Senate Study Bill 1049 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ROZENBOOM) A BILL FOR An Act relating to education, including eligibility for grants 1 under the teach Iowa scholar program, licenses issued by the 2 board of educational examiners, and the use of revenues from 3 the district management levy, and including applicability 4 provisions. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 1048XC (1) 90 jda/jh

S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 256.16, subsection 1, Code 2023, is 1 amended by adding the following new paragraph: 2 NEW PARAGRAPH . m. If a higher education institution 3 providing practitioner preparation offers a program that is 4 designed to assist students in attaining a teacher intern 5 license from the board of educational examiners, the program 6 shall require participants to satisfy all of the following 7 requirements before completing the program: 8 (1) A participant in the program must have graduated from 9 an accredited or state-approved college or university and must 10 meet the requirements for an endorsement area approved by the 11 board of educational examiners for a teacher intern license. 12 (2) A participant in the program must have at least three 13 years of post-baccalaureate work experience. 14 (3) A participant in the program must submit with the 15 application to the program a copy of an offer of employment 16 from a school. 17 (4) A participant in the program must have completed the 18 required pedagogy training. 19 (5) A participant in the program must work under the 20 supervision of a teacher leader assigned by the school district 21 or accredited nonpublic school, including during co-teaching 22 and planning time. 23 (6) A participant in the program must complete at least 24 fifteen additional hours of coursework. 25 Sec. 2. Section 261.110, subsection 3, paragraphs a and b, 26 Code 2023, are amended to read as follows: 27 a. The applicant was in the top twenty-five thirty percent 28 academically of students exiting a teacher preparation program 29 approved by the state board of education pursuant to section 30 256.7, subsection 3 , or a similar teacher preparation program 31 in another state, or had earned other comparable academic 32 credentials. 33 b. The applicant is preparing to teach in fields including 34 but not limited to science, technology, engineering, or 35 -1- LSB 1048XC (1) 90 jda/jh 1/ 8

S.F. _____ mathematics; English as a second language or special education 1 instruction; or is preparing to teach in a hard-to-staff 2 subject as identified by the department. The department shall 3 take into account the varying regional needs in the state for 4 teachers in these subject areas when applying the criterion 5 of this paragraph. The department shall annually identify 6 and designate hard-to-staff subjects for the purpose of this 7 paragraph. The eligibility of an applicant who receives a 8 teach Iowa scholar grant and who is preparing to teach in a 9 hard-to-staff subject as identified by the department shall 10 not be affected in subsequent years if the department does not 11 continue to identify that subject as a hard-to-staff subject 12 become a teacher who provides classroom instruction . 13 Sec. 3. Section 261.110, subsection 3, Code 2023, is amended 14 by adding the following new paragraph: 15 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. The total value of grants awarded under 16 this section each year to applicants who are preparing to 17 teach in a school district, charter school, or an accredited 18 nonpublic school shall be as follows: 19 (1) Fifty percent shall be awarded to applicants preparing 20 to teach in a school district with less than or equal to one 21 thousand two hundred students, a charter school with less than 22 or equal to one thousand two hundred students, or an accredited 23 nonpublic school with less than or equal to one thousand 24 two hundred students. However, if the amount requested by 25 applicants pursuant to subparagraph (2) is less than the amount 26 reserved for applicants under subparagraph (2), the commission 27 may award the difference to applicants under this subparagraph. 28 (2) Fifty percent shall be awarded to applicants preparing 29 to teach in a school district with greater than one thousand 30 two hundred students, a charter school with greater than one 31 thousand two hundred students, or an accredited nonpublic 32 school with greater than one thousand two hundred students. 33 However, if the amount requested by applicants pursuant 34 to subparagraph (1) is less than the amount reserved for 35 -2- LSB 1048XC (1) 90 jda/jh 2/ 8

S.F. _____ applicants under subparagraph (1), the commission may award the 1 difference to applicants under this subparagraph. 2 Sec. 4. Section 272.2, subsection 1, Code 2023, is amended 3 by adding the following new paragraph: 4 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection 5 establishing criteria for applicants for licenses who have 6 completed an accredited or state-approved teacher preparation 7 program and who are applying for the applicant’s first Iowa 8 teaching license shall not require the applicant to be an Iowa 9 resident if the applicant provides the board with a copy of an 10 offer of employment as a teacher from a school located in this 11 state. 12 Sec. 5. Section 272.2, subsection 13, Code 2023, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 13. Adopt rules to provide for nontraditional preparation 15 options for licensing persons who hold a bachelor’s degree 16 or higher from an accredited or state-approved college or 17 university, who do not meet other requirements for licensure. 18 The rules shall, at a minimum, require the board to do all of 19 the following: 20 a. Issue a teacher intern license for instruction in grades 21 six through twelve to an applicant who has enrolled in a 22 program established pursuant to section 256.16, subsection 1, 23 paragraph “m” . 24 b. Allow a licensee who has attained a teacher intern 25 license pursuant to paragraph “a” to apply for an initial 26 teaching license if the school that employed the licensee 27 during the licensee’s completion of the program established 28 pursuant to section 256.16, subsection 1, paragraph “m” , and 29 the higher education institution that operated the program, 30 recommend that the licensee be allowed to apply for an initial 31 teaching license. 32 Sec. 6. Section 272.2, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 33 following new subsection: 34 NEW SUBSECTION . 26. Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 35 -3- LSB 1048XC (1) 90 jda/jh 3/ 8

