All Bills

The bill requires the corporation to provide specified information to the bureau. The bill requires the bureau, upon receiving the required information, to determine if the information included in the chart is accurate and notify the corporation of any inaccuracies. If the bureau determines that the college family loan or the partnership loan may offer a lower APR than the federal direct plus loan, the bill requires the bureau to publish on the bureau's internet site a statement that contains specified information until the college family loan or the partnership loan no longer has a lower APR. By October 1 each year, if the bureau determines that the college family loan or the partnership loan may offer a lower APR than the federal direct plus loan, the bill additionally requires the bureau to send specified information to each institution of higher education in Iowa eligible to receive funds through the college family loan or the partnership loan. 

Assessments: Requires schools to give teacher candidates an assessment to be used to determine whether the candidate meets the competency requirements. Requires DOE to develop and distribute the assessment. Includes requirements on remediation and on collecting data and publishing results. Special Ed: Requires teacher preparation programs to include classroom experience for teacher candidates with students with disabilities and with English learners. (DOE)

Requires the Regent schools to require survey courses in American history and American government. Includes requirements for the Center for Intellectual Freedom on coursework. Includes requirements for public debates and lectures at the state schools. 

The bill requires the act of giving notice of a meeting of a governmental body to include (1) advising the news media who have filed a request for notice with the governmental body as provided under current law, (2) posting the notice in a prominent and conspicuous place that is designated annually by the governmental body, in a manner such that the notice is visible at all times, and (3) posting the notice on any associated internet site as specified in the bill. The bill requires a governmental body to provide notice if a meeting is canceled. 

Requires the the regent schools to waive tuition for a veteran with a 100% service disability if the veteran has exhausted other available state and federal resources.

Prohibits designing chatbots that encourage users to commit suicide or perform acts of violence. Requires chatbots frequently disclose during a chat that they are not human. Includes other requirements, and allows the Attorney General to bring enforcement actions. 

Requires an applicant for a CDL to complete training on human trafficking. Requires persons giving CDL training to include 30 minutes of coursework. Requires the DOT to work with the DOE and the State BOE on training materials. 

Renames the career and technical education services areas as content areas and requires DE to ensure that the six content areas in the high school career and technical education program are aligned to a national framework representative of all career pathways. Requires that regional career and technical education partnerships demonstrate all expenditures are aligned with high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand occupations. 

Defines "high-demand occupation” as an occupation in which state, local, or regional labor market forecasting shows occupational demand exceeds the overall state, local, or regional employer demand metrics, including in openings, numeric change, and growth.

Defines “high-skill occupation” as an occupation with education or training requirements, including the completion of an apprenticeship program, an industry-recognized credential, a short-term college credential such as a certificate or diploma, a noncredit college credential or certification, an associate degree or higher, on-the-job training, or on-the-job credential or certification.

Defines “high-wage occupation” as an occupation for which at least three of five hourly wage or annual salary measurements for that occupation exceed the hourly wage or annual salary for all occupations in the state or region.

Requires DE with the Iowa community colleges and in consultation with the regents, to implement statewide lower division general education framework and common course numbering systems for all coursework offered by the Iowa community colleges. 

Requires that by 2028-2029 school year, all Iowa community colleges must replace tradition, prerequisite remedial coursework in mathematics and English with corequisite models. 

Makes changes to summative testing, health curriculums, financial literacy and non-compliant school districts. 

Bill strikes provisions of state policy to apply affirmative action measures to correct deficiencies in the state employment system where those remedies are appropriate, and the various requirements relating to affirmative action for state and educational entities including, DAS, board of regents, judicial branch, DE, schools districts, AEAs, community colleges, and accredited private institutions. 

Requires the board of educational examiners to establish additional endorsements for instruction related to fine arts, mathematics, science, and agriculture. 

The bill makes the Governor's proposed FY 2027 appropriations for economic development, the EDA, the DWD, the IFA and for the Regents. 

Key funding provisions include:

• Adult basic education and literacy: $4,500,000 - this is a $1 million decrease from last year. 

• Registered apprenticeship programs: $760,000 - this is the same as last year. 

• Manufacturing 4.0: $2,350,000 - this is the same as last year. 

This bill makes the proposed FY 2027 GF appropriations for the DOE, the DOB and the Regents. Some key appropriations include: 

• Community College State General Aid: $246,858,161 this is a 1.4% increase.

• Workforce Training and Economic Development Fund: $15,100,000. This is the same as last year. 

• ACE Infrastructure: $6,000,000. This is the same as last year. However, $3,500,000 of the fund are taken from ACE and will go towards the Career Training Physical Expansion Program passed as part of SF 2168. 

• Future Ready Iowa Last Dollar Scholarship Program: $23,927,005. This is the same as last year.

Requires IWD to update the list of high-demand jobs once every three years in collaboration with community colleges when selecting and prioritizing such jobs. Changes wage requirement to "a competitive entry-level wage" when identifying high-demand jobs. Replaces current financial qualification requirement to the requirement that an applicant meet financial need criteria established by the college student aid commission, and the commission define financial need by rule. 

