adversely affected party to the judicial
review proceeding may obtain a review of any final judgment of
the district court by appeal to the supreme court. The appeal
shall be taken as in other civil cases, although the appeal may
be taken regardless of the amount involved.
4. For purposes of this section, unless the context
otherwise requires, “rejecting party” shall include but not be
limited to an instructor employed by a community college.
Sec. 36. Section 279.19, Code 2024, is amended by striking
the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
279.19 Probationary period.
1. The first three consecutive years of employment of
a teacher in the same school district are a probationary
period. However, if the teacher has successfully completed a
probationary period of employment for another school district
located in Iowa, the probationary period in the current
district of employment shall not exceed one year. A board of
directors may waive the probationary period for any teacher who
previously has served a probationary period in another school
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district and the board may extend the probationary period for
an additional year with the consent of the teacher.
2. a. In the case of the termination of a probationary
teacher’s contract, the provisions of sections 279.15 and
279.16 shall apply. However, if the probationary teacher is a
beginning teacher who fails to demonstrate competence in the
Iowa teaching standards in accordance with chapter 284, the
provisions of sections 279.17 and 279.18 shall also apply.
b. The board’s decision shall be final and binding unless
the termination was based upon an alleged violation of a
constitutionally guaranteed right of the teacher or an alleged
violation of public employee rights of the teacher under
section 20.10.
3. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the
grievance procedures of section 20.18 relating to job
performance or job retention shall not apply to a teacher
during the first two years of the teacher’s probationary
period. However, this subsection shall not apply to a teacher
who has successfully completed a probationary period in a
school district in Iowa.
Sec. 37. Section 279.19A, subsections 1, 2, 7, and 8, Code
2024, are amended to read as follows:
1. School districts employing individuals to coach
interscholastic athletic sports shall issue a separate
extracurricular contract for each of these sports. An
extracurricular contract offered under this section shall be
separate from the contract issued under section 279.13 . Wages
for employees who coach these sports shall be paid pursuant
to established or negotiated supplemental pay schedules.
An extracurricular contract shall be in writing, and shall
state the number of contract days for that sport, the annual
compensation to be paid, and any other matters as may be
mutually agreed upon. The contract shall be for a single
school year.
2. a. An extracurricular contract shall be continued
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automatically in force and effect for equivalent periods,
except as modified or terminated by mutual agreement of
the board of directors and the employee, or terminated in
accordance with this section. An extracurricular contract
shall initially be offered by the employing board to an
individual on the same date that contracts are offered to
teachers under section 279.13. An extracurricular contract
may be terminated at the end of a school year pursuant to
sections 279.15 through 279.19. If the school district offers
an extracurricular contract for a sport for the subsequent
school year to an employee who is currently performing
under an extracurricular contract for that sport, and the
employee does not wish to accept the extracurricular contract
for the subsequent year, the employee may resign from the
extracurricular contract within twenty-one days after it has
been received.
b. If the provisions of an extracurricular contract executed
under this section conflict with a collective bargaining
agreement negotiated under chapter 20 and effective when the
extracurricular contract is executed or renewed, the provisions
of the collective bargaining agreement shall prevail Section
279.13, subsection 3, applies to this section .
7. An extracurricular contract may be terminated prior to
the expiration of that contract for any lawful reason following
an informal, private hearing before the board of directors
pursuant to section 279.27 . The decision of the board to
terminate an extracurricular contract shall be final.
8. a. A termination proceeding regarding an extracurricular
contract shall either by the board pursuant to subsection 2 or
pursuant to section 279.27 does not affect a contract issued
pursuant to section 279.13 .
b. A termination of a contract entered into pursuant to
section 279.13 , or a resignation from that contract by the
teacher, constitutes an automatic termination or resignation of
the extracurricular contract in effect between the same teacher
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and the employing school board.
Sec. 38. Section 279.23, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code
2024, is amended to read as follows:
c. The rate of compensation per week of five consecutive
days or per month of four consecutive weeks .
Sec. 39. Section 279.23, subsection 5, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
5. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section ,
a temporary contract may be issued to an administrator for
up to nine months. Notwithstanding the other provisions of
this section , a temporary contract may also be issued to
an administrator to fill a vacancy created by a leave of
absence in accordance with the provisions of section 29A.28 ,
which contract shall automatically terminate upon return from
military leave of the former incumbent of the administrator
position . Temporary contracts and which contract shall not be
subject to the provisions of sections 279.24 and 279.25 .
Sec. 40. Section 279.24, subsections 2 and 4, Code 2024, are
amended to read as follows:
2. If the board of directors is considering termination of
an administrator’s contract, prior to any formal action, the
board may arrange to meet in closed session, in accordance with
the provisions of section 21.5 , with the administrator and the
administrator’s representative. The board shall review the
administrator’s evaluation, review the reasons for nonrenewal,
and give the administrator an opportunity to respond. If,
following the closed session, the board of directors and the
administrator are unable to mutually agree to a modification
or termination of the administrator’s contract, or the board
of directors may issue and the administrator are unable to
mutually agree to enter into a one-year , nonrenewable contract ,
to the administrator. If the board of directors decides to
terminate the administrator’s contract, the board shall follow
the procedures in this section .
