Signed by Governor Kim Reynolds

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that repeals mask mandates for public school students and expands the Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit.

Highlights:

• Defines “significant need for improvement” as a school attendance center designated by the department of education under the priority category under the Iowa school performance profiles for 2 or more of the immediately preceding school years or identified for comprehensive support and improvement under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, or an equivalent objective federal standard, for 2 or more of the immediately preceding school years (Sec. 14-2).

• Authorizes a taxpayer who is an eligible educator to take the deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers in computing net income for state tax purposes in excess of the amount of the taxpayer’s deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers for federal tax purposes, but not to exceed $500 (Sec. 6-55).

• Establishes a tuition credit equal to 25 percent of the first $2,000 which the taxpayer has paid to others for each dependent in grades kindergarten through 12, for tuition and textbooks of each dependent who is receiving private instruction or who is attending an elementary or secondary school situated in Iowa, which school is accredited or approved, which is not operated for profit, and which adheres to the provisions of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Sec. 8.b).

• Specifies if a parent or guardian fails to file a notification that the parent intends to enroll the parent’s or guardian’s child in a public school in another district by the deadline specified in this subsection, the procedures of subsection 4 apply (Sec. 13.a).

• Requires the state board to adopt by rule the criteria for determining a resident district’s consistent failure to reasonably respond to a student’s failure to meet basic academic standards and shall exercise broad discretion to achieve just and equitable results that are in the best interest of the affected child or children (Sec. 15-5).

• Specifies the economic eligibility requirements established by the department of education and state board of education shall minimally include those pupils with household incomes of 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level as defined by the most recently revised poverty income guidelines published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (Sec. 17.c).

• Authorizes a child to participate immediately in varsity interscholastic contests or competitions upon enrollment in a school or school district, if the child was previously enrolled in the school or school district on the first day of the school calendar for the school year, then enrolls in an accredited nonpublic school for a portion of the school year, and then, before July 1, 2021, re enrolls in the school or school district in which the child was initially enrolled (Sec. 22).

• Requires a school corporation to be entrusted with public funds for the purpose of improving student outcomes, including but not limited to student academic achievement and skill proficiency, and the board of directors of the school corporation is responsible for overseeing such improvement (Sec. 26-3).

• Authorizes a school district to receive the additional weighting for sharing the services of an individual with a political subdivision even if the type of operational function performed by the individual for the school district and the type of operational function performed by the individual for the political subdivision are not the same operational function, so long as both operational functions are eligible for (Sec. 27.a).

• Prohibits the board of directors of a school district, the superintendent or chief administering officer of a school or school district, and the authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school from adopting, enforcing, or implementing a policy that requires its employees, students, or members of the public to wear a facial covering for any purpose while on the school district’s or accredited nonpublic school’s property unless the facial covering is necessary for a specific extracurricular or instructional purpose, or is required by any other provision of law (Sec. 28).

• Prohibits a county from adopting an ordinance, motion, resolution, or amendment, or using any other means, that requires the owner of real property to implement a policy relating to the use of facial coverings that is more stringent than a policy imposed by the state (Sec. 29).

• Prohibits a city from adopting an ordinance, motion, resolution, or amendment, or use any other means, that requires the owner of real property to implement a policy relating to the use of facial coverings that is more stringent than a policy imposed by the state (Sec. 30).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that repeals mask mandates for public school students and expands the Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit.

Highlights:

• Defines “significant need for improvement” as a school attendance center designated by the department of education under the priority category under the Iowa school performance profiles for 2 or more of the immediately preceding school years or identified for comprehensive support and improvement under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, or an equivalent objective federal standard, for 2 or more of the immediately preceding school years (Sec. 14-2).

• Authorizes a taxpayer who is an eligible educator to take the deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers in computing net income for state tax purposes in excess of the amount of the taxpayer’s deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers for federal tax purposes, but not to exceed $500 (Sec. 6-55).

• Establishes a tuition credit equal to 25 percent of the first $2,000 which the taxpayer has paid to others for each dependent in grades kindergarten through 12, for tuition and textbooks of each dependent who is receiving private instruction or who is attending an elementary or secondary school situated in Iowa, which school is accredited or approved, which is not operated for profit, and which adheres to the provisions of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Sec. 8.b).

• Specifies if a parent or guardian fails to file a notification that the parent intends to enroll the parent’s or guardian’s child in a public school in another district by the deadline specified in this subsection, the procedures of subsection 4 apply (Sec. 13.a).

