DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa House Public Safety committee passed a bill on Wednesday that ensures schools have able personnel ready to protect students in the event of an emergency. Iowa House Republicans released the bill, HSB 675, early this week.
Under the legislation, school districts with an enrollment over 8,000 students are required to employ at least one school resource officer or private security officer. The bill also creates a grant program to match funds to help school districts fund these positions.
The bill also creates a new permit that allows a school employee to carry weapons. The permit requires the school employee to complete a prescribed firearms safety training course before being issued a permit. Those receiving permits shall also receive one-time, in-person legal training. Those with permits are also required to complete annual emergency medical training, and communications training approved by the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The department under the bill will implement required annual live scenario training and quarterly live firearm training for school employees of a school district, private school, or an institution of higher education that has opted into participating in the professional permitting of school employees.
“The fastest way to respond to a school shooting is to have armed personnel on site, trained and available to respond at a moment’s notice,” Thompson said. “With this bill, we create a new permit with a strict training regimen that will result in more men and women in school buildings ready to respond to keep students safe. I’m proud of the work we’ve put in to find real solutions that will make our schools safer and looking forward to leading this legislation through the Iowa House,” State Rep. Phil Thompson, R-Boone, the Iowa House Public Safety Committee Chair said in a released statement.
The bill has survived the Iowa Legislature’s first funnel deadline that requires non-appropriations bills to pass out of the original chamber’s committee to still be considered.
Read HSB 675 below:
Iowa House Republicans introduced a second bill, HSB 692, that focuses on school infrastructure. It is not subject to the funnel deadlines as an appropriations bill.
Under the bill, school districts are required to complete a comprehensive review of their school safety and emergency response plans and submit the review to law enforcement before the 2024-2025 school year. The bill also creates a fund to install radios capable of accessing the Statewide Interoperable Communications System in all school buildings that do not currently have them. This radio system helped law enforcement coordinate their response to the shooting at Perry High School earlier this year.
The bill also implements firearm detection software in three schools of different sizes through a pilot program. It also establishes a task force to create recommended school safety standards in building codes. Beginning in 2026, under the legislation, schools are required to meet those safety standards before using any SAVE funds on athletic facility projects.
State Reps. Cater Nordman, R-Panora, and David Young, R-Van Meter, worked to develop this legislation.
“The tragic events in Perry brought school safety to the forefront of this legislative session,” Nordman said. “The heartbreak I saw throughout the Perry community serves as my motivation to work hard to craft effective legislation to keep our students and staff safe in school. I believe this bill will have a real impact on school safety and I am determined to see it cross the finish line.”
“This is common-sense legislation we can take action on to help increase school safety,” said Young. “Our kids and teachers deserve the gold standard when it comes to safety in our schools. Right now these school safety building standards do not exist. But we can fix this and give our students, staff, and parents the safety they deserve.”
Read HSB 692 below:
HSB692