4. Administrators employed in a school district for
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less than three two consecutive years are probationary
administrators. However, a school board may waive the
probationary period for any administrator who has previously
served a probationary period in another school district and
the school board may extend the probationary period for an
additional year with the consent of the administrator. If a
school board determines that it should terminate a probationary
administrator’s contract, the school board shall notify the
administrator not later than May 15 that the contract will not
be renewed beyond the current year. The notice shall be in
writing by letter, personally delivered, or mailed by certified
mail. The notification shall be complete when received by the
administrator. Within ten days after receiving the notice, the
administrator may request a private conference with the school
board to discuss the reasons for termination. The school
board’s decision to terminate a probationary administrator’s
contract shall be final unless the termination was based upon
an alleged violation of a constitutionally guaranteed right of
the administrator.
Sec. 41. Section 279.24, subsection 5, paragraphs c, d, e,
f, g, and h, Code 2024, are amended to read as follows:
c. Within five days after receipt of the written notice
that the school board has voted to consider termination of
the contract, the administrator may request a private hearing
in writing to the secretary of the school board . The board
shall then forward that the notification be forwarded to the
board of educational examiners along with a request that the
board of educational examiners submit a list of five qualified
administrative law judges who are employed by the division
of administrative hearings created by section 10A.801 to the
parties. Within three days from receipt of the list the
parties shall select an administrative law judge by alternately
removing a name from the list until only one name remains.
The person whose name remains shall be the administrative law
judge. The parties shall determine by lot which party shall
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remove the first name from the list. The private hearing shall
be held no sooner than twenty ten days and not later than forty
thirty days following the administrator’s request unless the
parties otherwise agree. If the administrator does not request
a private hearing, the school board, not later than May 31, may
determine the continuance or discontinuance of the contract
and, if the board determines to continue the administrator’s
contract, whether to suspend the administrator with or without
pay for a period specified by the board. School board action
shall be by majority roll call vote entered on the minutes of
the meeting. Notice of school board action shall be personally
delivered or mailed to the administrator.
d. The administrative law judge selected shall notify
the secretary of the school board and the administrator in
writing concerning the date, time, and location of the private
hearing. The school board may be represented by a legal
representative, if any, and the administrator shall appear and
may be represented by counsel or by representative, if any.
Any witnesses for the parties at the private hearing shall be
sequestered. A transcript or recording shall be made of the
proceedings at the private hearing. A school board member or
administrator is not liable for any damage to an administrator
or school board member if a statement made at the private
hearing is determined to be erroneous as long as the statement
was made in good faith.
e. The administrative law judge shall, within ten days
following the date of the private hearing, make a proposed
decision as to whether or not the administrator should be
dismissed, and shall give a copy of the proposed decision to
the administrator and the school board. Findings of fact shall
be prepared by the administrative law judge. The proposed
decision of the administrative law judge shall become the final
decision of the school board unless within thirty ten days
after the filing of the decision the administrator files a
written notice of appeal with the school board, or the school
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board on its own motion determines to review the decision.
f. If the administrator appeals to the school board, or if
the school board determines on its own motion to review the
proposed decision of the administrative law judge, a private
hearing shall be held before the school board within ten five
days after the petition for review, or motion for review, has
been made or at such other time as the parties agree. The
private hearing is not subject to chapter 21 . The school board
may hear the case de novo upon the record as submitted before
the administrative law judge. In cases where there is an
appeal from a proposed decision or where a proposed decision
is reviewed on motion of the school board, an opportunity
shall be afforded to each party to file exceptions, present
briefs, and present oral arguments to the school board which
is to render the final decision. The secretary of the school
board shall give the administrator written notice of the time,
place, and date of the private hearing. The school board shall
meet within five days after the private hearing to determine
the question of continuance or discontinuance of the contract
and, if the board determines to continue the administrator’s
contract, whether to suspend the administrator with or
without pay for a period specified by the board or issue the
administrator a one-year, nonrenewable contract . The school
board shall make findings of fact which shall be based solely
on the evidence in the record and on matters officially noticed
in the record.
g. The decision of the school board shall be in writing
and shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law,
separately stated . Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory
language, shall be accompanied by a concise and explicit
statement of the underlying facts supporting the findings.
Each conclusion of law shall be supported by cited authority
or by reasoned opinion.
h. When the school board has reached a decision, opinion,
or conclusion, it shall convene in open meeting and by roll
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call vote determine the continuance or discontinuance of
the administrator’s contract and, if the board votes to
continue the administrator’s contract, whether to suspend the
administrator with or without pay for a period specified by
the board or issue the administrator a one-year, nonrenewable
contract . The record of the private hearing conference and
written decision of the board findings of fact and exceptions
shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 22 . The
secretary of the school board shall immediately personally
deliver or mail notice of the school board’s action to the
administrator.