Adds intermediary sponsors as a class of entities that may provide apprenticeship training under the Iowa registered apprenticeship Act. Providing intermediary sponsors with the sole discretion for approving partner employers, provided that such employers are compliant with the intermediary's standards. Making intermediary sponsors eligible for financial assistance. 

Provides that a licensed journeyperson or master under the Iowa plumber, mechanical professional and contractor licensing Act may employ or supervise licensed apprentices. 

Creates a career training physical expansion program administered by IWD, with the purpose to provide financial assistance for the construction of new facilities that will expand the capacity of community colleges and unionized and nonunionized private sector apprenticeship programs to provide education and training for workers in high-demand fields in Iowa. Key eligibility requirement is that a program must demonstrate that construction of the new facility will directly result in an increase in the number of workers in high-demand fields in this state. 

The bill repeals the summer youth intern pilot program. This division takes effect June 30, 2026. 

Sets the SSA and Categorical growth rates a 1.75% for the 2026-2027 school year. Changes the formula for the property tax replacement to schools. Makes the regular program cost per pupil for 2026 the regular program cost in the base year plus $5 and recalculates the cost in future years. Funds the budget adjustment of a district through the foundation formula and not property taxes as of 2026. Makes the school budget enrollment the greater of the actual enrollment and the adjusted enrollment for the base year. Includes a formula for the adjusted enrollment.

Modernizes recordkeeping requirements for IPERS by striking prohibitions against requiring digital signatures, simplifying procedures for using the Treasurer’s office to pay out missing funds, changing the dates for mailing out statements and authorizing the use of reloadable payment cards.

Allows a high school to require a student who takes a community college class through the school and fails the class to pay the school for the cost of the course. The bill was amended to also allow a high school to require repayment from a student or their family if they withdraw from the course. 

Provides that if a community college offers the course using both instruction that is delivered in person and primarily over the internet, the student is required to enroll in the in person instruction unless the superintendent authorizes the student to enroll in the online option. 

Requires the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing (DIAL) to establish a medication aide certification registry on DIAL's internet site. 

Authorizes a DIAL approved medication aide challenge examination to be administered by an area community college and authorizes other department-approved competency evaluation programs to administer a department-approved medication aide challenge examination. 

Requires DIAL to adopt rules that include specified provisions relating to qualifications of medication aids, these relate to procedures for DIAL approved medication aide courses and DIAL-approved medication aide challenge examinations. 

Charters: Increases the funding for charter schools. Adds charter school employees to IPERS. Allows charter school students to participate in sports and extracurricular activities at public HS. Deems charter school boards as local education agencies.

Buildings: Requires IFA to work with charter schools and private schools with students who receive ESA funds on financing building and repairing school buildings. Creates a revolving fund.

Pre-school: Authorizes community-based providers to participate in pre-school programs for four-year olds and to receive state aid. Establishes a funding formula.

ESA: Allows a student to apply for an ESA from December 1-20 preceding the school semester for which the application is wanted. Makes the ESA payment 50% for the first semester.

Start date: Changes the school start date.

Study: Directs the DOE to establish a task force to study teacher training.

Requires applicants for a new CDL or to renew a CDL to provide English proficiency. Gives specific requirements for the exam. Prohibits a company from hiring a driver who is not proficient. Limits damages for towing the vehicle of a driver who is not proficient. 

Requires regents to ensure that no less than 1 percent of their respective total endowment assets are invested by July 1, 2027, in one or more innovation funds certified by the economic development authority. 

Provides each institution shall retain discretion to determine which innovation funds to invest in, when investments are made, and the structure of commitments. Authorizes the institution to implement investments through direct commitments as capital is called. 

Authorizes the state board of regents to grant an institution a one-year waiver from the requirements of the bill if adequate innovation fund capacity is not available or market conditions would materially impair prudent investment. 

Requires annual reports to the board with specified content, requires economic development to maintain public list of all innovation funds eligible, and includes standards. 

DIVISION II - RATE LIMITED PROPERTY TAX LEVY RATES
This division limits each rate-limited property tax levy to a growth cap of 2% beginning July 1, 2027, and each fiscal year thereafter. 

DIVISION IV —— PROPERTY VALUATIONS AND ASSESSMENT LIMITATIONS.

This bill amend Code section 441.21 by specifying that for assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, structures on agricultural land constructed on or after January 1, 2027, that are not agricultural dwellings shall not be included in determination of productivity and net earning capacity of agricultural property and shall not be allocated any portion of the total county productivity value so determined. 

The bill strikes the calculation of the residential property assessment limitation for assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and strikes the provision within the agricultural property assessment limitation calculation that limits growth of residential or agricultural property to the growth in the other classification (ag-residential tie). 

The bill modifies provisions governing the calculation of payments made to local governments that are made to replace property taxes due to the application of the residential property assessment limitation to certain portions of commercial and industrial property valuations and eliminates the appropriation for such payments for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2027, due to elimination of the assessment limitations.