Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, spoke during debate March 18, 2025 in opposition to legislation changing the definition of bullying and harassment in Iowa state code to remove references to students being targeted on the basis of real or perceived characteristics. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
The Iowa House passed a bill Tuesday that would change the definition of school bullying in state law and remove a list of traits a bully might target, such as a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and disability status.
Lawmakers also advanced education bills related to school safety assessment teams, therapeutic classrooms and school absences due to religious instruction.
House File 865, approved on a 64-33 vote, defines bullying and harassment as “repeated and targeted” acts and conduct toward a student that create an objectively hostile school environment.
The bill removes the language in current Iowa code that defines bullying and harassment as any electronic, written, verbal, or physical act or conduct “based on any actual or perceived trait” that creates an objectively hostile school environment. The law lists 17 traits on which bullying might be based, including gender identity, sexuality, race, political belief and familial status, but does not limit bullying to these categories.
The bill would remove this list of potential traits, and remove reference to “actual or perceived trait or characteristic” of a student in the definition of bullying and harassment.
Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, spoke in opposition to the legislation, sharing his experience of being bullied as a child because of his disability. He said that growing up, he spent a significant amount of time in surgeries and medical centers because of his disability, but that the hardest part of growing up was “actually my time in school,” saying he ended up leaving public school to attend private school for three years due to harassment and bullying he faced in sixth grade.
Turek said he was unsure if the bullying he faced would meet the definition of “repeated and targeted” acts and conduct. He also shared his experience working with children with disabilities and their families — including going to schools where these children face bullying — to have disability awareness and anti-bullying talks with other students.
“I think it’s really, really important to keep in this standard, because it is they’re being bullied specifically for a trait or characteristic, which is their physical disability,” Turek said. “We all know it’s really, really hard to be a kid right now growing up. … Let’s not make it even harder, and let’s not make it even easier to bully kids.”
In subcommittee meetings on the measure, some individuals said school staff were not enforcing anti-bullying laws if the student was not being discriminated against based on one of the listed potential traits. School officials said this was an issue of enforcement, as existing statute does not limit anti-bullying action on the basis of this list.
Rep. Elinor Levin, D-Iowa City, spoke Tuesday in opposition to the idea that having a list of traits and characteristics to reference was “exclusive” of students who face bullying for other reasons. Levin said the current code provides an important frame of reference for teachers as they determine whether a student is being bullied, as the listed traits and characteristics are “among the most common reasons for which students are bullied.”
“Taking out this definition means that we’re going to go back to a previous world in which every single adult who has to make these determinations has to do so purely on their own experiences and their own prior knowledge, rather than relying on the wisdom of ages that is represented in this definition,” Levin said.
Levin said if state lawmakers want to address bullying in Iowa schools, they should instead focus on increasing reporting requirements, pointing to Iowa Department of Education data finding hundreds of Iowa schools reported no instances of bullying.
Rep. Helena Hayes, R-New Sharon, floor manager for the bill, said she believed reporting of bullying will improve if the bill becomes law, as teachers will not be referencing a list to determine if an act constitutes bullying or harassment.
“It has become increasingly clear that there is confusion regarding the distinction between bullying and conflict, which has made it difficult for school districts to effectively address and intervene in student issues,” Hayes said. “Many districts have struggled with determining when and how to step in. This bill aims to equip teachers with better training allowing them to accurately report and intervene in efforts to safeguard students.”
The measure heads to the Senate for further consideration.
More education bills advance
Iowa lawmakers moved on several other education measures Tuesday.
- The Iowa Senate voted unanimously Tuesday for Senate File 583, which would allow schools to set up multidisciplinary teams tasked with coordinating resources and intervening when a student exhibits behavior that could pose a threat to the safety of other students or school staff. Similar legislation is advancing in the House, but senators voted to change references to “threat assessment” in the original bill to “safety assessment.” The bill moves to the House for consideration.
- The House passed House File 522 in a 66-31 vote, legislation that would allow schools to use grant funding for therapeutic classrooms for new supports including certain foods, vitamin and mineral supplementals and exposure to natural light or “full spectrum lighting fixtures.” Therapeutic classrooms are spaces in schools designated for students with emotional, social or behavioral needs that cause disruption to other students in the general classroom.
While Rep. Elinor Levin, D-Iowa City, said the proposal does not reflect the purpose or work done in therapeutic classrooms of deescalating students who are in a heightened state of emotion, Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham, said the proposal would allow schools to be reimbursed for strategies related to nutrition and lighting that some schools are already implementing to address students’ behavioral health needs. - House File 870, passed by the Iowa House 96-2, adds exemptions to the state’s compulsory attendance law, providing that a student’s absences will be exempted when they are attending religious instruction during the school day for up to five hours per week. The bill was amended to remove language in the original version of the legislation allowing school boards to adopt policies granting academic credit for the completion of a religious instruction course by a private organization.
Kathie Obradovich contributed to this article.