S.F. _____ 17A that allow an individual seeking a career and technical 1 secondary authorization to apply, and if eligible, be issued 2 the secondary authorization prior to accepting an offer of 3 employment with a school. 4 Sec. 7. Section 279.46, Code 2023, is amended to read as 5 follows: 6 279.46 Retirement incentives and teacher recruitment 7 incentives —— tax. 8 1. The board of directors of a school district may adopt 9 a program for payment of a monetary bonus, continuation of 10 health or medical insurance coverage, or other incentives 11 for encouraging its employees to retire before the normal 12 retirement date as defined in chapter 97B . The program is 13 available only to employees who notify the board of directors 14 prior to April 1 of the fiscal year that they intend to retire 15 not later than the start of the next following school calendar. 16 The age at which employees shall be designated eligible for 17 the program shall be at the discretion of the board. An 18 employee retiring under this section subsection may apply for 19 a retirement allowance under chapter 97B or chapter 294 . The 20 board may include in the district management levy an amount to 21 pay the total estimated accumulated cost to the school district 22 of the health or medical insurance coverage, bonus, or other 23 incentives for employees fifty-five years of age or older who 24 retire under this section subsection . 25 2. a. The board of directors of a school district 26 may adopt a program for teacher recruitment incentives to 27 recruit new teachers. If the board does adopt a program 28 for teacher recruitment incentives, the board shall adopt a 29 policy to implement the program. Under the program, the board 30 of directors of a school district shall not do any of the 31 following: 32 (1) Pay a teacher a teacher recruitment incentive that 33 annually exceeds ten percent of the amount of the salary for 34 an initial teacher established pursuant to section 284.15, 35 -4- LSB 1048XC (1) 90 jda/jh 4/ 8

S.F. _____ subsection 2, paragraph “a” , subparagraph (1). 1 (2) Pay a teacher a teacher recruitment incentive in more 2 than five school budget years. 3 b. The board may include in the district management levy 4 an amount to pay the total estimated accumulated cost to the 5 school district of the teacher recruitment incentives adopted 6 under this subsection. 7 3. The board may adopt either the program for early 8 retirement benefits provided in subsection 1 or the program for 9 teacher recruitment incentives provided in subsection 2, but 10 shall not adopt both concurrently. 11 4. The board of directors of a school district shall 12 discuss the adoption of the program for early retirement 13 benefits provided in subsection 1 or the program for teacher 14 recruitment incentives provided in subsection 2, if applicable, 15 at a regular or special meeting prior to adopting the program. 16 The board of directors of the school district shall provide 17 sufficient time to receive public comment on the program. The 18 board shall allow each interested member of the public to speak 19 at the meeting regarding the program, but may impose a time 20 limit on the amount of time a member of the public is allowed 21 to speak if the time limit is the same for each speaker and 22 necessary due to the amount of people wishing to speak. 23 Sec. 8. Section 298.4, subsection 1, paragraph e, Code 2023, 24 is amended to read as follows: 25 e. To pay the cost of early retirement benefits to employees 26 under section 279.46 , subsection 1, or teacher recruitment 27 incentives under section 279.46, subsection 2. A board of 28 directors of a school district shall not expend the district 29 management levy on the costs of both programs in the same 30 fiscal year . 31 Sec. 9. APPLICABILITY. The following applies to grants 32 awarded by the college student aid commission on or after July 33 1, 2023, to initial applicants under the teach Iowa scholar 34 program established pursuant to section 261.110: 35 -5- LSB 1048XC (1) 90 jda/jh 5/ 8

