POLISCOPE
Back to bills
Part ofFoster Care →

The civic record

Read. Follow. Verify.
SF 473IOWASession 2025-2026State BillSigned into law
Enacted

Iowa law protects foster and adoptive parents and religious agencies from being required to violate religious or moral beliefs

Original title: A bill for an act relating to certain sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of certain entities for purposes of child foster care and adoption. (Formerly SF 236 .) Effective date: 07/01/2026.

Last action · June 2, 2026: Signed by Governor . S.J. 1029 .

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

What This Bill Does

Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 473 on June 2, 2026, prohibiting the state from denying foster care licenses, kinship care approvals, or prospective adoptive parent qualifications based on an individual's sincerely held religious or moral beliefs regarding sexual orientation or gender identity, effective July 1, 2026.

Why it matters

Current and prospective foster parents, s, adoptive parents, and contracted religious child-placement organizations cannot be penalized, disqualified, or forced to support policies conflicting with their religious or moral beliefs, and they are granted the right to sue the state for violations to recover legal costs and obtain court relief.

Background
  • Kim Reynolds serves as the Governor of Iowa, responsible for signing or vetoing legislation passed by the General Assembly. context
  • Senate File 473 was enacted during the Ninety-first General Assembly of the State of Iowa. context

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Individual foster care licensees and kinship caregivers

They are protected from being required to affirm policies on sexual orientation or gender identity and cannot be disqualified from fostering based on sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.

Directly affected

Prospective adoptive parents

They gain legal protections preventing the state from disqualifying them from adopting based on their religious or moral beliefs regarding sexual orientation or gender identity.

Directly affected

Religious organizations providing child welfare services

Contracted religious organizations cannot be forced by the state to provide foster care or adoption services in a manner that conflicts with their religious beliefs.

Directly affected

Department of Health and Human Services

The department is barred from enforcing certain ideological requirements, must amend its administrative rules, and faces potential lawsuits and liability for attorney fees if it violates the statute.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the state deny a foster care license because an applicant holds religious beliefs regarding sexual orientation or gender identity?
No. The department cannot preclude a person from being licensed as an individual licensee or approved as a based on their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs related to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Does this law allow religious adoption agencies to operate without following state rules that conflict with their faith?
Yes. Entities that hold themselves out as religious organizations and have an agreement with the department to provide foster care or adoption services cannot be required to provide contracted services in a manner inconsistent with their religious beliefs, unless federal law dictates otherwise.
Can the state still consider a child's background when making a placement?
Yes. The law allows the department to take into account the moral and religious beliefs of a child and their family of origin compared to those of a prospective placement when determining the placement most consistent with the child's best interests.
What legal recourse is available if an applicant's rights under this law are violated?
A current or prospective licensee, , or adoptive parent may bring a court action for , , and reasonable attorney fees and costs. The attorney general may also enforce the subsection.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