Sec. 42. Section 279.27, Code 2024, is amended to read as
follows:
279.27 Discharge of teacher.
1. A teacher may be discharged at any time during the
contract year for just cause. The superintendent or the
superintendent’s designee, shall notify the teacher immediately
that the superintendent will recommend in writing to the board
at a regular or special meeting of the board held not more
than fifteen days after notification has been given to the
teacher that the teacher’s continuing contract be terminated
effective immediately following a decision of the board.
The procedure for dismissal shall be as provided in section
279.15, subsection 2 , and sections 279.16 through 279.19 . The
superintendent may suspend a teacher under this section pending
hearing and determination by the board.
2. For purposes of this section , “just cause” includes
but is not limited to a violation of the code of professional
conduct and ethics of the board of educational examiners if
the board has taken disciplinary action against a teacher,
during the six months following issuance by the board of a
final written decision and finding of fact after a disciplinary
proceeding.
Sec. 43. Section 284.3, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
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2. A school board shall provide for the following:
a. For purposes of comprehensive evaluations, standards
and criteria which measure a beginning teacher’s performance
against the Iowa teaching standards specified in subsection 1 ,
and the criteria for the Iowa teaching standards developed by
the department in accordance with section 256.9 , to determine
whether the teacher’s practice meets the requirements specified
for a career teacher. These standards and criteria shall be
set forth in an instrument provided by the department. The
comprehensive evaluation and instrument are not subject to
negotiations or grievance procedures pursuant to chapter 20 or
determinations made by the board of directors under section
279.14 . A local school board and its certified bargaining
representative may negotiate, pursuant to chapter 20,
evaluation and grievance procedures for beginning teachers that
are not in conflict with this chapter. If, in accordance with
section 279.19, a beginning teacher appeals the determination
of a school board to an adjudicator under section 279.17, the
adjudicator selected shall have successfully completed training
related to the Iowa teacher standards, the criteria adopted
by the state board in accordance with subsection 3, and any
additional training required under rules adopted by the public
employment relations board in cooperation with the state board.
b. For purposes of performance reviews for teachers other
than beginning teachers, evaluations that contain, at a
minimum, the Iowa teaching standards specified in subsection
1 , as well as the criteria for the Iowa teaching standards
developed by the department in accordance with section
256.9, subsection 42 . A local school board and its certified
bargaining representative may negotiate, pursuant to chapter
20, additional teaching standards and criteria. A local
school board and its certified bargaining representative shall
negotiate, pursuant to chapter 20, evaluation and grievance
procedures for teachers other than beginning teachers that are
not in conflict with this chapter.
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Sec. 44. Section 284.4, subsection 1, paragraph b,
subparagraphs (2) and (5), Code 2024, are amended to read as
follows:
(2) Monitor the evaluation requirements of this chapter
to ensure evaluations are conducted in a fair and consistent
manner throughout the school district or agency. The In
addition to any negotiated evaluation procedures, the committee
shall develop model evidence for the Iowa teaching standards
and criteria. The model evidence will minimize paperwork
and focus on teacher improvement. The model evidence will
determine which standards and criteria can be met with
observation and which evidence meets multiple standards and
criteria.
(5) Determine Ensure the agreement negotiated pursuant to
chapter 20 determines the compensation for teachers on the
committee for work responsibilities required beyond the normal
work day.
Sec. 45. Section 284.8, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2024, are
amended to read as follows:
2. If a supervisor or an evaluator determines, at any time,
as a result of a teacher’s performance that the teacher is not
meeting district expectations under the Iowa teaching standards
specified in section 284.3, subsection 1 , paragraphs “a”
through “h” , and the criteria for the Iowa teaching standards
developed by the department in accordance with section 256.9,
subsection 42 , and any other standards or criteria established
in the collective bargaining agreement, the evaluator shall,
at the direction of the teacher’s supervisor, recommend to
the district that the teacher participate in an intensive
assistance program. The intensive assistance program and its
implementation are not subject to negotiation and grievance
procedures established pursuant to chapter 20 . All school
districts shall be prepared to offer an intensive assistance
program.
3. A teacher who is not meeting the applicable standards and
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criteria based on a determination made pursuant to subsection 2
shall participate in an intensive assistance program. However,
a teacher who has previously participated in an intensive
assistance program relating to particular Iowa teaching
standards or criteria shall not be entitled to participate
in another intensive assistance program relating to the same
standards or criteria and shall be subject to the provisions of
subsection 4 .
Sec. 46. Section 284.8, subsection 4, Code 2024, is amended
by striking the subsection.