• Requires the state board to adopt by rule the criteria for determining a resident district’s consistent failure to reasonably respond to a student’s failure to meet basic academic standards and shall exercise broad discretion to achieve just and equitable results that are in the best interest of the affected child or children (Sec. 15-5).

• Specifies the economic eligibility requirements established by the department of education and state board of education shall minimally include those pupils with household incomes of 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level as defined by the most recently revised poverty income guidelines published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (Sec. 17.c).

• Authorizes a child to participate immediately in varsity interscholastic contests or competitions upon enrollment in a school or school district, if the child was previously enrolled in the school or school district on the first day of the school calendar for the school year, then enrolls in an accredited nonpublic school for a portion of the school year, and then, before July 1, 2021, re enrolls in the school or school district in which the child was initially enrolled (Sec. 22).

• Requires a school corporation to be entrusted with public funds for the purpose of improving student outcomes, including but not limited to student academic achievement and skill proficiency, and the board of directors of the school corporation is responsible for overseeing such improvement (Sec. 26-3).

• Authorizes a school district to receive the additional weighting for sharing the services of an individual with a political subdivision even if the type of operational function performed by the individual for the school district and the type of operational function performed by the individual for the political subdivision are not the same operational function, so long as both operational functions are eligible for (Sec. 27.a).

• Prohibits the board of directors of a school district, the superintendent or chief administering officer of a school or school district, and the authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school from adopting, enforcing, or implementing a policy that requires its employees, students, or members of the public to wear a facial covering for any purpose while on the school district’s or accredited nonpublic school’s property unless the facial covering is necessary for a specific extracurricular or instructional purpose, or is required by any other provision of law (Sec. 28).

• Prohibits a county from adopting an ordinance, motion, resolution, or amendment, or using any other means, that requires the owner of real property to implement a policy relating to the use of facial coverings that is more stringent than a policy imposed by the state (Sec. 29).

• Prohibits a city from adopting an ordinance, motion, resolution, or amendment, or use any other means, that requires the owner of real property to implement a policy relating to the use of facial coverings that is more stringent than a policy imposed by the state (Sec. 30).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that expands the Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit.

Highlights:

• Defines “significant need for improvement” as a school attendance center designated by the department of education under the priority category under the Iowa school performance profiles for 2 or more of the immediately preceding school years or identified for comprehensive support and improvement under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, or an equivalent objective federal standard, for 2 or more of the immediately preceding school years (Sec. 14-2).

• Authorizes a taxpayer who is an eligible educator to take the deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers in computing net income for state tax purposes in excess of the amount of the taxpayer’s deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers for federal tax purposes, but not to exceed $500 (Sec. 6-55).

• Establishes a tuition credit equal to 25 percent of the first $2,000 which the taxpayer has paid to others for each dependent in grades kindergarten through 12, for tuition and textbooks of each dependent who is receiving private instruction or who is attending an elementary or secondary school situated in Iowa, which school is accredited or approved, which is not operated for profit, and which adheres to the provisions of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Sec. 8.b).

• Specifies if a parent or guardian fails to file a notification that the parent intends to enroll the parent’s or guardian’s child in a public school in another district by the deadline specified in this subsection, the procedures of subsection 4 apply (Sec. 13.a).

• Requires the state board to adopt by rule the criteria for determining a resident district’s consistent failure to reasonably respond to a student’s failure to meet basic academic standards and shall exercise broad discretion to achieve just and equitable results that are in the best interest of the affected child or children (Sec. 15-5).

• Specifies the economic eligibility requirements established by the department of education and state board of education shall minimally include those pupils with household incomes of 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level as defined by the most recently revised poverty income guidelines published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (Sec. 17.c).

• Authorizes a child to participate immediately in varsity interscholastic contests or competitions upon enrollment in a school or school district, if the child was previously enrolled in the school or school district on the first day of the school calendar for the school year, then enrolls in an accredited nonpublic school for a portion of the school year, and then, before July 1, 2021, re enrolls in the school or school district in which the child was initially enrolled (Sec. 22).

• Requires a school corporation to be entrusted with public funds for the purpose of improving student outcomes, including but not limited to student academic achievement and skill proficiency, and the board of directors of the school corporation is responsible for overseeing such improvement (Sec. 26-3).

• Authorizes a school district to receive the additional weighting for sharing the services of an individual with a political subdivision even if the type of operational function performed by the individual for the school district and the type of operational function performed by the individual for the political subdivision are not the same operational function, so long as both operational functions are eligible for (Sec. 27.a).

Full Bill Text