A bill for an act requiring schools to establish and offer a junior fire fighter program to high school students.

HF 2285 requires all Iowa public school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools to offer a junior firefighter program to students in grades 9-12. The program must teach about fire service work in a safe environment, build life skills like teamwork, and connect students with emergency responders to encourage future careers in firefighting. Schools can create the program themselves or partner with national organizations, and it may be offered as an extracurricular activity or part of career education. The bill specifies that schools will fund this requirement using existing state school foundation aid, with no new state funding needed for implementation.