46 actions
  1. Jun 2, 2026SenateEnrolled
    Signed by Governor . S.J. 1029 .
  2. May 5, 2026Senate
    Reported correctly enrolled, signed by President and Speaker, and sent to Governor. S.J. 1028 .
  3. Apr 21, 2026House
    Message from Senate. H.J. 955 .
  4. Apr 21, 2026Senate
    Immediate message. S.J. 855 .
  5. Apr 21, 2026SenateFloor
    Passed Senate , yeas 28, nays 16. S.J. 854 .
  6. Apr 21, 2026SenateFloor
    Senate concurred with S-5200 . S.J. 854 .
Show 40 earlier actions
  1. Apr 21, 2026House
    Message from House, with amendment S-5200 . S.J. 842 .
  2. Apr 20, 2026House
    Immediate message. H.J. 947 .
  3. Apr 20, 2026HouseFloor
    Passed House , yeas 58, nays 34. H.J. 938 .
  4. Apr 20, 2026HouseFloor
    Amendment H-8353 adopted. H.J. 937 .
  5. Apr 20, 2026House
    Motion to suspend rules failed. H.J. 937 .
  6. Apr 20, 2026House
    Motion to suspend rules for immediate consideration of amendment H-8320 , yeas 39, nays 53. H.J. 936 .
  7. Apr 20, 2026House
    Point of order raised on amendment H-8320 , ruled not germane. H.J. 936 .
  8. Apr 20, 2026House
    Amendment H-8370 withdrawn. H.J. 936 .
  9. Apr 15, 2026House
    Amendment H-8370 filed. H.J. 921 .
  10. Apr 13, 2026House
    Amendment H-8353 filed. H.J. 888 .
  11. Apr 7, 2026House
    Amendment H-8320 filed. H.J. 838 .
  12. Mar 26, 2026House
    Placed on calendar under unfinished business. H.J. 760 .
  13. Mar 18, 2026House
    Placed on calendar. H.J. 686 .
  14. Mar 18, 2026House
    Committee vote: Yeas, 14. Nays, 6. Excused, 1. H.J. 686 .
  15. Mar 18, 2026House
    Committee report, recommending passage. H.J. 686 .
  16. Mar 5, 2026Iowa Legislature
    Subcommittee recommends passage.
  17. Mar 3, 2026House
    Subcommittee Meeting: 03/05/2026 8:15AM House Lounge.
  18. Mar 3, 2026House
    Subcommittee: Williams, Dunwell and Wessel-Kroeschell. H.J. 524 .
  19. Dec 31, 2025Iowa Legislature
    * * * * * END OF 2025 ACTIONS * * * * *
  20. May 15, 2025House
    Rereferred to Judiciary. H.J. 1222 .
  21. Apr 10, 2025House
    Placed on calendar under unfinished business. H.J. 928 .
  22. Apr 2, 2025House
    Placed on calendar. H.J. 886 .
  23. Apr 2, 2025House
    Committee vote: Yeas, 14. Nays, 6. Excused, 1. H.J. 886 .
  24. Apr 2, 2025House
    Committee report, recommending passage. H.J. 885 .
  25. Apr 2, 2025Iowa Legislature
    Subcommittee recommends passage.
  26. Apr 1, 2025Iowa Legislature
    Subcommittee Meeting: 04/02/2025 7:30AM RM 102.
  27. Mar 31, 2025House
    Subcommittee reassigned: Williams, Holt and Wessel-Kroeschell. H.J. 873 .
  28. Mar 28, 2025House
    Subcommittee: Wheeler, Holt and Wessel-Kroeschell. H.J. 873 .
  29. Mar 25, 2025HouseIntroduced
    Read first time, referred to Judiciary. H.J. 811 .
  30. Mar 25, 2025House
    Message from Senate. H.J. 793 .
  31. Mar 25, 2025Senate
    Immediate message. S.J. 630 .
  32. Mar 25, 2025SenateFloor
    Passed Senate , yeas 35, nays 14. S.J. 629 .
  33. Mar 25, 2025SenateFloor
    Amendment S-3047 filed, adopted. S.J. 629 .
  34. Feb 27, 2025Senate
    Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 473 . S.J. 384 .
  35. Feb 27, 2025Senate
    Committee report, approving bill. S.J. 384 .
  36. Feb 27, 2025SenateIntroduced
    Introduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 381 .
  37. Feb 24, 2025Iowa Legislature
    Subcommittee recommends passage.
  38. Feb 12, 2025Iowa Legislature
    Subcommittee Meeting: 02/24/2025 11:00AM Room 315.
  39. Feb 11, 2025Senate
    Subcommittee: Salmon, Pike, and Trone Garriott. S.J. 244 .
  40. Feb 10, 2025SenateIntroduced
    Introduced, referred to Health and Human Services. S.J. 215 .

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Codification of Religious Protections in Child Welfare

Senate File 473 formally amends Iowa code sections 237 and 600 to embed specific statutory protections for religious and moral beliefs in foster care and adoption licensing.

Department of Health and Human ServicesKim Reynolds

Connected Entities

W. Charles Smithson, Paul Pate, Chris Cournoyer and 4 more
PersonW. Charles Smithson“Secretary of the Senate.”Map →
PersonPaul Pate“Secretary of State of Iowa.”Map →
PersonChris Cournoyer“Lieutenant Governor of Iowa.”Map →
OrganizationDepartment of Health and Human Services“State agency responsible for foster care and adoption services.”Map →
PersonKim Reynolds“Governor of Iowa who signed Senate File 473.”Map →
PersonAmy Sinclair“President of the Senate.”Map →
PersonPat Grassley“Speaker of the House.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.legis.iowa.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance85
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy90
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz75
    Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools

Share or embed this record

POLISCOPE publisher tools

Share or embed this record