House
Study
Bill
683
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
_____
BY
(PROPOSED
COMMITTEE
ON
EDUCATION
BILL
BY
CHAIRPERSON
HITE)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
facial
covering
policies
adopted
by
the
1
boards
of
directors
of
school
districts
or
the
authorities
2
in
charge
of
accredited
nonpublic
schools
and
providing
3
civil
penalties.
4
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
5
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Section
1.
Section
280.31,
Code
2022,
is
amended
to
read
as
1
follows:
2
280.31
Facial
coverings.
3
1.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district,
the
4
superintendent
or
chief
administering
officer
of
a
school
5
or
school
district,
and
the
authorities
in
charge
of
each
6
accredited
nonpublic
school
shall
not
adopt,
enforce,
or
7
implement
a
policy
that
requires
its
employees,
students,
or
8
members
of
the
public
to
wear
a
facial
covering
for
any
purpose
9
while
on
the
school
district’s
or
accredited
nonpublic
school’s
10
property
unless
the
facial
covering
is
necessary
for
a
specific
11
extracurricular
or
instructional
purpose,
or
is
required
by
12
section
280.10
or
280.11
or
any
other
provision
of
law.
13
2.
a.
If
the
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
or
the
14
authorities
in
charge
of
an
accredited
nonpublic
school
adopt
a
15
facial
covering
policy
as
a
necessary
accommodation
for
a
child
16
with
disabilities,
the
board
or
authorities
shall
grant
an
17
exception
to
the
policy
to
any
student
whose
parent
or
guardian
18
provides
written
notice
to
the
school
district
or
accredited
19
nonpublic
school
indicating
that
wearing
a
facial
covering
is
20
detrimental
to
the
student’s
education.
21
b.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
and
the
22
authorities
in
charge
of
an
accredited
nonpublic
school
shall
23
process
all
written
notices
submitted
pursuant
to
paragraph
“a”
24
within
twenty-four
hours
after
receipt.
25
c.
The
board
of
directors
of
a
school
district
or
the
26
authorities
in
charge
of
an
accredited
nonpublic
school
shall
27
not
take
any
adverse
action
against
a
student
who
is
granted
28
an
exception
to
a
policy
that
requires
students
to
wear
29
facial
coverings
as
a
necessary
accommodation
for
a
child
with
30
disabilities.
31
d.
The
department
of
education
shall
adopt
rules
pursuant
32
to
chapter
17A
to
create
a
process
to
accept
complaints
from
33
parents
and
guardians
related
to
violations
of
this
subsection.
34
If,
after
investigation,
the
department
of
education
determines
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that
any
employee
or
contractor
of
the
board
of
directors
of
a
1
school
district
or
the
authorities
in
charge
of
an
accredited
2
nonpublic
school
has
violated
this
subsection,
the
department
3
of
education
shall
assess
a
civil
penalty
against
the
employee
4
or
contractor
not
to
exceed
five
hundred
dollars
for
each
5
violation.
Revenue
from
the
civil
penalty
provided
in
this
6
paragraph
shall
be
remitted
to
the
treasurer
of
state
for
7
deposit
in
the
general
fund
of
the
state.
8
EXPLANATION
9
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
10
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
11
This
bill
relates
to
facial
covering
policies
adopted
by
12
the
boards
of
directors
of
school
districts
or
the
authorities
13
in
charge
of
accredited
nonpublic
schools
and
provides
civil
14
penalties.
15
The
bill
requires
that
if
the
board
of
directors
of
a
16
school
district
or
the
authorities
in
charge
of
an
accredited
17
nonpublic
school
adopt
a
facial
covering
policy
as
a
necessary
18
accommodation
for
a
child
with
disabilities,
the
board
or
19
authorities
shall
grant
an
exception
to
the
policy
to
any
20
student
whose
parent
or
guardian
provides
written
notice
to
21
the
school
district
or
accredited
nonpublic
school
indicating
22
that
wearing
a
facial
covering
is
detrimental
to
the
student’s
23
education.
Additionally,
the
bill
requires
the
board
of
24
directors
of
a
school
district
and
the
authorities
in
charge
of
25
an
accredited
nonpublic
school
to
process
these
requests
within
26
24
hours
after
receipt
and
prohibits
any
adverse
action
against
27
a
student
who
is
granted
an
exception.
28
The
bill
requires
the
department
of
education
to
adopt
29
rules
to
create
a
process
to
accept
complaints
from
parents
30
and
guardians
related
to
violations
of
the
bill’s
provisions.
31
The
bill
provides
that
if
the
department
determines
that
32
any
employee
or
contractor
of
the
board
of
directors
of
a
33
school
district
or
the
authorities
in
charge
of
an
accredited
34
nonpublic
school
has
violated
the
bill’s
provisions,
the
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department
shall
assess
a
civil
penalty
against
the
employee
or
1
contractor
not
to
exceed
$500
for
each
violation.
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