Petitioning the Board

In the 2021 legislative session, Governor Kim Reynolds signed House File (HF) 868 into law. The new law creates Iowa Code section 279.8B, which outlines the process for eligible voters within the school district to petition their local school board. The purpose of this Iowa Department of Education guidance is to provide the school districts, local school boards, and eligible district voters with information related to the petition process.

Petition Process

The petition process is as follows:

  1. Eligible voters create the petition, gather the minimum number of signatures (i.e., the lesser of 10% of voters in the last school board election or 500 eligible voters) from eligible voters, and submit the petition with the local school board.

  2. The local school board receives the petition and reviews its validity.

  3. If determined valid, the school board places the proposal specified in the petition on its next regular meeting agenda or on the agenda of a school board meeting held within 30 days of receiving the petition.

  4. The school board provides sufficient time for the public to provide public comment on the proposal.

Step

Guidance

1. Eligible voters create the petition, gather
the minimum number of signatures (i.e., the
lesser of 10% of voters in the last school
board election or 500 voters) from eligible
voters, and file the petition with the local
school board.

– The petition may be a paper petition, an electronic
petition, or some combination of the two.
– The petition must be signed by a minimum number of
eligible voters (10% of voters in the last school board
election or 500 voters, whichever is less).
– Electronic signatures may be used to indicate the
person intended to sign the record.
– Not all situations can be addressed through this
process. It is not to start discussions for circumstances
where there are privacy rights or procedural
safeguards available in state or federal law (see the
examples in the previous Privacy Rights and
Procedural Safeguards section).

2. The local school board receives the
petition and reviews its validity.

The school board:
– Must review the validity of the petition as soon as
possible because the proposal must be heard within
30 days of receiving the petition (not 30 days after
determining the petition is valid). This may require
calling a special meeting.
– Should resolve all reasonable questions in favor of the
validity of the petition and deny a petition only if it
clearly does not meet the requirements of Iowa Code
section 279.8B.

3. If determined valid, the school board
must place the proposal specified in the
petition on its next regular meeting agenda
or on the agenda of a school board meeting
held within 30 days of receiving the petition.

If the proposal relates to curriculum or specific instructional
materials, the school board may halt the district’s use of the
curriculum or materials until the proposal is heard. This is a
discretionary decision.

4. The school board provides sufficient time
for the public to provide public comment on
the proposal.

The school board:
– Must allow each speaker the opportunity to provide
public comment at least once. Any additional
commentary is at the discretion of the school board.
– May impose a time limit for each speaker.
– Cannot impose a time limit on the discussion.
– Should build flexibility for the petition process into
their meeting’s agenda.
– Is not required to allow a speaker a second
opportunity to provide comments, if allowing a
second opportunity would deprive another individual
of the opportunity.
– Must allow each speaker to speak without
interruption from the board members or audience.
– May impose rules of decorum if those rules are evenly applied across individuals. Must consider any written comments or materials.

Petition Process with Department Guidance

Questions and Additional Information

For more information, please contact your local counsel or district’s school improvement consultant at the Department.

Footnotes:

i 279.8B Petition — school board meeting agenda — public comment.
1. Upon petition signed by eligible electors of a school district equal in number to at least ten percent of the persons who

voted in the last preceding election of school officials under section 277.1, or five hundred eligible electors, whichever is less, the board of directors of the school district shall place the proposal specified in the petition on the agenda of the next regular meeting of the school board or on the agenda of a school board meeting held within thirty days of receipt of the petition filed in accordance with this subsection. If the proposal relates to curriculum, the school district may halt use of the subject instructional materials until the school board holds the board meeting at which the proposal is presented and discussed. The meeting notice shall include a brief description of the proposal.

2. The board of directors of the school district shall provide sufficient time to receive public comment on the proposal. The board shall allow each interested member of the public to speak at the meeting regarding the proposal, but may impose a time limit on the amount of time a member of the public is allowed to speak if the time limit is the same for each speaker and necessary due to the amount of people wishing to speak.

Iowa Department of Education guidance should be viewed as advisory unless it’s specifically authorized by state statute, according to Iowa Code section 256.9A. This does not apply to administrative rules, declaratory orders, or materials required by federal law or courts.