HF 2676 – Iowa’s “Make America Healthy Again” Proposal: This bill, originally proposed by the governor, includes several divisions impacting school districts: 

• Prohibits school districts from serving meals that include certain dyes or ingredients as part of the district’s breakfast or lunch program. The ingredients are: 

  • Blue dye 1  

  • Blue dye 2 

  • Green dye 3 

  • Potassium bromate  

  • Propylparaben 

  • Red dye 40 

  • Yellow dye 5  

  • Yellow dye 6 

Additionally, school districts could not sell products with these ingredients on the school campus, which would include vending machines. This would go into effect for the 2027–28  school year. 

• Limits on digital instruction, which includes lessons, assessments, or instructional activities, to 60 minutes per school day for kindergarten through 5th grade students. Districts will have to adopt a policy on technology use for these grades, which will include a list of digital platforms and applications used for instruction.    

• The Department of Education will convene a working group to study the impact of school-provided technology on cognitive function and academic performance of students in grades 6-12. 

• PE curriculum must include using the presidential physical fitness test to assess students. This will take effect when the federal government issues guidance on the administration of the fitness test. 

• The bill will require 40 minutes of physical activity each day for students in kindergarten through fourth grade and 30 minutes for students in fifth grade. 

IASB is registered undecided on the bill. We have some concern over districts being able to affordably source foods without the banned food dyes. The bill passed the House by a vote of 61-31 and passed the Senate by a vote of 30-16. Governor Reynolds signed the bill into law on May 20, 2026. 

SF 2219 - Exempt Absences for School-Sponsored Activities: The House amended this bill to require districts to adopt policy that grants students an exempt absence when students miss school for participation in a school-sponsored activity, program, competition, or project. Students must be allowed to make up the work they miss during these absences.  

IASB is registered undecided on the bill. We think this isn’t necessary as Department of Education guidance already directs school districts to count students “present” when missing for these activities, so there is no need to exempt them from an absence. The bill passed the House by a vote of 85-8 and passed the Senate by a vote of 47-0. Governor Reynolds signed the bill into law on May 19, 2026. 

SF 2231 – Community-Based Provider Rules & Student Free Speech: This bill provides new guidelines for community-based providers of preschool and the school districts they partner with: 

• School districts must enter into a sharing agreement with a community provider if the community provider requests it. 

• The sharing agreement cannot limit how many students can attend preschool at the community provider. 

• School districts cannot make the community provider modify their standards for admission or educational programming. 

• School districts and the state cannot impose regulations on the community provider that aren’t necessary for the provider’s participation in the preschool program. 

• Community providers must be given the maximum amount of freedom to provide education for their students, consistent with state and federal law. 

• Community-based providers must follow the same requirements as school districts when participating in the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program. 

The bill also includes language from another bill about protected free speech in schools. It outlines the protections that students have at school related to speech and expression. It prohibits school districts from discriminating against or punishing students for religious, political, or ideological speech and viewpoints. This includes during class, homework assignments, organizing clubs, and wearing clothes or accessories that display a message.  

School districts would also be required to provide the U.S. Department of Education’s guidance on constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression to all employees and offer professional development on the topic.  

Any individual or club organized by a student would be allowed to bring a civil action if they allege a violation of these protections. 

IASB is registered against the bill. It doesn’t allow for school district choice in who to partner with to provide high-quality preschool. Additionally, we believe the protections already exist and are not being violated by schools. The bill adds language about these protections applying to “similarly situated students,” which would create a new standard for First Amendment protections. Currently the protections apply to the speech itself, rather than if the speech would be protected for similarly situated students. The bill passed the House by a vote of 63-25 and passed the Senate by a vote of 28-16. Governor Reynolds signed the bill into law on May 19, 2026. 

The bill directs the Department of Education to establish a pilot program in one rural and one urban school district that would create an attendance center to provide educational services, including special education services, to eligible students. These students would include special education students and students whose emotional or behavioral needs interfere with their ability to be successful in the regular classroom.  

