SSB 3067

Topics:K–12 education

Same legislation: SF 2202, SF 2377

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Official bill page Lobbyist declarations One-pager to print

Where it is now

Done: IntroducedJanuary 26, 2022
Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 26, 2022
Done: Senate committeeFebruary 2, 2022
Skipped: Passes the SenateContinued as SF 2202
Next: House committee
Next: Passes the House
Next: To the Governor
Next: Signed into law

Became SF 2202 → Its progress continues under the new number. Go to SF 2202 What’s a funnel?

What’s in it

AI summary New rules would change how teacher grants are split between small and large school districts to ensure both types of areas get equal funding. The bill also makes it easier for people moving from out of state to get teaching licenses and creates new ways for people to become teacher interns. Additionally, school boards could now offer programs to help pay off new teachers' student loans, though they cannot offer both loan repayment and early retirement programs at the same time.¹

Read the official explanation

This bill relates to education, including eligibility for grants under the teach Iowa scholar program, licenses issued by the board of educational examiners, and the use of revenues from the district management levy. The teach Iowa scholar program, administered by the college student aid commission, provides grants to certain high-caliber, full-time teachers in Iowa in amounts not to exceed $4,000 annually or $20,000 over five years. _____ school district shall be equally divided between applicants preparing to teach in a school district with less than or equal to 1,000 students and applicants preparing to teach in a school district with greater than 1,000 students. The bill authorizes the commission to award different amounts to each group of applicants if the amount requested by applicants of either group is less than the amount reserved for that group. The bill establishes that this provision applies to grants awarded by the commission on or after July 1, 2022, to initial applicants under the program. Current law authorizes the board of educational examiners (BOEE) to issue a regional exchange teaching license to an applicant who has completed a teacher preparation program outside of the state and who is applying for the applicant’s first Iowa teaching license if, among other requirements, the applicant is a resident of the state. The bill removes the requirement that such an applicant be a resident of this state if the applicant provides the BOEE with a copy of an offer of employment as a teacher from a school located in this state. Current law requires the BOEE to adopt rules to provide for nontraditional preparation options for licensing persons who hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and who do not meet other requirements for licensure. The bill provides that the rules shall require the BOEE to issue a teacher intern license to a qualified applicant. The bill specifies the requirements that a qualified applicant must meet. The bill also provides that the rules shall require an applicant who has been granted a teacher intern license to meet certain specified requirements prior to applying for an initial teaching license. The bill requires the BOEE to allow an applicant who has completed those requirements to apply for an initial teaching license if the school that employed the licensee recommends that the licensee be allowed to apply for an initial teaching license. _____ an individual seeking a career and technical secondary authorization to apply, and if eligible, be issued the secondary authorization prior to accepting an offer of employment with a school.46 authorizes the board of directors of a school district to adopt a program for early retirement benefits to encourage its employees to retire before the normal retirement date.46 to also authorize the board of directors to adopt a program for student loan repayment to recruit new teachers. The bill requires the board of directors to discuss the adoption of the program for early retirement benefits or the program for student loan repayment, as applicable, at a regular or special meeting prior to adopting the program and allow for public comment. The bill prohibits the board of directors from adopting the program for early retirement benefits concurrently with the program for student loan repayment. The bill also prohibits the board of directors from adopting either the program for early retirement benefits or the program for student loan repayment within five years after adopting the other program. The bill authorizes the board of directors to expend the district management levy to pay the costs of either the program for early retirement benefits or the program for student loan repayment. The bill prohibits the board of directors from expending the district management levy on the costs of both programs in the same fiscal year.

Changed since by amendments S-5100, S-5096; see Amendments.

Full bill text²

Senate subcommittee

Named January 26, 2022. On February 1, 2022 it recommended amendment and passage.

Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part

Fiscal note

AI summary This bill changes how Teach Iowa Scholar Program grants are distributed among school districts and allows school districts to use District Management Levy funds for teacher recruitment incentives. The changes to the scholarship program will result in an estimated one-time expense of approximately $11,000 for the Iowa College Student Aid Commission for system programming costs. The fiscal impact of allowing districts to use levy funds for recruitment incentives cannot be determined, and the changes to recruitment and retirement incentives would begin in fiscal year 2024.³

Read the fiscal note

Description

Senate File 2377 relates to education, including eligibility for grants under the Teach Iowa Scholar Program, licenses issued by the Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE), and the use of revenues from the District Management Levy.

