Education (Curriculum)

introduced · Iowa · House Feb 6, 2026

HF 2338: A bill for an act prohibiting school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from providing any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender theory or sexual orientation instruction in grades seven through twelve.

HF 2338 prohibits Iowa public school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from offering any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction about gender theory or sexual orientation to students in grades seven through twelve. This bill extends an existing ban (previously limited to kindergarten through grade six) to cover all middle and high school grades. The law requires schools to comply with this restriction when developing human growth and development courses, including those covering topics like sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases. It amends multiple sections of Iowa code to enforce this prohibition uniformly across all covered school types.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationProhibits gender theory and sexual orientation instruction in grades 7-12, restricting curriculum content in schools per bill's explicit language.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum K-12 Education

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 5, 2026

HF 2286: A bill for an act relating to education, including by modifying provisions related to the social studies curriculum, core curriculum, graduation requirements, area education agencies, and high school equivalency diplomas, and including transition provisions and effective date and applicability provisions.

HF 2286 replaces Iowa's social studies curriculum standards by directly adopting South Dakota's standards as the state's new requirements. It mandates specific content including U.S. government, U.S. history, and voting procedures (requiring one-half unit of government and one unit of history), while explicitly prohibiting "action civics" (defined as assignments encouraging political activism or advocacy). The bill modifies graduation requirements to include three years of social studies and removes the Iowa Department of Education's authority to set social studies content, directing schools to follow the adopted standards instead. This directly affects all Iowa public and accredited nonpublic schools, their students, and teachers implementing social studies curriculum.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationProhibits 'action civics' and mandates specific social studies content, restricting curriculum freedom per bill's explicit language.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum K-12 Education

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 17, 2026

HSB 718: A bill for an act relating to practitioner preparation programs, including by modifying the preparation required to be included in practitioner preparation programs and the duties of the state board of education and the director of the department of education, and including applicability provisions.

This Iowa bill (HSB 718) requires teacher preparation programs to remove specific concepts from their curriculum by July 1, 2027. It prohibits instruction on "diversity, equity, and inclusion" theories, multicultural classroom management frameworks, and social-emotional learning models. Instead, programs must include explicit training in "authority-centered" classroom management techniques - such as clear rules, teacher-led instruction, and consistent discipline - and analyze historical management approaches prior to 1990. The law applies to students admitted to approved programs on or after July 1, 2027, and directs the state education board to enforce these changes through program approvals.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationProhibits DEI concepts in teacher prep curricula, replacing them with authority-centered methods - direct curriculum restriction per topic description.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum Teachers

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 19, 2026

SF 2405: A bill for an act relating to trainings and curricula regarding specific defined concepts provided by public institutions of higher education and school districts.

SF 2405 requires public schools and colleges in Iowa to ensure that all staff, contractors, and volunteers avoid promoting stereotyping or scapegoating based on demographic group membership or identity in any curriculum, educational materials, or training. It prohibits school districts from using public funds or resources to support such content and mandates that all relevant personnel receive training on these requirements. The bill allows parents, employees, or residents to file lawsuits seeking to stop violations without needing to prove personal harm. This policy directly affects school districts, higher education institutions, and their employees, contractors, and volunteers who develop or deliver educational content.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationRestricts curriculum content by banning stereotyping based on identity, requiring staff training, and allowing lawsuits for violations, directly limiting educational content in schools.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 9, 2026

SF 2060: A bill for an act relating to eligibility standards for certain education programs and tax provisions based on religious or sectarian use or purpose, and including retroactive applicability provisions.

This bill modifies Iowa's education and tax laws to ensure public funding for educational programs excludes religious instruction. It defines "property" to exclude facilities used for sectarian teaching, worship, or religious training, and requires courses for high school students taking college credit to be nonsectarian. School districts must verify comparable nonreligious courses aren't available before allowing students to enroll in eligible college courses at community colleges. Textbook funding for nonpublic schools must be for nonreligious materials, and districts must annually approve courses for academic rigor. The bill affects public school districts, community colleges, and accredited nonpublic schools in Iowa.

