Relating to school security, including by modifying provisions related to the issuance of school bonds, the secure an advanced vision for education fund, school district use of professional development moneys, and school security equipment and infrastructure, requiring the department of public safety to convene a task force related to the safety and security standards of schools and school infrastructure, and including effective date and applicability provisions

The bill requires each school district, accredited nonpublic school, charter school, and innovation zone school to complete a comprehensive review and evaluation of the school’s ability to ensure the safety of students enrolled in the school and of school employees. The bill establishes that, on or before the first day of the school calendar for the school year beginning July 1, 2024, each school is required to submit the results of the comprehensive review and evaluation to the department of public safety’s school safety bureau, police forces of the counties in which school attendance centers are located, the local district office of the state patrol, and, if applicable, the police forces of the cities in which school attendance centers are located. The bill provides that these provisions shall not be construed to duplicate any review, evaluation, report, or assessment that schools are currently required to complete. The bill also provides that the comprehensive review and evaluation that is completed and submitted pursuant to these provisions shall be confidential and shall not be a public record subject to disclosure. The bill requires that, on or before the first day of the school calendar for the school year beginning July 1, 2025, each school district, accredited nonpublic school, charter school, and innovation zone school is required to have at least one handheld or console radio, at each attendance center, that is capable of accessing a public safety answering point. The bill requires the department of homeland security and emergency management to establish a firearm detection software grant program to provide grants to school districts to help such school districts offset the cost associated with purchasing, installing, and operating software that is designed to detect and alert school district employees and first responders if there is a visible, unholstered firearm on property owned by the school district, is designated by the secretary of homeland security as qualified anti-terrorism technology, is designed to integrate with a school district’s existing security camera infrastructure, and was developed in the United States without the use of any third-party data or open-source data. The bill authorizes the department to adopt emergency rules to implement the program. The bill requires the department to award at least one grant under the program to certain specified schools. The bill appropriates $350,000 from the general fund of the state for FY 2023-2024 for purposes of the grant program. The bill provides that if these moneys remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year, the moneys shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated until the close of the succeeding fiscal year. The bill establishes that moneys awarded under this provision shall be used to supplement, not supplant, existing public funding used by school districts for similar purposes. The bill requires school districts that receive a grant to, in coordination with the department of homeland security and emergency management and the department of public safety’s school safety bureau, evaluate the effectiveness of the software purchased with moneys awarded under this provision in protecting students, school personnel, and the public and submit reports to the general assembly. The bill requires the department of public safety, in collaboration with the department of education and the department of homeland security and emergency management, to convene a task force to study and make recommendations related to the safety and security standards of schools and school infrastructure. The bill establishes the membership of the task force. The bill requires the task force to submit its findings and recommendations to the general assembly on or before December 31, 2024. The findings and recommendations are required to include a proposal for modifications to the state building code that are applicable to the construction of new attendance centers and the renovation of existing attendance centers and that incorporate standards designed to increase the safety of schools and school infrastructure. The bill prohibits the board of directors of a school corporation from issuing negotiable, interest-bearing school bonds, including bonds issued under Code chapter 423F (statewide school infrastructure funding), for borrowing money for purposes of constructing a new school building or site to be used primarily for interscholastic athletic contests or competitions, or renovating or improving a building or site that is currently used for such purposes, unless all of the attendance centers of the school corporation are in compliance with these modified provisions of the state building code, if adopted. The bill provides that these provisions apply to school bonds authorized by voters at an election held after July 1, 2024, and to projects approved by the board of directors of a school district after July 1, 2024. The bill provides that, if 2024 Iowa Acts, House File 2586, or successor legislation, is enacted, the department of homeland security and emergency management shall establish a grant program to provide grants to school districts for FY 2024-2025 to allow such school districts to purchase infrastructure and equipment related to employee permits to carry weapons and to facilitate the training associated with employee permits to carry weapons. The bill requires the department of homeland security and emergency management to adopt rules to implement the grant program. The bill prohibits the department of homeland security and emergency management from awarding a school district with more than $25,000 in grant funding under the grant program. The bill appropriates $3 million from the 911 emergency communications fund to the department of homeland security and emergency management for FY 2024-2025 for purposes of the grant program, if 2024 Iowa Acts, House File 2586, or successor legislation, is enacted.3.16.2. The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state mandates included in the bill. The bill takes effect upon enactment.