Sec. 47. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act, being
deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
Sec. 48. APPLICABILITY. This division of this Act applies
to employment contracts of school employees entered into
pursuant to chapter 279 on and after the effective date of
this division of this Act. This division of this Act does
not apply to collective bargaining agreements which have been
ratified in a ratification election referred to in section
20.17, subsection 4, for which an arbitrator has made a final
determination as described in section 20.22, subsection 11,
or which have become effective, when such events occurred
before the effective date of this division of this Act. This
division of this Act applies to all collective bargaining
procedures provided for in chapter 20 occurring on and after
the effective date of this division of this Act and collective
bargaining agreements pursuant to chapter 20 for which a
ratification election referred to in section 20.17, subsection
4, is held, for which an arbitrator makes a final determination
as described in section 20.22, subsection 11, or which become
effective on or after the effective date of this division of
this Act.
DIVISION III
PERSONNEL RECORDS AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS
Sec. 49. Section 22.7, subsection 11, paragraph a,
subparagraph (5), Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
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(5) The fact that the individual resigned in lieu of
termination, was discharged , or was demoted as the result of
a final disciplinary action , and the documented reasons and
rationale for the resignation in lieu of termination, the
discharge, or the demotion. For purposes of this subparagraph,
“demoted” and “demotion” mean a change of an employee from
a position in a given classification to a position in a
classification having a lower pay grade upon the exhaustion of
all applicable contractual, legal, and statutory remedies .
Sec. 50. REPEAL. Sections 22.13A and 22.15, Code 2024, are
repealed.
Sec. 51. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act, being
deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
Sec. 52. APPLICABILITY. This division of this Act applies
to requests for records pursuant to chapter 22 submitted on or
after the effective date of this division of this Act.
DIVISION IV
CITY CIVIL SERVICE REQUIREMENTS
Sec. 53. Section 400.12, subsection 4, Code 2024, is amended
by striking the subsection.
Sec. 54. Section 400.17, subsection 4, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
4. A person shall not be appointed, denied appointment,
promoted, removed, discharged, suspended, or demoted to or
from a civil service position or in any other way favored or
discriminated against in that position because of political
or religious opinions or affiliations, race, national origin,
sex, or age, or in retaliation for the exercise of any right
enumerated in this chapter . However, the maximum age for a
police officer or fire fighter covered by this chapter and
employed for police duty or the duty of fighting fires is
sixty-five years of age.
Sec. 55. Section 400.18, Code 2024, is amended by striking
the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
400.18 Removal, demotion, or suspension.
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1. A person holding civil service rights as provided in
this chapter shall not be removed, demoted, or suspended
arbitrarily, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, but
may be removed, demoted, or suspended after a hearing by a
majority vote of the civil service commission, for neglect of
duty, disobedience, misconduct, or failure to properly perform
the person’s duties.
2. The party alleging neglect of duty, disobedience,
misconduct, or failure to properly perform a duty shall have
the burden of proof.
3. A person subject to a hearing has the right to be
represented by counsel at the person’s expense or by the
person’s authorized collective bargaining representative.
Sec. 56. Section 400.19, Code 2024, is amended to read as
follows:
400.19 Removal , or discharge , demotion, or suspension of
subordinates.
The person having the appointing power as provided in
this chapter , or the chief of police or chief of the fire
department, may , upon presentation of grounds for such action
to the subordinate in writing, peremptorily remove, discharge,
demote, or suspend , demote, or discharge a subordinate then
under the person’s or chief’s direction due to any act or
failure to act by the employee that is in contravention of law,
city policies, or standard operating procedures, or that in
the judgment of the person or chief is sufficient to show that
the employee is unsuitable or unfit for employment for neglect
of duty, disobedience of orders, misconduct, or failure to
properly perform the subordinate’s duties .
Sec. 57. Section 400.20, Code 2024, is amended to read as
follows:
400.20 Appeal.
The removal, discharge suspension , demotion, or suspension
discharge of a person holding civil service rights may be
appealed to the civil service commission within fourteen
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calendar days after the removal, discharge suspension ,
demotion, or suspension discharge .
Sec. 58. Section 400.21, Code 2024, is amended to read as
follows:
400.21 Notice of appeal.
If the appeal be taken by the person removed, discharged
suspended , demoted, or suspended discharged , notice of the
appeal, signed by the appellant and specifying the ruling
appealed from, shall be filed with the clerk of the commission.
If the appeal is taken by the person making such removal,
discharge suspension , demotion, or suspension discharge , such
notice shall also be served upon the person removed, discharged
suspended , demoted, or suspended discharged .
Sec. 59. Section 400.22, Code 2024, is amended to read as
follows:
400.22 Charges.
Within fourteen calendar days from the service of the notice
of appeal, the person or body making the ruling appealed
from shall file with the body to which the appeal is taken a
written specification of the charges and grounds upon which the
ruling was based. If the charges are not filed, the person
removed, suspended or discharged , demoted, or suspended may
present the matter to the body to whom the appeal is to be
taken by affidavit, setting forth the facts, and the body to
whom the appeal is to be taken shall immediately enter an
order reinstating the person removed, suspended or discharged ,
demoted, or suspended for want of prosecution.