The Bill specifies that grants awarded by the College Student Aid Commission under the Teach Iowa Scholar Program must be awarded as follows:

50.0% to applicants preparing to teach in a school district, charter school, or accredited nonpublic school with 1,200 students or fewer.
50.0% to applicants preparing to teach in a school district, charter school, or accredited nonpublic school with greater than 1,200 students.

If the number of applicants is less than the amount reserved for that group, the College Student Aid Commission may award grants to the other group.

Currently, Iowa Code section 279.46 authorizes the board of directors of a school district to adopt a program for early retirement benefits to encourage its employees to retire before the normal retirement date. The Bill modifies Iowa Code section 279.46 to also authorize the board of directors to adopt a program for teacher recruitment incentives to recruit new teachers. The Bill restricts the teacher recruitment incentive to no more than five years and no more than 10.0% annually of the initial teacher salary established pursuant to Iowa Code section 284.15(2)(a)(1).

The Bill prohibits the board of directors from adopting the program for early retirement benefits concurrently with the program for teacher recruitment incentives. The Bill also prohibits the board of directors from adopting either the program for early retirement benefits or the program for teacher recruitment incentives within five years after adopting the other program. The Bill authorizes the board of directors to expend the district management levy to pay the costs of either the program for early retirement benefits or the program for teacher recruitment incentives. The Bill prohibits the board of directors from expending the district management levy on the costs of both programs in the same fiscal year.

The Bill specifies that the changes to the retirement incentive and teacher recruitment incentives are applicable beginning with FY 2024.

Background

The Teach Iowa Scholar Program has an annual General Fund appropriation of $400,000. The maximum annual award is a $4,000 income bonus or student loan repayment for up to five consecutive years of full-time employment. This allows for approximately 100 awards each year. Approximately 20.0% of the awards, or 20 each year, are for new applicants. The District Management Levy is authorized in Iowa Code section 298.4. The section provides that the Levy must only be expended for the following:

To pay the cost of unemployment benefits as provided in Iowa Code section 96.31.
To pay the costs of liability insurance and the costs of a judgment or settlement relating to liability together with interest accruing on the judgment or settlement to the expected date of payment.
To pay the costs of insurance agreements under Iowa Code section 296.7.
To pay the costs of a judgment under Iowa Code section 298.16.
To pay the cost of early retirement benefits to employees under Iowa Code section 279.46.
To pay the costs of mediation and arbitration, including but not limited to legal fees associated with such mediation or arbitration.

The Levy is deposited in a management fund, does not have a cap, and is a tax on local property.

Assumptions

Data is not available for the allocation of the Teach Iowa Scholar Program awards based on the size of a school district.
A mechanism to determine the number of districts with an existing teacher recruitment incentives program does not exist.
It is unknown how many districts with an existing teacher recruitment incentives program would shift costs to the management fund.
A mechanism to determine the number of districts with an existing early retirement program or how those would impact adoption of a teacher recruitment incentives program does not exist.

Fiscal Impact

The changes being made related to the Teach Iowa Scholar Program will have no net fiscal impact, since the changes only relate to the distribution of new awards based on the size of the school district. Also, the impact on the distribution of the awards is unknown since information is not available on the current distribution based on the size of the school district. However, for FY 2023, approximately 10 ((100×20.0%)/2) awards totaling $40,000 will be made to applicants preparing to teach in school districts with 1,200 or fewer students, and approximately 10 awards totaling $40,000 will be made to applicants preparing to teach in school districts with greater than 1,200 students. Each year, more applicants will be impacted until 50.0% of the appropriation is allocated to each identified segment of school districts based on the number of students. This will result in awards to 50 applicants totaling $200,000 for each identified group. Senate File 2377 would result in an estimated one-time expense for the Iowa College Student Aid Commission of approximately $11,000 related to system programming costs to implement the changes to the Teach Iowa Scholar Program. If funding is not provided for the one-time expenses, the expenditure would be covered by the Commission’s Operating Fund. The fiscal impact of allowing the school districts to use revenues from the District Management Levy for a teacher recruitment incentives program cannot be determined due to the lack of information. However, the impact, if any, would begin with FY 2024. The changes to the retirement incentive and teacher recruitment incentives would be first applicable for FY 2024.