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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate Bill restricts open enrollment for chronically absent students and removes online learning deadlines
Last action · February 26, 2026: Read first time, referred to Education. H.J. 440 .Sponsor: Lynn Evans
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate File 2116 prohibits students who are , participating in school engagement meetings, or bound by s from transferring school districts via unless the receiving district approves the transfer. The bill also repeals an exception that allowed parents enrolling children in full-time online learning programs to bypass standard open enrollment submission deadlines. These changes apply to applications and notifications submitted on or after the effective date of the act.
Families seeking to switch school districts for students with attendance issues face new restrictions, and families utilizing full-time online learning must now adhere to standard deadlines.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
students
Students facing chronic absenteeism or utilizing online learning programs experience altered transfer rules and deadlines.
school districts
Receiving districts gain the authority to approve or deny open enrollment transfers for chronically absent students.
Key Facts
- A pupil who is chronically absent, participating in a school engagement meeting, or party to an absenteeism prevention plan is generally prohibited from transferring to another school district.
- A chronically absent or truant pupil may still transfer if the receiving district explicitly approves the transfer request.
- The bill strikes subsection 17 of Code section 282.18, removing the exemption from open enrollment deadlines for children enrolling in full-time online learning programs under section 256.43.
- The act applies to applications and notifications related to open enrollment submitted on or after the effective date of the act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a chronically absent student still open enroll in another school district?
Does this bill change deadlines for online learning open enrollment?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
11 actions- Feb 26, 2026HouseIntroducedRead first time, referred to Education. H.J. 440 .
- Feb 26, 2026HouseMessage from Senate. H.J. 439 .
- Feb 26, 2026SenateImmediate message. S.J. 417 .
- Feb 26, 2026SenateFloorPassed Senate , yeas 44, nays 0. S.J. 415 .
- Feb 17, 2026SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 306 .
- Feb 17, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 301 .
Show 5 earlier actions
- Feb 17, 2026SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 2351 . S.J. 306 .
- Feb 11, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends amendment and passage.
- Feb 11, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 02/11/2026 12:30PM Room G15.
- Feb 3, 2026SenateSubcommittee: Evans, Shipley, and Trone Garriott. S.J. 189 .
- Jan 27, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Education. S.J. 143 .
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.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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