Sec. 60. Section 400.27, subsection 3, Code 2024, is amended
to read as follows:
3. The city or any civil service employee shall have a
right to appeal to the district court from the final ruling or
decision of the civil service commission. The appeal shall be
taken within thirty days from the filing of the formal decision
of the commission. The district court of the county in which
the city is located shall have full jurisdiction of the appeal.
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The scope of review for the appeal shall be limited to de novo
appellate review without a trial or additional evidence The
appeal shall be a trial de novo as an equitable action in the
district court .
Sec. 61. Section 400.28, Code 2024, is amended by striking
the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
400.28 Employees —— number diminished.
1. When the public interest requires a diminution of
employees in a classification or grade under civil service,
the city council, acting in good faith, may do either of the
following:
a. Abolish the office and remove the employee from the
employee’s classification or grade thereunder.
b. Reduce the number of employees in any classification or
grade by suspending the necessary number.
2. In case it becomes necessary to remove or suspend any
such employees, the persons so removed or suspended shall
be those having seniority of the shortest duration in the
classifications or grades affected, and such seniority shall be
computed as provided in section 400.12 for all persons holding
seniority in the classification or grade affected, regardless
of their seniority in any other classification or grade, but
any such employee so removed from any classification or grade
shall revert to the employee’s seniority in the next lower
grade or classification; if such seniority is equal, then the
one less efficient and competent as determined by the person or
body having the appointing power shall be the one affected.
3. In case of removal or suspension, the civil service
commission shall issue to each person affected one certificate
showing the person’s comparative seniority or length of service
in each of the classifications or grades from which the person
is so removed and the fact that the person has been honorably
removed. The certificate shall also list each classification
or grade in which the person was previously employed. The
person’s name shall be carried for a period of not less than
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three years after the suspension or removal on a preferred list
and appointments or promotions made during that period to the
person’s former duties in the classification or grade shall
be made in the order of greater seniority from the preferred
lists.
Sec. 62. SENIORITY RIGHTS REESTABLISHED. The seniority
rights of any civil service employee extinguished pursuant to
section 400.12, subsection 4, on or after February 17, 2017,
are hereby reestablished, including accrual of seniority during
the period of extinguishment.
Sec. 63. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act, being
deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
Sec. 64. APPLICABILITY. This division of this Act applies
to employment actions taken on or after the effective date of
this division of this Act.
DIVISION V
HEALTH INSURANCE MATTERS
Sec. 65. REPEAL. Section 70A.41, Code 2024, is repealed.
Sec. 66. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act, being
deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
This bill relates to employment matters involving public
employees including collective bargaining, educator employment
matters, personnel records and settlement agreements, city
civil service requirements, and health insurance matters. The
bill generally strikes statutory changes made by 2017 Iowa
Acts, House File 291, and restores statutory language in effect
prior to the enactment of 2017 Iowa Acts, House File 291.
DIVISION I —— PUBLIC EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
This division makes a variety of changes to Code chapter
20, the public employment relations Act, as well as other
Code provisions relating to collective bargaining by public
employees.
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ELIMINATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND TRANSIT EMPLOYEE
CATEGORIES. The division eliminates public safety employees
and transit employees as separate categories of employees for
the purposes of public employee collective bargaining, making
affected provisions of Code chapter 20 applicable to all public
employees governed by Code chapter 20.
SCOPE OF NEGOTIATIONS. The division makes changes to
subjects which are negotiated through collective bargaining
between public employers and public employees under Code
section 20.9.
The division provides that the scope of negotiations for
all public employees shall consist of wages, hours, vacations,
insurance, holidays, leaves of absence, shift differentials,
overtime compensation, supplemental pay, seniority, transfer
procedures, job classifications, health and safety matters,
evaluation procedures, procedures for staff reduction,
in-service training, dues checkoff, grievance procedures for
resolving any questions arising under the agreement, and
other matters mutually agreed upon. The division provides
that retirement systems shall be excluded from the scope of
negotiations.
The division strikes language providing that mandatory
subjects of negotiation under Code section 20.9 shall be
interpreted narrowly and restrictively. The division strikes
language limiting the term of a collective bargaining agreement
entered into pursuant to Code chapter 20 to a maximum of five
years.
ARBITRATION PROCEDURES. The division makes changes to the
procedures for arbitration of impasses in collective bargaining
between public employers and public employees under Code
section 20.22.
The division modifies the factors that an arbitrator is
required to consider in addition to any other relevant factors
in making a final determination on an impasse item. The
division requires an arbitrator to consider past collective
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bargaining contracts between the parties including the
bargaining that led up to such contracts; comparison of wages,
hours, and conditions of employment of the involved public
employees with those of other public employees doing comparable
work, giving consideration to factors peculiar to the area and
the classifications involved; the interests and welfare of the
public, the ability of the public employer to finance economic
adjustments, and the effect of such adjustments on the normal
standard of services; and the power of the public employer
to levy taxes and appropriate funds for the conduct of its
operations.
