Senate File 2049 - Introduced SENATE FILE 2049 BY SALMON A BILL FOR An Act relating to trainings, examinations, surveys, and 1 screenings provided by governmental agencies and entities, 2 school districts, charter schools, innovation zone schools, 3 and public postsecondary educational institutions, including 4 racism or sexism trainings, diversity and inclusion efforts, 5 physical examinations, student health screenings, and 6 surveys administered to students or related to students, and 7 including civil penalties. 8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 9 TLSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh
S.F. 2049 Section 1. Section 25A.1, subsection 1, paragraphs d and e, 1 Code 2024, are amended by striking the paragraphs. 2 Sec. 2. Section 25A.1, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 2. Each agency, governmental entity, or governmental 5 subdivision may continue training that fosters a workplace 6 and learning environment that is respectful of all employees. 7 However, the head of an agency, governmental entity, or 8 governmental subdivision shall ensure that any mandatory staff 9 training and associated materials provided by an employee of an 10 agency, governmental entity, or governmental subdivision, or 11 by a contractor hired by the agency, governmental entity, or 12 governmental subdivision does not teach, advocate, encourage, 13 promote, or act upon stereotyping, scapegoating, specific 14 defined concepts or prejudice toward others on the basis of 15 demographic group membership or identity. This subsection 16 shall not be construed as preventing an employee or contractor 17 who provides mandatory training from responding to questions 18 regarding stereotyping, scapegoating, specific defined concepts 19 or prejudice raised by participants in the training. 20 Sec. 3. Section 25A.1, Code 2024, is amended by adding the 21 following new subsection: 22 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. a. An employee of an agency, 23 governmental entity, or governmental subdivision alleging a 24 violation of subsection 2 by an employee or contractor of the 25 agency, governmental entity, or governmental subdivision may 26 bring a civil action for injunctive relief against the agency, 27 governmental entity, or governmental subdivision to prohibit 28 the employee or contractor from continuing such violation. 29 b. If an employee is the prevailing party in a civil action 30 instituted pursuant to paragraph a , the court shall award 31 reasonable court costs and attorney fees to the employee. 32 Sec. 4. Section 25A.1, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 2024, 33 is amended to read as follows: 34 b. Create Except as provided in subsection 2A, create any 35 -1- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 1/ 11
S.F. 2049 right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at 1 law or in equity by any party against the state of Iowa, its 2 departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, 3 or agents, or any other person. 4 Sec. 5. Section 256.146, subsection 13, paragraph b, Code 5 2024, is amended by adding the following new subparagraphs: 6 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (5) A court finds that the person has 7 violated section 279.74, subsection 2. 8 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (6) A court finds that the person has 9 violated section 279.76, subsection 1. 10 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (7) A court finds that the person has 11 violated section 279.79, subsection 1 or 2. 12 Sec. 6. Section 261H.8, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 2. Each public institution of higher education may continue 15 training that fosters a workplace and learning environment that 16 is respectful of all employees and students. However, the 17 president, vice presidents, deans, department directors, or any 18 other administrator of a public institution of higher education 19 shall ensure that any mandatory staff or student training and 20 associated materials provided by an employee of the institution 21 or by a contractor hired by the institution does not teach, 22 advocate, act upon, or promote specific defined concepts. This 23 subsection shall not be construed as preventing an employee 24 or contractor who provides mandatory training from responding 25 to questions regarding specific defined concepts raised by 26 participants in the training. 27 Sec. 7. Section 261H.8, Code 2024, is amended by adding the 28 following new subsection: 29 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. a. An employee or student of a 30 public institution of higher education alleging a violation 31 of subsection 2 by an employee or contractor of the public 32 institution of higher education may bring a civil action 33 for injunctive relief against the public institution of 34 higher education to prohibit the employee or contractor from 35 -2- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 2/ 11
S.F. 2049 continuing such violation. 1 b. If an employee or student is the prevailing party in a 2 civil action instituted pursuant to paragraph a , the court 3 shall award reasonable court costs and attorney fees to the 4 employee or student. 5 Sec. 8. Section 261H.8, subsection 4, paragraph d, Code 6 2024, is amended to read as follows: 7 d. Create Except as provided in subsection 2A, create any 8 right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at 9 law or in equity by any party against the state of Iowa, its 10 departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, 11 or agents, or any other person. 12 Sec. 9. Section 279.74, Code 2024, is amended to read as 13 follows: 14 279.74 Training and curriculum prohibited specific defined 15 concepts. 16 1. For purposes of this section , unless the context 17 otherwise requires: 18 a. Race or sex scapegoating Administrator means the same 19 as defined in section 261H.8 256.145 . 