Bills › 91st General Assembly
Relating to robotics, including by establishing a robotics grant program within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics collaborative initiative and requiring the university of northern Iowa to develop a public-private partnership to support robotics competitions, and making appropriations
Sponsored by Rep. Jerome Amos Jr. (D), Rep. Austin Baeth (D), Rep. Sean Bagniewski (D), Rep. Timi M. Brown-Powers (D), Rep. Ken Croken (D), Rep. Eric J. Gjerde (D), Rep. Daniel Gosa (D), Rep. David Jacoby (D), Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D), Rep. Bob Kressig (D), Rep. Monica Kurth (D), Rep. Elinor A. Levin (D), Rep. Mary Lee Madison (D), Rep. Larry McBurney (D), Rep. Brian Meyer (D), Rep. David Sieck (R), Rep. Brent Siegrist (R), Rep. Aime Wichtendahl (D), Rep. Ross Wilburn (D), Rep. David E. Young (R)
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedFebruary 20, 2025
- Stopped: SubcommitteeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: House committeeFunnel: by February 20, 2026
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: Senate committeeFunnel: by March 20, 2026
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2026 session adjourned on May 3, 2026, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary Iowa will create a new grant program to help schools pay for robotics programs. This money will go to school districts, charter schools, and other approved schools to cover specific costs. Additionally, the University of Northern Iowa will work on developing robotics competitions.1
Read the official explanation
This bill relates to robotics, including by establishing a robotics grant program within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics collaborative initiative and requiring the university of northern Iowa to develop robotics competitions. The bill requires the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics collaborative initiative within the innovation division of the department of education to develop and administer a robotics grant program to provide grants to school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools to support robotics programs by offsetting certain specified costs. The collaborative initiative is required to establish the application processes, deadlines, eligibility requirements, and award criteria associated with the robotics grant program. The bill appropriates $400,000 to the department of education for purposes of the robotics grant program for FY 2025-2026. The bill appropriates $100,000 for FY 2025-2026 to the state board of regents for the university of northern Iowa for purposes of developing a public-private partnership with a person or persons who provide matching funds to support the Iowa regional FIRST robotics competition.