The division strikes language permitting the parties to
agree to change the four-day deadline to serve final offers on
impasse items after a request for arbitration is received.
The division strikes language prohibiting the parties to an
arbitration from introducing, and the arbitrator from accepting
or considering, any direct or indirect evidence regarding any
subject excluded from negotiations pursuant to Code section
20.9.
The division strikes language providing for a maximum
increase in base wages in an arbitrator’s award.
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE ELECTIONS. The division makes changes to
public employee elections conducted pursuant to Code section
20.15.
The division strikes language providing for retention and
recertification elections and requires the public employment
relations board (PERB) to cancel any such elections scheduled
or in process. The division requires the PERB to consider a
petition for certification of an employee organization as the
exclusive representative of a bargaining unit for which an
employee organization was not retained and recertified as the
exclusive representative of that bargaining unit regardless of
the amount of time that has elapsed since the retention and
recertification election, notwithstanding prior requirements
prohibiting such consideration for two years.
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The division provides that the outcome of a certification
or decertification election is determined by a majority vote
of the members of the bargaining unit voting, rather than the
total membership of the bargaining unit. The division provides
for a runoff election if none of the choices on the ballot in a
certification election receives a majority vote of the members
of the bargaining unit voting.
The division lowers the required percentage of support
from employees in a bargaining unit required for an employee
organization that did not submit a petition for certification
as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit
to be listed on the ballot for a certification election from 30
percent to 10 percent.
The division strikes language prohibiting the PERB from
considering a petition for certification as the exclusive
bargaining representative of a bargaining unit unless a
period of two years has elapsed from the date of the last
certification election in which an employee organization
was not certified as the exclusive representative of that
bargaining unit or of the last decertification election in
which an employee organization was decertified as the exclusive
representative of that bargaining unit. The division prohibits
the PERB from considering a petition for certification as the
exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit for
one year after the employee organization is not certified in a
certification election. The division makes additional changes
relating to the scheduling of decertification elections.
EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION DUES. The division strikes a
prohibition on public entities authorizing or administering
a deduction from the salaries or wages of its employees for
membership dues to an employee organization. The division
provides procedures for administering such dues deductions.
PERB DUTIES. The division provides that the PERB may
interpret and apply, as well as administer, Code chapter 20.
The division strikes language permitting the PERB to
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appoint a certified shorthand reporter to report state employee
grievance and discipline resolution proceedings, to contract
with a vendor to conduct elections, to establish fees to cover
the cost of elections, and to retain certain funds collected by
the PERB as repayment receipts.
STATEWIDE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS FOLLOWING A
GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION YEAR. The division strikes language
providing for modified collective bargaining procedures for a
proposed, statewide collective bargaining agreement to become
effective in the year following a general election in which the
governor and certain other elected officials are elected.
CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS. The division strikes language
providing that certain information relating to elections
conducted by the PERB is a confidential record under Code
chapter 22, the state open records law.
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEE
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. The division strikes a definition of
“supplemental pay”.
The division strikes language providing that a public
employer has the right to evaluate public employees in
positions within the public agency. The division strikes
language providing that a public employee has the right under
Code section 20.8 to exercise any right or seek any remedy
provided by law, including but not limited to Code sections
70A.28 and 70A.29, Code chapter 8A, subchapter IV, and Code
chapters 216 and 400.
The division transfers language in Code section 20.10
prohibiting a public employee or any employee organization
from negotiating or attempting to negotiate directly with a
member of the governing board of a public employer if the
public employer has appointed or authorized a bargaining
representative for the purpose of bargaining with the public
employees or their representative to Code section 20.17.
The division decreases the amount of time before an employee
organization decertified as the exclusive representative of a
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bargaining unit for violating an injunction against an unlawful
strike can be certified again from 24 months to 12 months.
The division strikes language prohibiting voluntary
contributions by individuals to political parties or candidates
through payroll deductions.
The division strikes a requirement that a copy of a final
collective bargaining agreement be filed with the PERB by
the public employer within 10 days of the agreement being
entered into. The division strikes a requirement that the
PERB maintain an internet site that allows searchable access
to a database of collective bargaining agreements and other
collective bargaining information.
The division changes the period before retirement for a
prohibited voluntary reduction to a nonsupervisory rank or
grade by a supervisor and related ineligibility for benefits
from 36 months to 6 months.
The division strikes language providing that a mediator
shall not be required to testify in any arbitration proceeding
regarding any matters occurring in the course of a mediation.
The division requires a council, board of waterworks, or
other board or commission which establishes a pension and
annuity retirement system pursuant to Code chapter 412 to
negotiate in good faith with a certified employee organization
which is the collective bargaining representative of the
employees, with respect to the amount or rate of the assessment
on the wages and salaries of employees and the method or
methods for payment of the assessment by the employees.
The division makes additional conforming changes.
TRANSITION PROVISIONS —— DEADLINE. The division requires
parties, mediators, and arbitrators engaging in any collective
bargaining procedures provided for in Code chapter 20, Code
2024, who have not, before the effective date of the division,
completed such procedures, to immediately terminate any such
procedures in process as of the effective date of the division.
