Summary: SSB 1075 (Renumbered as SF 520)
Status and context
- Introduced: January 30, 2025
- Current status: Committee report approving bill; renumbered as SF 520
- Purpose: Aims to modify reporting requirements for community college programming and expand employment-related provisions to the Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (IESBVI) program and the Iowa School for the Deaf
- Legislative actions: Subcommittee recommended passage (Feb 19, 2025); Subcommittee meeting set for Feb 19, 2025; Committee report approved (Mar 4, 2025)
Key provisions
1) Data collection, reporting, and accountability (Division I)
- Section 261E.3, subsection 3, paragraph j (new language)
- Post-secondary institutions providing programming under this chapter must:
- Include the unique student identifier assigned to students in the K–12 system as part of the institution’s student data management system.
- Cooperate with the state Department on data requests related to the programming.
- Collect and report to the Department data on the proportion of females and minorities enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) oriented opportunities offered under this chapter.
- Department duties:
- Incorporate the programming data, findings, and recommendations into a report to the General Assembly annually by January 15.
- This annual report must be integrated into the “annual condition of community colleges” report described in section 256.7(23)(c).
2) Employment and personnel provisions (Division II)
- Section 256.103 (as amended)
- Applies specific employee contract, termination, and discharge procedures to:
- Employees of the Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired program.
- Employees of the Iowa School for the Deaf.
- Scope includes employees licensed under subchapter VII, part 3, with Section 279.27 applying to these employees whether or not they are licensed under that subchapter.
- In short: Existing statutory employment procedures (Sections 279.12 through 279.19B and 279.27) are extended to cover staff of the IESBVI program and the Iowa School for the Deaf, ensuring these employees fall under the same contractual and termination/discharge processes as other covered state employees.
Affected entities
- Postsecondary institutions providing programming under the relevant chapter (with new data-reporting and data-management requirements).
- The Iowa Department of Education (data requests, reporting integration).
- IESBVI program staff and the Iowa School for the Deaf employees (employment and personnel procedures extended to these employees).
Timeline and procedural notes
- January 30, 2025: Bill introduced (S.S.B. 1075) and referred to Education.
- February 12–19, 2025: Subcommittee meetings and votes (Taylor, Garrett, Trone Garriott listed for subcommittee membership).
- February 19, 2025: Subcommittee recommended passage.
- March 4, 2025: Committee report approving the bill; renumbered as SF 520.
Key takeaways
- The bill enhances data-driven oversight by requiring postsecondary programming to track and report demographic participation in STEM opportunities and to integrate K–12 unique student identifiers into postsecondary data systems.
- It tightens workforce governance by extending specific contract and discharge procedures to employees of the IESBVI program and the Iowa School for the Deaf, aligning their employment processes with other state employees.