Topics ✗ Budget & TaxesOpposes Budget & TaxesBill restricts public funding for religious instruction by modifying tax laws, excluding sectarian facilities and requiring nonsectarian courses. This defunds religious use of public funds, directly limiting government spending per tax provisions.90% confidence ✗ EducationOpposes EducationRestricts public funding for religious instruction in education programs, excluding sectarian use from tax provisions and requiring nonsectarian courses.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum Higher Education K-12 Education

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 16, 2026

HSB 542: A bill for an act prohibiting courses and content relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory in general education requirements and core curricula at regents institutions.

This bill prohibits Iowa's public universities (regents institutions) from requiring courses containing content related to diversity, equity, inclusion, or critical race theory in general education programs. It specifically bans material promoting ideas like systemic racism, race-based privilege, or differential treatment based on race, and lists topics such as "systemic racism," "implicit bias," or "intersectionality" as prohibited. The state board of regents must establish this policy and review all general education curricula by December 2026, removing any required courses that include prohibited content. The law directly affects undergraduate students and faculty at Iowa's public universities by restricting mandatory course content in foundational education requirements.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationProhibits DEI/critical race theory content in university curricula, restricting academic freedom and curriculum requirements in education.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum Higher Education

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 21, 2026

SF 2003: A bill for an act prohibiting school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from providing any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender theory or sexual orientation instruction in grades seven through twelve.

SF 2003 prohibits Iowa public school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from offering any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction related to gender theory or sexual orientation to students in grades seven through twelve. The bill amends existing education laws to extend a current prohibition (previously limited to grades K-6) to cover all middle and high school students. Key mechanisms require schools to comply with this restriction when developing or implementing human growth and development instruction, including health education standards. The policy change directly affects school curricula and instructional materials in the specified grades.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationProhibits gender theory/sexual orientation instruction in grades 7-12, restricting curriculum content in schools per bill's explicit language.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum K-12 Education

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 6, 2026

HF 2121: A bill for an act prohibiting school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from providing any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender theory or sexual orientation instruction in grades seven through twelve.

This bill prohibits Iowa public school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from offering any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction about gender theory or sexual orientation to students in grades seven through twelve. It extends an existing ban that previously applied only to kindergarten through sixth grade to cover all middle and high school students. The law requires schools to remove such content from their human growth and development curriculum, which must instead focus on age-appropriate, research-based topics like health, safety, and disease prevention as outlined in other sections of the law. This is a direct policy change affecting school curricula in 7th-12th grades across participating schools.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationProhibits teaching gender theory/sexual orientation in grades 7-12, restricting curriculum content per bill's explicit language.92% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum K-12 Education

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Jan 16, 2025

HF 76: A bill for an act incorporating provisions related to pregnancy and fetal development into the human growth and development and health curriculum provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools to students enrolled in grades seven through twelve.

HF 76 requires Iowa public and private schools to include specific content about pregnancy and fetal development in health and human growth curricula for students in grades 7-12. The bill mandates that this instruction cover human biology related to pregnancy, fetal development inside the womb, and include a 3-minute high-definition ultrasound video showing early organ development. It also requires a computer-generated animation demonstrating fertilization and every stage of fetal development with key milestones. These provisions apply to all school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools offering the required courses.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationMandates specific curriculum content on pregnancy/fetal development, restricting educational freedom and curricular autonomy in health education.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 30, 2025

SSB 1023: A bill for an act relating to participation in cocurricular and extracurricular activities offered by school districts by pupils who open enroll for purposes of receiving educational instruction and course content primarily over the internet.

This bill clarifies that Iowa students enrolled in online open-enrollment programs can participate in their district's sports, clubs, and other extracurricular activities only if the online school does not sponsor those same activities. It limits participation to two activities per school year unless the district approves additional ones, and requires these students to follow the same eligibility, conduct, and other rules as in-person students. The change updates existing law to prevent conflicts where online schools might sponsor competing activities, ensuring consistency for district-sponsored programs. This is a technical clarification to the education code, not a new policy.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationBill restricts online students' extracurricular access to two activities/year unless approved, limiting participation opportunities under district rules.92% confidence

Sub-Topics Curriculum

Track