The division provides that a collective bargaining agreement
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negotiated pursuant to such procedures in process shall not
become effective. The division prohibits parties, mediators,
and arbitrators from engaging in further collective bargaining
procedures except as provided in the division. The division
requires such parties to commence collective bargaining in
accordance with Code section 20.17, as amended by the division.
The division requires such parties to complete such bargaining
not later than June 30, 2024, unless the parties mutually agree
to a different deadline.
The division requires the PERB to adopt emergency rules to
implement these requirements. The division also requires the
department of administrative services to adopt emergency rules
to implement the provisions of the division relating to dues
deductions.
EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division
takes effect upon enactment.
With the exception of the section of the division amending
Code section 20.6, subsection 1, the division does not apply
to collective bargaining agreements which have been ratified
in a ratification election, for which an arbitrator has made
a final determination, or which have become effective, when
such events occurred before the effective date of the division.
The division applies to all collective bargaining procedures
provided for in Code chapter 20 occurring on and after the
effective date of the division and collective bargaining
agreements for which a ratification election is held, for which
an arbitrator makes a final determination, or which become
effective on or after the effective date of the division.
DIVISION II —— EDUCATOR EMPLOYMENT MATTERS. This division
makes a variety of changes relating to educator employment
matters.
TERMINATION OF TEACHER EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS. The division
makes various changes relating to the termination of teacher
employment contracts.
The division shortens various procedural deadlines
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regarding private hearings held after a superintendent
recommends termination of a teacher’s employment contract.
The division makes participation in such a private hearing
by the superintendent, the superintendent’s designated
representatives, the teacher’s immediate supervisor, the
teacher, and the teacher’s representatives mandatory on the
part of those individuals instead of discretionary. The
division requires that the school board employ a certified
shorthand reporter to keep a record of a private hearing.
The division requires the school board to issue subpoenas
for witnesses and evidence on behalf of the board and the
teacher. The division provides for a judicial remedy if a
witness appears and refuses to testify or to produce required
books or papers at a private hearing. The division authorizes
the superintendent and the teacher to file written briefs and
arguments with the board at the conclusion of the private
hearing. The division provides deadlines for determining
the status of the teacher’s contract if the teacher does not
request a private hearing. The division requires that the
decision of the board include findings of fact and conclusions
of law. The division strikes language authorizing a school
board which votes to continue a teacher’s contract to issue
the teacher a one-year, nonrenewable contract. The division
permits a teacher to appeal the board’s determination to an
adjudicator and provides procedures for such appeals.
TEACHER PROBATIONARY PERIODS. The division makes various
changes relating to probationary employment of teachers.
The division decreases from two years to one year the
length of a teacher’s probationary employment period in a
school district if the teacher has successfully completed a
probationary period of employment for another school district
located in Iowa.
The division provides that requirements for notices of
termination, private hearings, and appeals applicable to
nonprobationary teachers whose employment contracts are
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terminated are applicable to probationary teachers whose
employment contracts are terminated. The division strikes
alternative procedures for the termination of employment
contracts of such probationary teachers, including notification
procedures and the opportunity to request a private conference
with the school board.
EXTRACURRICULAR INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC COACH CONTRACTS.
The division makes various changes relating to extracurricular
interscholastic athletic coach employment contracts.
The division provides that wages for such coaches shall be
paid pursuant to established or negotiated supplemental pay
schedules. The division provides that employment contracts
of such coaches shall be continued automatically in force and
effect for equivalent periods and that the termination of such
contracts follows procedures similar to those used for teacher
contracts. The division strikes language providing that
employment contracts of such coaches may be terminated prior to
their expiration for any lawful reason following an informal,
private hearing before the school board. The division strikes
language providing that the decision of the school board to
terminate such a contract is final.
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR EMPLOYMENT MATTERS. The division makes
various changes relating to school administrator employment
matters.
The division provides that the rate of compensation in an
administrator’s employment contract must be on a weekly or
monthly basis.
The division strikes language authorizing a school board to
issue a temporary employment contract to an administrator for
a period of up to nine months.
The division strikes language authorizing a school board to
issue a one-year, nonrenewable employment contract and instead
authorizes a school board considering the termination of an
administrator’s contract and the administrator to mutually
agree to enter into such a contract.
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The division decreases the probationary employment period
for administrators from three years to two years and authorizes
a school board to waive the probationary period for an
administrator who previously served a probationary period in
another school district.
The division strikes language providing that a hearing
before an administrative law judge requested by an
administrator whose employment contract a school board is
considering terminating shall be a private hearing. The
division reduces certain procedural deadlines relating to such
hearings. The division strikes language providing that any
witnesses for the parties at the hearing shall be sequestered.
The division requires that the decision of the board include
findings of fact and conclusions of law. The division strikes
language authorizing a school board which votes to continue an
administrator’s contract to issue the administrator a one-year,
nonrenewable contract.