20 b. Race or sex stereotyping means the same as defined in 21 section 261H.8 . 22 c. b. Specific defined concepts means the same as defined 23 in section 261H.8 . 24 c. Teacher means the same as defined in section 256.145. 25 2. a. Each school district may continue training that 26 fosters a workplace and learning environment that is respectful 27 of all employees and students. However, the superintendent 28 of each school district shall ensure that any curriculum or 29 mandatory staff or student training provided by an employee 30 of the school district or by a contractor hired by the school 31 district does not teach, advocate, encourage, promote, or act 32 upon specific stereotyping and scapegoating toward others 33 on the basis of demographic group membership or identity 34 contractors hired by the school district and teachers or 35 -3- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 3/ 11
S.F. 2049 administrators employed by the school district shall not 1 provide any curriculum or mandatory staff or student training, 2 or associated materials, that teaches, advocates, encourages, 3 promotes, or acts upon specific defined concepts . This 4 subsection shall not be construed as preventing an employee 5 or contractor a contractor, teacher, or administrator who 6 teaches any curriculum or who provides mandatory training from 7 responding to questions regarding specific defined concepts 8 raised by participants in the training. 9 b. An administrator employed by a school district shall 10 not knowingly allow a contractor hired by the school district 11 or a teacher employed by the school district to provide 12 any curriculum or mandatory staff or student training, or 13 associated materials, that teaches, advocates, encourages, 14 promotes, or acts upon specific defined concepts. 15 3. a. A parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the 16 school district who alleges a violation of subsection 2 by 17 a contractor, teacher, or administrator may bring a civil 18 action for injunctive relief against the school district that 19 hired the contractor or employs the teacher or administrator 20 to prohibit the contractor, teacher, or administrator from 21 continuing such violation. 22 b. If a parent or guardian is the prevailing party in a 23 civil action instituted pursuant to paragraph a , all of the 24 following shall apply: 25 (1) The court shall award reasonable court costs and 26 attorney fees to the parent or guardian. 27 (2) The court shall assess a civil penalty against the 28 school district that hired the contractor or employs the 29 teacher or administrator, in an amount not less than fifty 30 thousand dollars. Moneys from the civil penalty provided in 31 this subparagraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of state 32 for deposit in the general fund of the state. 33 (3) The clerk of court shall send a copy of the courts 34 order issued pursuant to this subsection to the board of 35 -4- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 4/ 11
S.F. 2049 educational examiners. 1 3. 4. School district diversity and inclusion efforts shall 2 discourage students of the school district from discriminating 3 against another by political ideology or any characteristic 4 protected under the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub. L. 5 No. 88-352, as amended, and applicable state law. Each school 6 district shall prohibit its employees from discriminating 7 against students or employees by political ideology or any 8 characteristic protected under the federal Civil Rights Act of 9 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-352, as amended, and applicable state law. 10 4. 5. This section shall not be construed to do any of the 11 following: 12 a. Inhibit or violate the first amendment rights of students 13 or faculty, or undermine a school districts duty to protect to 14 the fullest degree intellectual freedom and free expression. 15 The intellectual vitality of students and faculty shall not be 16 infringed under this section . 17 b. Prevent a school district from promoting racial, 18 cultural, ethnic, intellectual, or academic diversity or 19 inclusiveness, provided such efforts are consistent with the 20 provisions of this section , chapter 216 , and other applicable 21 law. 22 c. Prohibit discussing specific defined concepts as part of 23 a larger course of academic instruction. 24 d. Create Except as provided in subsection 3, create any 25 right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at 26 law or in equity by any party against the state of Iowa, its 27 departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, 28 or agents, or any other person. 29 e. Prohibit a state or federal court or agency of competent 30 jurisdiction from ordering a training or remedial action 31 containing discussions of specific defined concepts as a 32 remedial action due to a finding of discrimination, including 33 discrimination based on race or sex. 34 f. Prohibit the use of curriculum that teaches the topics 35 -5- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 5/ 11
