Relating 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, and including applicability provisions

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. The bill provides that the total value of grants awarded under the program to applicants who are preparing to teach in a school district, charter school, or an accredited nonpublic school shall be equally divided between applicants preparing to teach in a school district, charter school, or an accredited nonpublic school with less than or equal to 1,200 students and applicants preparing to teach in a school district, charter school, or accredited nonpublic school with greater than 1,200 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, 2023, to initial applicants under the program. Current law authorizes the 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 an applicant who has completed a program offered by a higher education institution providing practitioner preparation that is designed to assist students in attaining a teacher intern license. The bill requires the BOEE to allow a licensee who has attained a teacher intern license under such a program to apply for an initial teaching license if the school that employed the licensee during the program and the higher education institution recommend that the licensee be allowed to apply. The bill requires the BOEE to adopt rules that allow 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 teacher recruitment incentives to recruit new teachers and a program for teacher retention incentives to retain current teachers. The bill requires the board of directors to discuss the adoption of the program for early retirement benefits or the program for teacher recruitment or retention incentives, if applicable, at a regular or special meeting prior to adopting the program and allow for public comment.15. Additionally, the bill prohibits the board of directors from paying a teacher recruitment or retention incentive in more than five school budget years. The bill also prohibits the board of directors from adopting the program for early retirement benefits concurrently with the program for teacher recruitment or retention incentives. In addition, the bill prohibits the board of directors from adopting either the program for early retirement benefits or the program for teacher recruitment or retention incentives within five years after adopting the other program. These provisions apply to school budget years beginning July 1, 2024. 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 or retention incentives. The bill prohibits the board of directors from expending the district management levy on the costs of early retirement benefits in the same fiscal year as the costs of teacher recruitment or retention incentives. These provisions apply to school budget years beginning July 1, 2024.