INTENSIVE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. The division makes various
changes relating to intensive assistance programs.
The division strikes language providing that a teacher who
has previously participated in an intensive assistance program
relating to particular Iowa teaching standards or criteria
shall not be entitled to participate in another intensive
assistance program relating to the same standards or criteria.
The division strikes language providing that following a
teacher’s participation in an intensive assistance program, the
teacher shall be reevaluated to determine whether the teacher
successfully completed the intensive assistance program and
is meeting district expectations under the applicable Iowa
teaching standards or criteria. The division strikes language
providing that if the teacher did not successfully complete
the intensive assistance program or continues not to meet the
applicable Iowa teaching standards or criteria, the board may
initiate procedures to terminate the teacher’s employment
contract immediately or at the end of the school year or may
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continue the teacher’s contract for a period not to exceed one
year on a nonrenewable basis and without the right to a private
hearing.
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO EDUCATOR EMPLOYMENT
MATTERS. The division strikes language authorizing a school
board to issue a temporary employment contract to a teacher for
a period of up to six months.
The division strikes language providing that just cause
for which a teacher may be discharged at any time during the
contract year under Code section 279.27 includes but is not
limited to a violation of the code of professional conduct
and ethics of the board of educational examiners if the board
has taken disciplinary action against a teacher during the
six months following issuance by the board of a final written
decision and finding of fact after a disciplinary proceeding.
The division either authorizes or requires a school board
and its certified bargaining representative to negotiate
various matters pursuant to Code chapter 20.
The division makes additional conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division
takes effect upon enactment.
The division applies to employment contracts of school
employees entered into pursuant to Code chapter 279 on and
after the effective date of the division. The division does
not apply to collective bargaining agreements pursuant to Code
chapter 20 which have been ratified in a ratification election,
for which an arbitrator has made a final determination, or
which have become effective, when such events occurred before
the effective date of the division. The division applies to
all collective bargaining procedures provided for in Code
chapter 20 occurring on and after the effective date of the
division and collective bargaining agreements pursuant to Code
chapter 20 for which a ratification election is held, for which
an arbitrator makes a final determination, or which become
effective on or after the effective date of the division.
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DIVISION III —— PERSONNEL RECORDS AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS.
This division makes changes relating to public employee
personnel records and settlement agreements.
PERSONNEL RECORDS. The division strikes language providing
that certain information relating to the discipline,
resignation, discharge, or demotion of a public employee is a
public record and requiring notice to affected employees.
PERSONNEL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS. The division also strikes
language prohibiting a personnel settlement agreement between
the state and a state executive branch employee that contains
confidentiality or nondisclosure provisions that attempt to
prevent the disclosure of the agreement.
EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division
takes effect upon enactment.
The division applies to requests for records submitted on or
after the effective date of the division.
DIVISION IV —— CITY CIVIL SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. This
division makes a variety of changes relating to city civil
service requirements under Code chapter 400.
SENIORITY RIGHTS. The division strikes language permitting
a city council to extinguish statutory seniority rights of
all city civil service employees who are not employed or
appointed as a fire fighter or police officer, fire chief or
police chief, or assistant fire chief or assistant police
chief, unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining
agreement. The division reestablishes any such rights so
extinguished, including accrual of seniority during the period
of extinguishment.
ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS —— GROUNDS AND PROCEDURES. The
division provides that adverse employment action may be taken
against a city civil service employee for neglect of duty,
disobedience, misconduct, or failure to properly perform the
person’s duties. The division strikes language permitting
such action to be taken due to any act or failure to act by
the employee that is in contravention of law, city policies,
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or standard operating procedures, or that in the judgment
of the person having the appointing power as provided in
this Code chapter, or the chief of police or chief of the
fire department, is sufficient to show that the employee is
unsuitable or unfit for employment.
The division strikes language providing that the scope of
review for an appeal to district court from a civil service
commission shall be limited to de novo appellate review without
a trial or additional evidence, instead providing that the
appeal shall be a trial de novo as an equitable action.
DIMINUTION OF EMPLOYEES. The division provides that a
diminution of city employees by a city council can only be
implemented when the public interest requires. The division
permits a diminution to be carried out either by abolishing
an office and removing the employee from the employee’s
classification or grade thereunder, or reducing the number of
employees in any classification or grade by suspending the
necessary number. The division provides for such removal to be
carried out based on seniority and requires that employees so
removed be placed on a preferred list for at least three years
for purposes of appointments or promotions made during that
period to the person’s former duties.
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. The division makes changes in
terminology relating to adverse employment actions for city
civil service employees.
The division makes additional conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division
takes effect upon enactment.
The division applies to employment actions taken on or after
the effective date of the division.
DIVISION V —— HEALTH INSURANCE MATTERS. This division
strikes a requirement that a public employer shall offer health
insurance to all permanent, full-time public employees employed
by the public employer.
EFFECTIVE DATE. The division takes effect upon enactment.
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