S.F. _____ The sections of this Act amending section 261.110. 1 Sec. 10. APPLICABILITY. The following apply to school 2 budget years beginning July 1, 2024: 3 1. The section of this Act amending section 279.46. 4 2. The section of this Act amending section 298.4. 5 EXPLANATION 6 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 7 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 8 This bill relates to education, including eligibility for 9 grants under the teach Iowa scholar program, licenses issued 10 by the board of educational examiners (BOEE), and the use of 11 revenues from the district management levy. 12 The bill provides that if a higher education institution 13 providing practitioner preparation offers a program that is 14 designed to assist students in attaining a teacher intern 15 license from the BOEE, the program shall require participants 16 to satisfy certain specified requirements. 17 The teach Iowa scholar program, administered by the 18 college student aid commission, provides grants to certain 19 high-caliber, full-time teachers in Iowa in amounts not to 20 exceed $4,000 annually or $20,000 over five years. Current 21 law requires applicants under the program to be in the top 25 22 percent academically of students exiting a teacher preparation 23 program to be eligible for grants under the program. The bill 24 changes this requirement to the top 30 percent academically of 25 students exiting a teacher preparation program. Current law 26 also requires applicants to be preparing to teach in a specific 27 field or subject. The bill eliminates this requirement and 28 replaces it with a requirement that the applicant be preparing 29 to become a teacher who provides classroom instruction. The 30 bill provides that the total value of grants awarded under 31 the program to applicants who are preparing to teach in a 32 school district, charter school, or an accredited nonpublic 33 school shall be equally divided between applicants preparing to 34 teach in a school district, charter school, or an accredited 35 -6- LSB 1048XC (1) 90 jda/jh 6/ 8

S.F. _____ nonpublic school with less than or equal to 1,200 students and 1 applicants preparing to teach in a school district, charter 2 school, or accredited nonpublic school with greater than 3 1,200 students. The bill authorizes the commission to award 4 different amounts to each group of applicants if the amount 5 requested by applicants of either group is less than the amount 6 reserved for that group. The bill establishes that this 7 provision applies to grants awarded by the commission on or 8 after July 1, 2023, to initial applicants under the program. 9 Current law authorizes the BOEE to issue a regional exchange 10 teaching license to an applicant who has completed a teacher 11 preparation program outside of the state and who is applying 12 for the applicant’s first Iowa teaching license if, among 13 other requirements, the applicant is a resident of the state. 14 The bill removes the requirement that such an applicant be a 15 resident of this state if the applicant provides the BOEE with 16 a copy of an offer of employment as a teacher from a school 17 located in this state. 18 Current law requires the BOEE to adopt rules to provide 19 for nontraditional preparation options for licensing persons 20 who hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college 21 or university and who do not meet other requirements for 22 licensure. The bill provides that the rules shall require 23 the BOEE to issue a teacher intern license to an applicant 24 who has completed a program offered by a higher education 25 institution providing practitioner preparation that is designed 26 to assist students in attaining a teacher intern license. The 27 bill requires the BOEE to allow a licensee who has attained 28 a teacher intern license under such a program to apply for 29 an initial teaching license if the school that employed 30 the licensee during the program and the higher education 31 institution recommend that the licensee be allowed to apply. 32 The bill requires the BOEE to adopt rules that allow 33 an individual seeking a career and technical secondary 34 authorization to apply, and if eligible, be issued the 35 -7- LSB 1048XC (1) 90 jda/jh 7/ 8

S.F. _____ secondary authorization prior to accepting an offer of 1 employment with a school. 2 Currently, Code section 279.46 authorizes the board of 3 directors of a school district to adopt a program for early 4 retirement benefits to encourage its employees to retire before 5 the normal retirement date. The bill modifies Code section 6 279.46 to also authorize the board of directors to adopt a 7 program for teacher recruitment incentives to recruit new 8 teachers. The bill requires the board of directors to discuss 9 the adoption of the program for early retirement benefits or 10 the program for teacher recruitment incentives, if applicable, 11 at a regular or special meeting prior to adopting the program 12 and allow for public comment. The bill prohibits the board 13 of directors from paying a teacher recruitment incentive that 14 annually exceeds 10 percent of the amount of the salary for 15 an initial teacher established under Code section 284.15. 16 Additionally, the bill prohibits the board of directors from 17 paying a teacher recruitment incentive in more than five 18 school budget years. The bill also prohibits the board of 19 directors from adopting the program for early retirement 20 benefits concurrently with the program for teacher recruitment 21 incentives. In addition, the bill prohibits the board of 22 directors from adopting either the program for early retirement 23 benefits or the program for teacher recruitment incentives 24 within five years after adopting the other program. The bill 25 establishes that these provisions apply to school budget years 26 beginning July 1, 2024. 27 The bill authorizes the board of directors to expend the 28 district management levy to pay the costs of either the program 29 for early retirement benefits or the program for teacher 30 recruitment incentives. The bill prohibits the board of 31 directors from expending the district management levy on the 32 costs of both programs in the same fiscal year. The bill 33 establishes that these provisions apply to school budget years 34 beginning July 1, 2024. 35 -8- LSB 1048XC (1) 90 jda/jh 8/ 8