Iowa Code § 256I.3 — IA Code / Title VII / Chapter 256I / Section 256I.3
Early childhood Iowa state board created.
Status: in_force

(1) The early childhood Iowa state board is created to promote a vision for a comprehensive early care, education, health, and human services system in this state. The board shall oversee state and local efforts. The vision shall be achieved through strategic planning, funding identification, guidance, and decision-making authority to assure collaboration among state and local early care, education, health, and human services systems.

(2) (a) The board shall consist of nineteen voting members with fifteen citizen members and four state agency members. The state agency members shall be the directors or their designees of the following agencies: economic development authority, education, health and human services, and workforce development. The designees of state agency directors shall be selected on an annual basis. The citizen members shall be appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the senate. The governor’s appointments of citizen members shall be made in a manner so that each of the state’s congressional districts is represented by at least two citizen members and so that all the appointments as a whole reflect the ethnic, cultural, social, and economic diversity of the state. A member of the state board shall not be a provider of services or other entity receiving funding through the early childhood Iowa initiative or be employed by such a provider or other entity.

(2) (b) The governor’s appointees shall be selected from individuals nominated by area boards. The nominations shall reflect the range of interests represented on the area boards so that the governor is able to appoint one or more members each for early care, education, health, human services, business, faith, and public interests. At least one of the citizen members shall be a service consumer or the parent of a service consumer. The term of office of the citizen members is three years. A citizen member vacancy on the board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the balance of the unexpired term.

(3) In addition to the voting members, the state board shall include four members of the general assembly with not more than one member from each chamber being from the same political party. The two senators shall be appointed one each by the majority leader of the senate and by the minority leader of the senate. The two representatives shall be appointed one each by the speaker of the house of representatives and by the minority leader of the house of representatives. Legislative members shall serve in an ex officio, nonvoting capacity. A legislative member is eligible for per diem and expenses as provided in section 2.10.

(4) The state board shall elect a chairperson from among the citizen members and may select other officers from the voting members as determined to be necessary by the board. The board shall meet as determined by the board, upon the call of the board’s chairperson, or upon the call of a majority of voting members.

2010 Acts, ch 1031, §280; 2011 Acts, ch 118, §87, 89; 2012 Acts, ch 1021, §56; 2019 Acts, ch 85, §85; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1001; 2024 Acts, ch 1170, §106