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FLOOR ACTION:
SF 2118 – Rural Physician Loan Repayment Fixes
SF 2118
adds new private loan eligibility language. The new language
allows refinancing student loans as private loans, while maintaining
eligibility for loan repayment through Iowa’s Rural Physician Loan Repayment
Program. The appropriations maximum award and timeframe still apply. The bill
allows the same refinancing allowances to the Health Care Professional
Recruitment Program and the Health Care Loan Repayment Program. The amendment
also makes the refinancing allowance retroactive to January 2019.
[2/26: 49-0 (Excused: R. Taylor)]
SF 2153 – Health Screening Notifications
SF 2153
prohibits school districts from administering or conducting
student health screenings that are not required by state or federal law, unless
the school district has first acquired the written consent of the students’
parent or guardian. An amendment was adopted that clarified the definition of a
health screening and addressed emergency care situations, including an emerging
public health crisis as defined by Iowa Department Public Health. The bill does
not apply to child abuse screenings or incidents that need to be covered by
mandatory reporters and only applies to those students with a legal guardian or
parent who enrolls them in school.
[2/26: 49-0 (Excused: R. Taylor)]
SF 2251 – Rural physician loan repayment program
SF 2251
add obstetrics and gynecology as an area of specialization that
qualifies for loan repayment under the Rural Physicians Loan Repayment Program.
Currently, a person can engage in less than full-time practice under the
program if they apply to the College Student Aid Commission to amend their
program agreement and the commission determines that exceptional circumstances
exist. The bill eliminates the exceptional circumstances, thereby allowing the
commission and the person to consent to amend the agreement. Under the bill,
“less than full-time” means at least 70% of a 40-hour work week. Finally, the
bill modifies the definition of “service commitment area” to include a larger
area.
[2/26: 49-0 (Excused: R. Taylor)]
SF 2261 – Tele-med option for school location services
SF 2261
outlines the process for a school to implement voluntary behavioral health
screenings either in person or through the use of telehealth. No student can be
screened without the written consent of a parent/guardian. Parents must be
notified of the results of the screening, and they must be sent to a primary
doctor. The bill requires establishing a provider–patient relationship prior to
providing mental health services via telemedicine in a school setting. Schools
must provide a secure, confidential and private room, and the technology
necessary to deliver such services. Mental health providers must provide a way
for the student’s parent/guardian to participate in the session. The school
cannot have access to or handle any of the student’s medical records related to
the provision of telehealth mental health services. A school, AEA or nonpublic
school is allowed as a site of service for purposes of private insurance
reimbursement. An amendment was adopted to allow the first meeting of certain
approved telehealth services to be completely online, but still requires a
parent to be there at the first meeting.
[2/26: 49-0 (Excused: R. Taylor)]
SF 2356 – Dyslexia expanded support services
SF 2356 requires
the State Board of Education to establish procedures for the approval of
practitioner preparation programs that offer an advanced dyslexia specialist
endorsement by July 2022. The Department must maintain a dyslexia consultant to
provide technical guidance and assistance. Subject to an appropriation, each
Area Education Agency must maintain a dyslexia specialist. An Iowa Dyslexia
Board will oversee implementation of dyslexia instruction in Iowa and make
recommendations for continued improvement. The bill expands the definition of
dyslexia used to determine what schools must provide to students who are
persistently at risk in reading to develop the skills to read at grade level.
Finally, by July 1, 2024, the bill requires all K-3, Title 1 and ELL teachers
to complete the Iowa Reading Research Center dyslexia overview module.
[2/26:
49-0 (Excused: R. Taylor)]
SF 2360 – Classroom Management and Therapeutic Classroom
SF 2360 addresses concerns from some parents and teachers regarding some of the most at-need students and the increased use of “room clears” as the immediate response to violent behaviors of some students. Room clears are when students are evacuated from the classroom while a violent or disruptive child remains in the classroom. The bill has the following main components:
- Teacher Training and Preparation: Provides $500,000 for educators to receive additional training on how to manage classroom disruptions, address student behavior and maintain the least restrictive environment.
- Therapeutic Classroom Funding: Therapeutic classrooms provide smaller classes and intensive help, and are designed to be short-term breaks for students to reset and develop new coping strategies before reentering their home classroom/school.Provides $1,582,650 for a grant program to assist districts and community mental health agencies in supporting students needing help with violent behavior. Schools may collaborate and apply for a regional therapeutic classroom model. There is an additional $500,000 appropriated to reimburse schools for transportation coststo a regional therapeutic classroom. Grant awards must be made for the establishment of therapeutic classrooms with one to five pupils, classrooms with six to 10 pupils, and classrooms with 11 to 15 pupils.
- Classroom Clear Requirements: Provides statewide expectations for use and methods to clear a classroom when a student behaves violently and increases the requirements for school communication with parents of all children affected by a room clear.
- Educator Protection: Increases liability protects for educators when reasonable physical contact is used to relocate a student to protect them and other students from injury. Increases job and whistle blower protections for teachers for reporting violence and personal attacks to police and administrators.
- Data Collection: Establishes data reporting to track incidents of violence or assault
by students. This section was amendment to make sure it complies with
federal special education and data privacy laws, as well as tracking key
student demographic information, to identify overuse or patterns that have a disproportionate
racial, gender or social-economic impact.
[2/25: 50-0]