DES MOINES, Iowa — A new bill making its way through the statehouse would bring major changes to how districts handle accusations of misconduct. The biggest involves who exactly is identified in misconduct reports.
Currently, a licensed school employee is able to stay anonymous during an investigation, but under the new proposal in House Study Bill 702, that would no longer be the case.
Under the proposed bill, educators accused of abuse would have to be named in reports regarding the alleged misconduct. Further, school staff members would become mandatory reporters for abuse cases regardless of student age. Currently, that only applies to students under 12.
Rep. Dustin Hite, R-New Sharon, chair of the House Education Committee, told Local 5 the goal of the bill is to bring more attention to misconduct complaints.
"When there's multiple complaints about a single individual, there's really no record of that. And so that's one of the issues that we're trying to get at is to make sure that these complaints are getting the attention that they deserve," Hite said.
Another change the bill would require: school districts would have to create oversight committees to investigate claims about educators and act accordingly. If a district was found to not be complying with the new setup, administrators could be fined up to $5,000.
"What you're talking about is a board that we would create at the local level, made up of teachers and nonteachers to investigate these complaints, because one of the things that we hear a lot is that at the administration level, these complaints are not being taken seriously," Hite said.
That oversight board would have a total of 12 members. At least six of them would be members of the general public, and at least four would be education workers.
In a statement
In a statement to Local 5, Iowa State Education Association Legislative and Policy Director Melissa Peterson pushed back on the proposal.
"We fully support our existing laws, but they must be executed with integrity to ensure the safety and health of our students while not violating the rights of staff. We believe implementing the existing law with fidelity ensures appropriate information is considered when school districts make hiring decisions."
The House Education Subcommittee voted 2-0 to recommend passage of the bill on Tuesday.
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