The districts chosen for the pilot program must be able to either fund it themselves, or the Department of Education must fund the pilot. 

The bill establishes procedures and required policies for addressing both violent and nonviolent disruptions by students that lead a teacher to remove a student from the classroom. 

Each attendance center must establish an oversight review committee that will develop a policy on when a student who has been removed from the classroom may be readmitted. The committee will be made up of two teachers selected by the other teachers in the building, and a staff member selected by the principal. 

For a nonviolent disruption: 

• A teacher is authorized remove a student and put them under the principal or their designee’s supervision for at least 30 minutes. 

• A kindergarten through fifth grade student who is removed from a classroom can’t return until the teacher and principal meet to discuss the readmission. 

• A 6-12 student who is removed from a classroom can’t return until the teacher and principal to discuss the readmission, which, at the earliest, will be the next school day. 

• If a student is removed more than once, the teacher, principal, a guidance counselor, and the student’s parent will meet to establish a plan to address the student’s behavior. 

For a violent disruption: 

• A teacher is authorized to remove a student and put them under the principal or their designee’s supervision.  

• A kindergarten through fifth grade student who is removed from a classroom can’t return until the teacher and principal meet to discuss the readmission. 

• A 6-12 student who is removed from a classroom can’t return until the teacher and principal to discuss the readmission, which, at the earliest, will be the next school day. 

• If a removal happens two or more times in a semester, the principal will assign the student either in or out-of-school suspension and recommend an alternative learning environment to the superintendent. 

A nonviolent disruption can be: disorderly conduct, abusive or profane language, bullying, or repeatedly disruptive behavior. A violent disruption can be: injury, property damage, or assault. 

If a student is removed from a classroom for assaulting the teacher and the teacher does not consent to the student returning, the student shall not be readmitted.  

The second section to the bill relates to procedures following the removal of a student with an individualized education plan (IEP).  

In the IEP meeting after a removal, the team must discuss: 

• Appropriateness of the student’s current educational programming. 

• If adjustments should be made to the IEP to address the behavior. 

• If the student’s current location or an alternative learning environment would best provide the student with a free appropriate public education. 

• Accommodations the student requires and whether those can be provided in the general education environment. 

• The impact providing special education services in the general education environment will have on the student and other students in the classroom. 

Principals will be required to: 

• Carry out manifestation determination review meetings after a student is placed in a new learning environment. 

• Impose appropriate discipline according to school district policy and federal law. 

• Perform functional behavior assessments as needed. 

• Adjust behavioral intervention plans as needed. 

After a nonviolent or violent disruption, the principal must make a mental health professional, guidance counselor, or behavioral interventionist available for a trauma debrief if the teacher requests it. 

Teachers must be granted up to three days of leave following an injury as a result of a student’s violent disruption. A teacher may be granted more leave if they provide a doctor’s note. 

A teacher may appeal to the school board a principal’s refusal to allow a teacher to remove a student or a principal’s readmission of a student. 

A teacher can request a meeting of a student’s IEP team at any time. This can be denied by an administrator if they provide why federal law does not require the team to meet. 

All teachers responsible for implementing a student’s IEP are required to read the IEP, so they know their responsibilities and the accommodations and supports that must be provided. Regular education teachers will provide written notice to the special education teacher that they have read the IEP. An amendment by the Senate only requires teachers to read the new modifications and accommodations portion of the IEP in order to effectively implement it. At least one paraeducator must attend all IEP meetings. 

All district employees who are part of the IEP team will receive training related to least restrictive environment requirements under federal law. 

All teachers will receive professional development that: 

• Supports serving students with disabilities 

• Provides information on the requirements of providing a free appropriate public education, including the district’s responsibility to evaluate a student who may have a disability 

• Outlines the supports and services through an IEP and how the teacher is responsible for implementing it. 

IASB is registered undecided on the bill. We appreciate much of the provisions in this version, especially the oversight review committee being able to adopt a policy for their attendance center. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 44-0 and passed the House by a vote of 87-4. Governor Reynolds signed the bill into law on June 1, 2026.