S.F. 2049 of sexism, slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, 1 or racial discrimination, including topics relating to the 2 enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in sexism, racial 3 oppression, segregation, and discrimination. 4 Sec. 10. Section 279.76, Code 2024, is amended by adding the 5 following new subsection: 6 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. a. A parent or guardian of a student 7 enrolled in the school district who alleges a violation 8 of subsection 1 by an employee of the school district or a 9 contractor engaged by the school district may bring a civil 10 action for injunctive relief against the school district to 11 prohibit the employee or contractor from continuing such 12 violation. 13 b. If a parent or guardian is the prevailing party in a 14 civil action instituted pursuant to paragraph a , all of the 15 following shall apply: 16 (1) The court shall award reasonable court costs and 17 attorney fees to the parent or guardian. 18 (2) The court shall assess a civil penalty against the 19 school district in an amount not less than fifty thousand 20 dollars. Moneys from the civil penalty provided in this 21 subparagraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for 22 deposit in the general fund of the state. 23 (3) The clerk of court shall send a copy of the courts 24 order issued pursuant to this subsection to the board of 25 educational examiners. 26 Sec. 11. Section 279.79, Code 2024, is amended by adding the 27 following new subsection: 28 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. a. A parent or guardian of a student 29 enrolled in the school district who alleges a violation of 30 subsection 1 or 2 by an employee of the school district or a 31 contractor engaged by the school district may bring a civil 32 action for injunctive relief against the school district to 33 prohibit the employee or contractor from continuing such 34 violation. 35 -6- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 6/ 11
S.F. 2049 b. If a parent or guardian is the prevailing party in a 1 civil action instituted pursuant to paragraph a , all of the 2 following shall apply: 3 (1) The court shall award reasonable court costs and 4 attorney fees to the parent or guardian. 5 (2) The court shall assess a civil penalty against the 6 school district in an amount not less than fifty thousand 7 dollars. Moneys from the civil penalty provided in this 8 subparagraph shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for 9 deposit in the general fund of the state. 10 (3) The clerk of court shall send a copy of the courts 11 order issued pursuant to this subsection to the board of 12 educational examiners. 13 Sec. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT. Section 25B.2, subsection 14 3, shall not apply to this Act. 15 EXPLANATION 16 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 17 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 18 This bill relates to trainings, examinations, surveys, and 19 screenings provided by governmental agencies and entities, 20 school districts, charter schools, innovation zone schools, 21 and public postsecondary educational institutions, including 22 racism or sexism trainings, diversity and inclusion efforts, 23 physical examinations, student health screenings, and surveys 24 administered to students or related to students. 25 Current Code section 279.74 requires the superintendent 26 of each school district to ensure that any curriculum or 27 mandatory staff or student training provided by an employee 28 of the school district or by a contractor hired by the school 29 district does not teach, advocate, encourage, promote, or act 30 upon specific stereotyping and scapegoating toward others on 31 the basis of demographic group membership or identity. The 32 bill modifies this provision to prohibit contractors, teachers, 33 and administrators from providing any curriculum, or mandatory 34 staff or student training, or associated materials, that 35 -7- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 7/ 11
S.F. 2049 teaches, advocates, encourages, promotes, or acts upon specific 1 defined concepts. The bill also prohibits administrators 2 from knowingly allowing a contractor or a teacher to provide 3 any curriculum or mandatory staff or student training, or 4 associated materials, that teaches, advocates, encourages, 5 promotes, or acts upon specific defined concepts. The bill 6 requires the board of educational examiners (BOEE) to adopt 7 rules that require the BOEE to disqualify an applicant for a 8 license or to revoke a persons license if a court finds that a 9 person violates these provisions. 10 The bill authorizes a parent or guardian of a student 11 enrolled in a school district who alleges a violation of 12 these provisions to bring a civil action for injunctive 13 relief against the school district that hired the contractor 14 or employs the teacher or administrator to prohibit the 15 contractor, teacher, or administrator from continuing such 16 violation. The bill provides that if the parent or guardian 17 is the prevailing party in such civil action, the court shall 18 award reasonable court costs and attorney fees to the parent 19 or guardian, the court shall assess a civil penalty against 20 the school district in an amount not less than $50,000, and 21 the clerk of court shall send a copy of the courts order to 22 the BOEE. The bill makes conforming changes to Code section 23 279.74. 24 Current Code section 279.76 prohibits school districts, 25 charter schools, and innovation zone schools from administering 26 or conducting an invasive physical examination of a student, 27 a student health screening that is not required by state or 28 federal law, or a formal examination or survey of a student 29 that is designed to assess the students mental, emotional, or 30 physical health that is not required by state or federal law, 31 without first acquiring the written consent of the students 32 parent or guardian. Current Code section 279.76 requires 33 school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools 34 to give written notice to a students parent or guardian of 35 -8- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 8/ 11
