House Study Bill 282 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON WHEELER) A BILL FOR An Act relating to cooperation by public and private schools 1 with federal immigration and customs enforcement officers. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2747YC (5) 91 jda/jh
H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 256.11, subsection 10, paragraph c, Code 1 2025, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph: 2 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (04) The director shall recommend 3 removal of accreditation of the school district or school to 4 the state board if the department determines that the school 5 district or school violated section 280.36. 6 Sec. 2. Section 256.11, subsection 11, paragraph f, Code 7 2025, is amended to read as follows: 8 f. In the case of a nonpublic school, if the deficiencies 9 have not been corrected, the state board may deaccredit the 10 nonpublic school ; provided, however, that if the deficiencies 11 consist of violations of section 280.36 by the nonpublic 12 school, the state board shall deaccredit the nonpublic school . 13 The deaccreditation shall take effect on the date established 14 by the resolution of the state board, which shall be no later 15 than the end of the school year in which the nonpublic school 16 is deaccredited. 17 Sec. 3. Section 256E.7, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended 18 by adding the following new paragraph: 19 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0t. Be subject to and comply with the 20 requirements of section 280.36 relating to cooperation with 21 federal immigration and customs enforcement officers in the 22 same manner as a school district. 23 Sec. 4. Section 256E.10, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 24 following new subsection: 25 NEW SUBSECTION . 10A. The state board shall revoke a charter 26 school contract if the state board determines that the charter 27 school violated section 280.36. 28 Sec. 5. Section 256F.4, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended 29 by adding the following new paragraph: 30 NEW PARAGRAPH . r. Be subject to and comply with the 31 requirements of section 280.36 relating to cooperation with 32 federal immigration and customs enforcement officers in the 33 same manner as a school district. 34 Sec. 6. Section 256F.8, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 35 -1- LSB 2747YC (5) 91 jda/jh 1/ 5
H.F. _____ following new subsection: 1 NEW SUBSECTION . 4A. The state board shall revoke a charter 2 school or innovation zone school contract if the state board 3 determines that the charter school or innovation zone school 4 violated section 280.36. 5 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 280.36 Cooperation with federal 6 immigration and customs enforcement officers. 7 1. The board of directors of each school district and the 8 authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school 9 shall cooperate with all lawful requests for assistance made 10 by a federal immigration and customs enforcement officer 11 and shall not adopt or enforce a policy or take any other 12 action under which the school district or accredited nonpublic 13 school prohibits or discourages an employee or contractor from 14 assisting or cooperating with a federal immigration and customs 15 enforcement officer if the federal immigration and customs 16 enforcement officer requests assistance or cooperation. 17 2. a. An administrator employed by a school district or 18 an accredited nonpublic school shall cooperate with all lawful 19 requests for assistance made by a federal immigration and 20 customs enforcement officer. 21 b. An administrator employed by a school district or 22 an accredited nonpublic school shall not distribute any 23 communication that indicates the school district or accredited 24 nonpublic school, or an employee of the school district 25 or accredited nonpublic school, will not cooperate with a 26 lawful request for assistance made by a federal immigration 27 and customs enforcement officer, to any of the following 28 individuals: 29 (1) Employees of the school district or accredited 30 nonpublic school. 31 (2) Students enrolled in the school district or accredited 32 nonpublic school. 33 (3) The parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the 34 school district or accredited nonpublic school. 35 -2- LSB 2747YC (5) 91 jda/jh 2/ 5
H.F. _____ c. If the department of education determines that an 1 administrator employed by a school district or an accredited 2 nonpublic school has violated paragraph a or b , all of the 3 following shall apply: 4 (1) The administrator shall be subject to a hearing 5 conducted by the board of educational examiners pursuant 6 to section 256.146, subsection 13, which may result in 7 disciplinary action. 8 (2) The school district or accredited nonpublic school 9 shall place the administrator on administrative leave for one 10 week. 11 d. For purposes of this subsection, administrator means 12 the same as defined in section 256.145. 13 EXPLANATION 14 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 15 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 16 This bill relates to cooperation by public and private 17 schools with federal immigration and customs enforcement 18 officers. 19 The bill provides that school districts, accredited 20 nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools 21 must cooperate with all lawful requests for assistance made 22 by a federal immigration and customs enforcement officer and 23 prohibits such schools from adopting or enforcing a policy 24 or taking any other actions under which the school prohibits 25 or discourages an employee or contractor from assisting or 26 cooperating with a federal immigration and customs enforcement 27 officer if the federal immigration and customs enforcement 28 officer requests assistance or cooperation. Additionally, the 29 bill requires administrators employed by schools to cooperate 30 with all lawful requests for assistance made by a federal 31 immigration and customs enforcement officer. An administrator 32 is prohibited from distributing any communication that 33 indicates the school, or an employee of the school, will not 34 cooperate with such requests. If the department of education 35 -3- LSB 2747YC (5) 91 jda/jh 3/ 5
H.F. _____ determines that an administrator violated these provisions, 1 the administrator is subject to a hearing before the board of 2 educational examiners and is to be placed on administrative 3 leave for one week. 4 Under current law, the department of education (DE) is 5 responsible for monitoring school districts and accredited 6 nonpublic schools to ensure compliance with state and federal 7 school laws and for enforcing state and federal school laws 8 pursuant to the process set out in Code section 256.11(10)(c). 9 The bill provides that the director of DE is required to 10 recommend removal of accreditation of the school district or 11 accredited nonpublic school to the state board of education 12 (state board) if DE determines that the school district or 13 accredited nonpublic school violated the bills provisions. 14 Current law establishes a review and enforcement process 15 that is used when the director makes such a recommendation. 16 The process includes the development of a report by the 17 accreditation committee that includes a list of the school 18 districts or accredited nonpublic schools deficiencies, site 19 visits by the accreditation committee to determine whether 20 the deficiencies have been corrected, and review by the state 21 board. If the deficiencies have not been corrected, current 22 law requires the state board to either deaccredit the school 23 district and merge the territory of the school district with 24 one or more contiguous school districts at the end of the 25 school year or to place a district under receivership for the 26 remainder of the school year. In the case of an accredited 27 nonpublic school, current law provides that if the deficiencies 28 have not been corrected, the state board may deaccredit 29 the school, and the deaccreditation takes effect on the 30 date established by the resolution of the state board. The 31 bill modifies this provision to require the state board to 32 deaccredit the accredited nonpublic school if the deficiencies 33 consist of the accredited nonpublic schools violations of the 34 bills provisions. 35 -4- LSB 2747YC (5) 91 jda/jh 4/ 5
H.F. _____ Under current law, the state board may revoke a charter 1 schools or innovation zone schools contract for not complying 2 with applicable school laws. The bill requires the state 3 board to revoke a charter schools or innovation zone schools 4 contract if the state board determines that the charter school 5 or innovation zone school violated the prohibitions established 6 in the bill. 7 -5- LSB 2747YC (5) 91 jda/jh 5/ 5