Summary of SF 2482 (Iowa) – 2025-2026 Session
SF 2482 is an appropriations bill package covering funding for the Iowa education system, including the Department for the Blind, the Department of Education, and the State Board of Regents. The bill consolidates divisions by department and includes additional provisions related to special programs, reporting, and support for higher education institutions. The amendment shown (S-5237) reorganizes and adds detailed line items for the FY 2026-2027 period and introduces various program-specific allocations and stand-alone funding.
Key aims and structure
- Enhance and specify funding for multiple education-related agencies and programs.
- Provide targeted appropriations to support special education, workforce development, student achievement, technology in schools, and college access.
- Include reporting and accountability requirements for certain programs and regents centers.
Main divisions and provisions
1) Division I – Department for the Blind
- FY 2026-2027 General Fund appropriation for the Department for the Blind:
- Administration: $3,207,190 for salaries, support, maintenance, and 103.74 FTE.
2) Division II – Department of Education
- General Fund appropriations for FY 2026-2027 divided into numerous programs, including:
- General Administration: $7,073,808 (71.87 FTE)
- Career and Technical Education Administration: $721,779 (10.80 FTE)
- Public Broadcasting Division: $8,165,236 (53.20 FTE)
- CTE reimbursements to regional partnerships: $2,952,459
- School Food Service (state match): $2,253,055 (27.83 FTE); includes $76,258 for administrative costs for summer EBT
- Birth to Age Three services expansion: $1,721,400; plus $383,769 for UI child health clinics for premature/fragile infants
- Early Head Start projects: $574,500
- Student Achievement and Teacher Quality program: $2,990,467 (5.83 FTE)
- Statewide Student Assessment: $3,000,000 (with up to $300,000 to Iowa Testing Programs at UI)
- Statewide Clearinghouse for Work-Based Learning: $300,000
- Postsecondary Summer Classes for High School Students: $600,000 (with no lapse-back requirement beyond FY 2027)
- Jobs for America’s Graduates: $9,946,450 (rollover of unencumbered funds allowed into next FY)
- Attendance Center Performance/General Internet Site and Data System Support: $250,000 (1.60 FTE)
- Successful Progression for Early Readers: $7,824,782
- Early Warning System for Literacy: $1,915,000 (license; potential district fees)
- Iowa Reading Research Center: $1,500,000
- Computer Science Professional Development Incentive Fund: $500,000
- Children’s Mental Health School-Based Training and Support: $1,899,682 (with $200,000 for rural grief/loss program; reporting required)
- Best Buddies Iowa: $35,000
- Midwestern Higher Education Compact: $118,450
- Nonpublic School Concurrent Enrollment Payments to Community Colleges: $1,000,000
- Community Colleges – General State Financial Aid: $246,858,161
- Iowa School for the Deaf: $12,813,313
- Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired: $5,112,412
- STEM Collaborative Initiative: $6,310,409 (with at least $500,000 for technology/credentials/online access and related supports)
- Various specialized program funding (therapeutic classroom, online job postings, Lead‑K, Division of Special Education)
3) Division III – Regents System
- General Fund appropriations for FY 2026-2027:
- Office of the State Board of Regents: $764,642 (2.48 FTE); quarterly financial reporting requirement with a December 31, 2026 data submission including five-year graduation rates
- Western Iowa Regents Resource Center: $268,297
- Police department funding: no reduction in budgeted moneys for regents institutions’ police departments
- John Pappajohn Centers for Entrepreneurship: $125,000 (split equally among UI, ISU, UNI) to supplement, not supplant
- University of Iowa: General University $223,496,355; Oakdale Campus $2,103,819; Hygienic Laboratory $4,822,610; Family Practice Residency $2,220,598; Child Health Services $634,502; Cancer Registry $143,410; Substance Abuse Research $53,427; Center for Biocatalysis $696,342; Primary Health Care $624,374; Birth Defects Registry $36,839; Larned A. Waterman Center $156,389; Online AP Academy $463,616; Iowa Flood Center $1,205,593; College of Nursing expansion $2,800,000; Center for Intellectual Freedom $1,000,000
- Iowa State University: $229,864,938
- University of Northern Iowa: $101,894,146 plus related programs (Real Estate Education, Educators for Iowa, Center for Civic Education)
4) Energy Cost-Savings Financing
- Regents may use energy savings financing (notes/bonds under 262.48) to fund eligible projects with a return on investment within approximately six years.
Other notable provisions
- Division IV and beyond contain standing appropriations adjustments, reporting requirements related to antibullying programming (Section 279.51A amendments), and various program reorganizations and repeals (e.g., Iowa Special Education Council repeal).
- Several sections adjust tuition grants, professional development funding, and the reallocations among vocational-technical and other higher-education grant funds.
- Provisions for reporting and transparency (quarterly regents reports; publication of five-year graduation rates).
Effective dates
- FY 2026-2027 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027) across all divisions, with provisions continuing into subsequent fiscal years where noted (e.g., carryover of unencumbered funds for several programs).
Impact and who it affects
- Directly funds: Department for the Blind, Department of Education, and regents universities (UI, ISU, UNI) and related affiliated programs.
- Impacts students through expanded early literacy, reading initiatives, STEM and CS education, trade/vocational training, and college access/grants.
- Impacts districts and nonpublic schools via assessment, data systems, and concurrent enrollment support.
- Affects educators through professional development, teacher quality programs, and antibullying reporting requirements.
