HF 890: A bill for an act relating to education, including by modifying provisions related to community college and department of education reporting requirements, the national board certification pilot project, employees of the Iowa educational services for the blind and visually impaired program or the Iowa school for the deaf, and the employment contracts between community colleges and community college instructors, and including effective date provisions. - Iowa

Enrolled → Enrolled with Governor's Action · 5 edits · Jun 6, 2025

MODERATE

This bill modifies Iowa's education reporting requirements, establishes a national board certification pilot program with specific funding, and updates employment contract rules for community college instructors and special education staff. The changes aim to improve data collection on student outcomes, provide financial incentives for teachers achieving national certification, and clarify compensation standards for specialized educational programs.

Scope change

The bill expands reporting requirements to include individual-level data from community colleges and adds new provisions for national board certification stipends and dyslexia specialist endorsements.

REQUIREMENT

Community colleges must now submit individual-level data to the department annually using specific criteria, with deadlines set for state board approval and legislative review.

Updates reporting deadlines for the annual condition of community colleges report to February 1 for review by March 15.

Requires postsecondary institutions to collect and report data on female and minority enrollment in STEM programs.

FISCAL

Allocates $508,250 for national board certification awards and $85,000 for the ambassador to education position, with unspent funds available for dyslexia specialist stipends.

DEFINITION

Clarifies that community college instructors providing more than half their workload in credit-bearing instruction are considered teachers under employment contract provisions.

Introduced → Signed Enrolled Bill (PDF) · 5 edits · Jun 6, 2025

MODERATE

This bill amends Iowa education laws to update reporting requirements for community colleges, establish a national board certification pilot program with funding for teacher stipends, and clarify employment contract procedures for staff at specialized educational services programs. The changes modernize data collection processes, create new funding streams for teacher development, and ensure consistent application of employment protections across different educational service programs.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of reporting requirements from the state board of education to the department of education, and clarifies that employment protections apply to all employees of specialized educational services regardless of licensing status.

REQUIREMENT

Community colleges must now submit financial and outcome data directly to the department of education rather than through the community colleges bureau, with standardized reporting deadlines by March 15 annually.

Requires eligible postsecondary institutions to collect and report data on female and minority enrollment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-oriented educational opportunities.

FISCAL

Establishes a $508,250 appropriation for fiscal year 2024-2025 to fund national board certification awards, with at least $85,000 reserved for an ambassador to education position and remaining funds available for dyslexia specialist stipends.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarifies that employment contract protections and discharge procedures apply to all employees of the Iowa educational services for the blind and visually impaired program and the Iowa school for the deaf, regardless of whether they hold specific licensing credentials.

TIMELINE

Sets specific deadlines for annual reporting: community college data by March 15, statewide summary reports by February 1, and national board certification reports by January 15.

Signed Enrolled Bill (PDF) → Enrolled · 3 edits · Jun 6, 2025

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a signed enrolled version to a clean enrolled version, removing the Governor's signature block and signature lines while preserving the legislative content. No substantive policy changes were made to the bill's provisions regarding community college reporting, national board certification, or special education programs.

TECHNICAL

Removed the Governor's signature block, signature date, and signature lines from the top of the document.

Removed the handwritten-style signature lines and cc: distribution list at the end of the document.

Reformatted the bill text from a scanned PDF layout with irregular line breaks to a clean, numbered paragraph format for readability.

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