HSB 52 Iowa House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

A bill for an act establishing a school of intellectual freedom at the university of Iowa.

This bill establishes a School of Intellectual Freedom as an independent academic unit within the University of Iowa's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It requires the school to teach courses on the historical foundations of the American constitutional order, free speech, civil discourse, and responsible leadership, directly affecting university students, faculty, and programming. The bill mandates that all funding (including private donations) be used solely for the school's direct operations, not university-wide costs, and requires the school to develop bylaws emphasizing intellectual diversity and open inquiry. The school will operate under a dean appointed by a board-selected academic council, with annual reports to state officials.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 22, 2025 Last action Feb 17, 2025
Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
7
Key actions
6
Committee
6
Feb 17, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 437.
legislature
Feb 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee vote: Yeas, 7. Nays, 4.
lower
Feb 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report, recommending passage.
lower
Jan 28, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee recommends passage.
legislature
Jan 27, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee Meeting: 01/28/2025 2:30PM RM 19.
legislature
Jan 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee: Collins, Hora and Jacoby.
lower
Jan 22, 2025
Introduced
Introduced, referred to Higher Education.
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.