Iowa Code § 279.51A — IA Code / Title VII / Chapter 279 / Section 279.51A
Classroom environment behavioral challenges reports of violence or assault.
Status: in_force

(1) A classroom teacher may clear students from the classroom only if necessary to prevent or terminate an imminent threat of bodily injury to a student or another person in the classroom.

(2) If a classroom teacher clears all other students from the classroom in accordance with subsection 1, the school principal shall, by the end of the school day if possible but at least within twenty-four hours after the incident giving rise to the classroom clearance, notify the parents or guardians of all students assigned to the classroom that was cleared. The notification shall not identify, directly or indirectly, any students involved in the incident giving rise to the classroom clearance. The principal of the school shall request that the parent or guardian of the student whose behavior caused the classroom clearance meet with the principal, the classroom teacher, and other staff as appropriate.

(3) If the student whose behavior caused the classroom clearance has an individualized education program or a behavioral intervention plan, the classroom teacher shall call for and be included in a review and potential revision of the student’s individualized education program or behavioral intervention plan by the student’s individualized education program team. The area education agency, in collaboration with the school district, may, when the parent or guardian meets with the individualized education program team during the reevaluation of the student’s individualized education program, inform the parent or guardian of individual or family counseling services available in the area.

(4) (a) A classroom teacher employed by a school district shall report any threat of violence or incident of violence that results in injury or property damage or assault by a student enrolled in the school to the principal or the lead administrator of the school within twenty-four hours after the threat of violence or incident of violence occurs, and the classroom teacher may notify the parent or guardian of the student who made the threat of violence or caused the incident of violence, and the parent or guardian of the student to whom the threat of violence was made or the incident of violence occurred, of the threat of violence or incident of violence.

(4) (b) The principal or lead administrator of the school shall notify the parent or guardian of the student enrolled in the school who made the threat of violence or caused the incident of violence that resulted in injury or property damage or assault, and the parent or guardian of the student to whom the threat of violence was made or the incident of violence occurred, of the threat of violence or incident of violence within twenty-four hours after the classroom teacher reports the threat of violence or incident of violence to the principal or lead administrator pursuant to paragraph “a”.

(5) Each school district shall report to the department of education, in a manner prescribed by the department, an annual count of all incidents of violence that result in injury or property damage or assault by a student in a school building, on school grounds, or at a school-sponsored function, and any time a student is referred for the use of or transfer to a therapeutic classroom. The report shall include but not be limited to demographic information on students reported as victims and reported as perpetrators of incidents of violence that result in injury or property damage or assault, including but not limited to disaggregated information on race, gender, national origin, age, grade level, and disability, along with any other data required for the department to implement the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub. L. No. 114-95, with appropriate safeguards to ensure student privacy. The department shall compile and summarize the reports, categorized by behavior, and shall submit the summary to the general assembly by November 1 annually. A teacher or administrator who submits a report in accordance with this section and who meets the requirements of section 280.27 or section 613.21 shall be immune from civil or criminal liability relating to such action, as well as for participating in any administrative or judicial proceeding resulting from or relating to the report pursuant to the provisions of sections 280.27 and 613.21. The provisions of section 70A.29 shall apply to a teacher or administrator who submits a report in accordance with this section or who reports an incident of violence or assault to a local law enforcement agency in good faith and without fraudulent intent or the intent to deceive. Personal information regarding a student in a report submitted pursuant to this section shall be kept confidential as required under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. §1232g, and in the same manner as personal information in student records maintained, created, collected, or assembled by or for a school corporation or educational institution in accordance with section 22.7, subsection 1.

(6) For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires, “bodily injury” means physical pain, illness, or any other impairment of physical condition.

2020 Acts, ch 1108, §9; 2023 Acts, ch 96, §4