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SF 473

A bill for an act relating to certain sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of certain entities for purposes of child foster care and adoption.

2025-2026 Regular Session

The bill prohibits departments from forcing foster care licensees to act against or be disqualified for their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs on sexual orientation or gen

Signed by Governor.
#adoptions #attorneygeneral #children #fostercare #gender #healthandhumanservicesdepartment #parents #religion #sexualorientation
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Bill Summary · SF 473

Summary — SF 473 (Amendment S-3047)

Title: An act relating to certain sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of child foster care providers and prospective adoptive parents.
Introduced: February 27, 2025. Status: Rereferred to Judiciary (May 15, 2025).

Purpose

The bill adds a new subsection (9A) to Iowa Code section 237.10 to protect individual foster-care licensees (and prospective individual providers) from being required to affirm, adopt, or be disqualified based on sincerely held religious or moral beliefs concerning sexual orientation or gender identity. It is intended to preserve the ability of individual providers to act in ways consistent with their beliefs without departmental penalties or categorical exclusion.

Key provisions

  • Adds a new subsection 9A to section 237.10 (Code 2025) with these main rules:

    • The Department (and its designees) shall not require an individual licensee to affirm, accept, or support any policy related to sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with that person’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.
    • The Department shall not preclude an individual from providing child foster care (as an individual licensee) based, in whole or in part, on that person’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs related to sexual orientation or gender identity — including the person’s intent to guide, instruct, or raise a child consistent with those beliefs.
    • The Department and its designees shall not adopt standards, policies, or rules that would preclude an individual licensee from being considered as a foster-care provider on that basis.
    • The Department may still consider and compare the sincerely held moral/religious beliefs of a child and the child’s family of origin with those of a potential provider when determining placement consistent with the child’s best interests.
    • A current or prospective individual foster-care provider may sue for violations of this subsection; courts may grant injunctive, declaratory, or other relief.

  • Amendment S-3047 inserts definitions by reference:

    • “Gender identity” as defined in section 279.78.
    • “Sexual orientation” as defined in section 216.2.

Who would be affected

  • Directly: individual child foster-care licensees and prospective individual foster-care providers (and by extension, prospective adoptive parents to the extent they are regulated under the same licensing framework).
  • Indirectly: the Department of Health and Human Services (and its designees), foster-care placement administrators, children in care, and families of origin.
  • Note: The text repeatedly uses “individual licensee,” leaving potential ambiguity about application to agency providers, employees of agencies, or institutional placements.

Procedural status / timeline (selected)

  • Introduced: 02/27/2025.
  • Passed Senate: 03/25/2025 (Yeas 35, Nays 14); Amendment S-3047 filed and adopted 03/25/2025.
  • Referred to House Judiciary: 03/25/2025 (read first time).
  • Committee activity: Subcommittee and committee hearings in March–April 2025; committee reported recommending passage (04/02/2025); placed on calendar; rereferred to Judiciary 05/15/2025.

Potential implications and considerations

  • Operational: May limit the Department’s ability to apply nondiscrimination or licensing standards that require adherence to policies on sexual orientation or gender identity for individual foster providers.
  • Placement decisions: Explicitly preserves the Department’s authority to weigh beliefs of the child/family of origin against a provider’s beliefs when making placement choices in the child’s best interests.
  • Legal: Creates a private cause of action for providers and could generate litigation over what counts as a “sincerely held” belief, the scope of “individual licensee,” and conflicts with federal or other state nondiscrimination obligations.
  • Ambiguities: The bill does not expressly address agency providers, employees, or duties arising from licensing contracts and could require administrative clarification if enacted.

This summary focuses on the text added by Amendment S-3047 and the bill’s procedural history through May 15, 2025.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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