S.F. 2049 an examination or survey of the student required by state or 1 federal law that is designed to assess the students mental, 2 emotional, or physical health not less than seven days prior 3 to the examination or survey. The bill requires the BOEE to 4 adopt rules that require the BOEE to disqualify an applicant 5 for a license or to revoke a persons license if a court finds 6 that a person violated these provisions. The bill authorizes 7 a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the school 8 district, charter school, or innovation zone school who alleges 9 a violation of these provisions by an employee or contractor 10 of the school district, charter school, or innovation zone 11 school to bring a civil action for injunctive relief against 12 the school district, charter school, or innovation zone school 13 to prohibit the employee or contractor from continuing such 14 violation. The bill provides that if the parent or guardian 15 is the prevailing party in such civil action, the court shall 16 award reasonable court costs and attorney fees to the parent or 17 guardian, the court shall assess a civil penalty against the 18 school district, charter school, or innovation zone school in 19 an amount not less than $50,000, and the clerk of court shall 20 send a copy of the courts order to the BOEE. 21 Current Code section 279.79 requires school districts, 22 charter schools, and innovation zone schools to receive the 23 prior written consent of a students parent or guardian before 24 requiring a student to take part in any survey, analysis, 25 activity, or evaluation that reveals certain specified 26 information concerning the student or the students family. 27 Current Code section 279.79 prohibits an employee or contractor 28 of a school district, charter school, or innovation zone school 29 from answering any question pertaining to any particular 30 student in any survey related to the social or emotional 31 abilities, competencies, or characteristics of the student, 32 unless the school satisfies certain specified requirements 33 related to providing the students parent or guardian with 34 information and receiving written consent from the students 35 -9- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 9/ 11
S.F. 2049 parent or guardian. The bill requires the BOEE to adopt rules 1 that require the BOEE to disqualify an applicant for a license 2 or to revoke a persons license if a court finds that a person 3 violated these provisions. The bill authorizes a parent or 4 guardian of a student enrolled in the school district, charter 5 school, or innovation zone school who alleges a violation of 6 these provisions by an employee or contractor of the school 7 district, charter school, or innovation zone school to bring a 8 civil action for injunctive relief against the school district, 9 charter school, or innovation zone school to prohibit the 10 employee or contractor from continuing such violation. The 11 bill provides that if the parent or guardian is the prevailing 12 party in such civil action, the court shall award reasonable 13 court costs and attorney fees to the parent or guardian, the 14 court shall assess a civil penalty against the school district, 15 charter school, or innovation zone school in an amount not less 16 than $50,000, and the clerk of court shall send a copy of the 17 courts order to the BOEE. 18 Current Code section 25A.1 requires the head of a 19 governmental entity to ensure that any mandatory staff training 20 provided by an employee of a governmental entity, or by a 21 contractor hired by the governmental entity, does not teach, 22 advocate, encourage, promote, or act upon stereotyping, 23 scapegoating, or prejudice toward others on the basis of 24 demographic group membership or identity. The bill modifies 25 this provision to require the head of a governmental entity 26 to ensure that any mandatory staff training or associated 27 materials provided by an employee of a governmental entity, 28 or by a contractor hired by the governmental entity, does not 29 teach, advocate, encourage, promote, or act upon specific 30 defined concepts or prejudice toward others on the basis of 31 demographic group membership or identity. The bill authorizes 32 an employee of a governmental entity alleging a violation 33 of Code section 25A.1 by an employee or contractor of the 34 governmental entity to bring a civil action for injunctive 35 -10- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 10/ 11
S.F. 2049 relief against the governmental entity to prohibit the employee 1 or contractor from continuing such violation. The bill 2 provides that, if an employee is the prevailing party in the 3 civil action, the court shall award the employee reasonable 4 court costs and attorney fees. The bill makes conforming 5 changes. 6 Current Code section 261H.8 requires the president, 7 vice presidents, deans, department directors, or any other 8 administrator of a public institution of higher education to 9 ensure that any mandatory staff or student training provided 10 by an employee of the institution or by a contractor hired by 11 the institution does not teach, advocate, act upon, or promote 12 specific defined concepts. The bill modifies this provision 13 to also require such individuals to ensure that any materials 14 provided in association with the mandatory staff or student 15 training do not teach, advocate, act upon, or promote specific 16 defined concepts. The bill authorizes an employee or student 17 of an institution alleging a violation of Code section 261H.8 18 by an employee or contractor of the institution to bring a 19 civil action for injunctive relief against the institution 20 to prohibit the employee or contractor from continuing such 21 violation. The bill provides that, if an employee or student 22 is the prevailing party in the civil action, the court shall 23 award the employee or student reasonable court costs and 24 attorney fees. 25 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code 26 section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2, 27 subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from 28 complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of 29 the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore, 30 political subdivisions are required to comply with any state 31 mandate included in the bill. 32 -11- LSB 5319XS (2) 90 jda/jh 11/ 11