Bill > HSB222

Introduced Session

This bill relates to children and students, including establishing a parent’s or guardian’s right to make decisions affecting the parent’s or guardian’s child and modifying provisions related to student health screenings and the curriculum in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools, other duties of school districts, competent private instruction, and special education. The bill prohibits instruction related to gender identity and sexual activity in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools in kindergarten through grade three. The bill makes conforming changes to Code sections 256.11 (educational standards) and 279.50 (human growth and development instruction) to provide that human growth and development instruction provided to students in kindergarten through grade three shall not include any program, curriculum, material, test, survey, questionnaire, activity, announcement, promotion, or instruction of any kind relating to gender identity or sexual activity. Current Code section 279.50 requires that the human growth and development instruction provided in school districts to students enrolled in grades 1 through 12 shall include instruction regarding human sexuality. The bill strikes this requirement for grades one through three. The bill strikes the requirement that the health curriculum provided in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools in grades 1 through 12 include instruction S.F. _____ H.F. _____ related to the characteristics of acquired immune deficiency syndrome and makes conforming changes to Code section 279.50 (human growth and development instruction). The bill also strikes the requirement that the health curriculum provided in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools in grades 7 through 12 include instruction related to human papilloma virus (HPV) and the availability of a vaccine to prevent HPV and makes conforming changes to Code section 279.50. The bill makes conforming changes. The bill requires the human growth and development instruction provided in the kindergarten program to be both age-appropriate and research-based. Under current law, the educational program established pursuant to Code section 256.11 is required to include, in grades 9 through 12, five units of social studies, one-half unit of which is to consist of instruction in United States government. The bill provides that this one-half unit of United States government shall include an assessment of the student’s knowledge of United States government and civics. The bill provides that the most recent version of the civics test developed by the United States citizenship and immigration services shall be used as the assessment. The bill requires each school district and accredited nonpublic school to submit the results of the civics test to the department of education by June 30 of each year. The bill authorizes a school district or accredited nonpublic school to modify the civics test for a student who has an individualized education program. The bill provides that a student must answer at least 70 percent of the questions correctly on the civics test as a condition of graduation. The bill authorizes a student who fails to answer at least 70 percent of the questions on the civics test correctly to retake the civics test. The bill prohibits school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from administering or conducting an examination or survey of a student that is designed to assess S.F. _____ H.F. _____ the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health that is not required by state or federal law, without first acquiring the written consent of the student’s parent or guardian. This provision applies only to a minor child in the direct care of a parent or guardian, and does not apply to an emancipated minor or a minor who is not residing with the parent or guardian. The bill provides that this provision does not apply to a hearing or vision examination. The bill requires school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools to give written notice to a student’s parent or guardian of an examination or survey of the student required by state or federal law that is designed to assess the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health not less than seven days prior to the examination or survey. This provision applies only to the parents or guardians of a minor child who is in the direct care of the parent or guardian, and does not apply to the parents or guardians of an emancipated minor or a minor who is not residing with the parent or guardian. The bill provides that this provision does not apply to a hearing or vision examination. The bill requires each school district to publish all of the following information related to the current school year on the school district’s internet site: a list of all materials that will be used to teach students in each class in the school district; a list of all persons in direct contact with students enrolled in the school district who contract with or otherwise receive moneys from the board of directors of the school district; a list of all books available to students in the classroom and in libraries operated by the school district; a detailed explanation of the procedures in effect for the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the school district to request the removal of educational material that is available to students in the classroom or in a library operated by the school district; and a detailed explanation of the procedures in effect to request the review of decisions made by the board S.F. _____ H.F. _____ of directors of the school district. The bill also requires each school district to update this information at least two times each semester or at the start of each trimester, as applicable. The bill requires each school district to notify the department of education that the board of directors of the school district has removed a book from a library operated by the school district, a classroom, or any area on school district property within seven days after removal. The bill also requires the department to make available on the department’s internet site, and update at least monthly, a comprehensive list (removal list) of all of these notices, sortable by the book’s title and author and the school districts that have removed the book from libraries operated by the school district, classrooms, or any areas on school property. The bill enacts new Code section 279.80, which requires a school district to immediately notify the parent or guardian of a minor child enrolled in the school district if any employee of the school district reasonably believes the minor child has expressed a gender identity that is different than the biological sex listed on the minor child’s official birth certificate or certificate issued upon adoption if the certificate was issued at or near the time of the minor child’s birth. The bill provides that, notwithstanding this provision, if a school district determines that notifying the parent or guardian of a minor child enrolled in the school district is likely to lead to a case of child abuse as defined in Code section 232.68, the school district shall not notify the parent or guardian and shall immediately report the school district’s safety concerns to the department of health and human services so that the department may determine whether the minor child is a child in need of assistance under Code chapter 232 (juvenile justice). New Code section 279.80 authorizes the parent or guardian S.F. _____ H.F. _____ of a minor child enrolled in a school district to access and review all school records related to the minor child unless Code chapter 232, subchapter III, part 2 (child abuse reporting, assessment, and rehabilitation), prohibits the record from being disclosed. New Code section 279.80 provides that a school district must receive the prior written consent of a minor child’s parent or guardian before allowing a minor child enrolled in the school district to check out or access any book that is on the removal list. New Code section 279.80 provides that a school district must receive the prior written consent of the parent or guardian of a minor child enrolled in the school district before allowing any employee of the school district to address the minor child using a nickname or a pronoun that does not correspond to the biological sex that is listed on the minor child’s official birth certificate or certificate issued upon adoption if the certificate was issued at or near the time of the minor child’s birth. New Code section 279.80 prohibits a school district from requiring any minor child enrolled in the school district to engage in any activity or instruction provided by a guest lecturer or outside presenter, or any activity or instruction that involves obscene material or sexually explicit material, without providing the minor child’s parent or guardian with notice at least 48 hours prior to the activity or instruction. New Code section 279.80 also prohibits a school district from allowing a minor child to engage in the activity or instruction if the minor child’s parent or guardian provides notice to the school district requesting that the minor child be excused from the activity or instruction. The bill provides that if the department of education determines that a school district has violated the provisions of new Code section 279.80, the school district shall be subject to the following: for the first violation, the S.F. _____ H.F. _____ department shall issue a written warning to the board of directors, and for a second or subsequent violation, the department shall assess a civil penalty against the school district not to exceed $5,000. The bill also provides that revenue from this civil penalty shall be appropriated to the department for purposes of training the employees of school districts that have violated new Code section 279.80 on the requirements of new Code section 279.80. The bill requires the state board of education to adopt rules to administer new Code section 279.80. The bill provides that a child of compulsory attendance age who is identified as requiring special education is eligible for placement under competent private instruction without prior approval of the placement by the director of special education of an area education agency. The bill also provides that a child who is identified as requiring special education may request dual enrollment and the appropriate special education services for the child shall be determined pursuant to Code chapter 256B (special education). The bill enacts new Code section 601.1, which provides that a parent or guardian bears the ultimate responsibility to make decisions affecting the parent’s or guardian’s minor child, including decisions related to the minor child’s medical care, moral upbringing, religious upbringing, residence, education, and extracurricular activities. The bill provides that new Code section 601.1 shall not be construed to prohibit a minor child from receiving medical attention in an emergent care situation or to prohibit a person from cooperating in a child abuse assessment. The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with any state S.F. _____ H.F. _____ mandate included in the bill.

Committee Categories

No sponsors listed

Other Sponsors (1)

Subcommittee recommends passage. Vote Total: 2-0. (on 03/02/2023)

Official Document