Iowa House Republican lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday to suspend or expel non-citizen students — and terminate non-citizen faculty — who declare support for or materially support foreign terrorist organizations.

This comes after the Israel-Hamas war, which killed over 46,000 Palestinians, and the demonstrations condemning the killing of Palestinians by Israeli defense forces disrupted college campuses around the nation last year. The conflict, and the U.S.’s support for Israel in the conflict, led to an outcry on college campuses.

College campuses across the nation, including the University of Iowa, saw massive protests, and some even had encampments, including an attempt and quick clampdown on an encampment on the UI campus.

The bill, House File 115, would require Iowa’s three public universities, including the UI and private universities that receive tuition grant money, adopt a policy prohibiting non-citizen students, faculty, and staff — who hold a temporary work or education visa — from expressing support for, persuading others to endorse, or materially support a foreign terrorist organization unless it is supported by the U.S.

The bill would require suspension of a student or termination of staff or faculty for one year on the first offense and permanent termination or expulsion on the second offense.

The policy would also require the university to investigate any suspicion or reported offenses, and it would require the university to inform the Department of Homeland Security that the student, staff, or faculty member is no longer attending or employed at the university.

The policy would also prohibit the student or faculty member from attending or being employed by another public university if they are expelled or terminated under the policy.

The bill advanced on party lines out of a panel of three Iowa lawmakers from the House Higher Education committee.

Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, said he has concerns about the bill, specifically that there are already actions in place for those who support foreign terrorist organizations. Wilburn also said the bill makes no mention of domestic terrorist organizations.

“I would encourage you to not to move this forward,” Wilburn said to the Republicans on the panel. “There’s no hurry on this. When I say there’s no hurry, again, if someone is inciting a riot, if someone’s inciting threats to our country or citizens, or any visitors that we have in our country, they contact law enforcement.”

Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, said he would consider an amendment to add domestic terrorism, though he did not commit to it being taken.

Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Fairfield, said he would like to see what the reason for the bill was and what really happened on Iowa’s campuses and is interested in more discussion on the bill.

The bill will move to consideration by the entire House Higher Education Committee, though it is not scheduled for consideration at their Wednesday meeting.

Iowa lawmakers advance bill waiving tuition for students with perfect ACT scores

Advanced by a panel of House lawmakers Tuesday, House File 154 would waive undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees at state regent institutions for Iowa residents who receive a perfect 36 on the ACT.

Students who receive a maximum score on the college readiness assessments administered by the college board would also qualify for the cost waive.

The bill would also require the institution to provide the student with a stipend of $5,000 a semester.

The student would be required to make academic progress toward graduation in order to continue to receive the cost waive and stipend.

Jillian Carlson, the Board of Regents and University of Northern Iowa state relations officer, said regent institutions generally provide full-ride scholarships for students who score that high on the ACT.

Carlson said providing a stipend for these students is a new idea, and the board would like to see the state develop support.

Iowa Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, said the intent of the bill is on the right track, but the details need to be more flushed out.

Kurth recommended providing more information about the college readiness assessment, which could be the SAT, and taking a closer look at the number of students who would receive the scholarship and stipends.

Iowa Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, said funds saved from the elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in regent universities could be used to support these efforts.

Collins proposed adding an amendment to allow high scores from other standardized tests, such as the classic learning test, to qualify a student for the cost waiver.

The legislation will now be considered by the full House Higher Education committee.

Iowa lawmakers advance bill to require regent universities to disclose foreign funding sources

Iowa House lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday that would require the state’s three regent universities to disclose and publish a report detailing foreign funding sources and their purposes.

The bill, House Study Bill 54, would require regent universities to publish a report each year detailing the amount, type, purpose, and description of any funding from foreign sources. The bill exempts tuition payments from foreign individuals for students at regent universities.

The bill passed a panel of three Iowa lawmakers in the House Higher Education Committee on party lines on Tuesday.

Keith Saunders, a lobbyist with the Board of Regents, said the regents agree with the spirit of the bill but offered amendment language that makes the bill more similar to already established federal reporting requirements, under the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Andy Conlin, a lobbyist with State Shield, an advocacy group that looks to fend off foreign interference in government, said they agree with the amendment language but would like to see the reporting requirements expanded to include amounts over $50,000 rather than the $250,000 that is required by federal law.

The bill will move to consideration by the entire House Higher Education Committee but is not scheduled for consideration at Wednesday’s meeting of the committee.

Iowa lawmakers advance a bill requiring the majority of medical students are Iowa residents

Iowa House lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday to require 80 percent of those accepted to the University of Iowa’s schools of nursing, medical, and dental schools are residents of Iowa or previously attended an Iowa community college, regent university, or private college.

The bill, House File 137, passed on party lines out of a panel of three Iowa lawmakers on the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday.

Representatives from the UI said the big issue with the bill would be that it would result in 15 percent budget cuts for the College of Nursing, which would severely impact the program, which is the number one ranked public university nursing program in the country, according to the U.S. News and World Report.

Out-of-state students generate higher tuition revenues than in-state students for the college and limiting the number of out-of-state students would affect the program’s budget. Putting a hard cap would handicap the college’s recruitment efforts.

Representatives for medical organizations around the state spoke in favor of the bill as a way to address the nursing and physician shortage in the state, pointing to the state’s low retention rates for medical students as a major factor in the shortage.

Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, said while she appreciates the bill’s intention, residents of Iowa are more likely to stay and practice here, so it could inhibit the state’s growth in attracting new talent.

Matson said she moved to Iowa with her husband so he could attend medical school at Des Moines University and originally planned on moving back after medical school, though they stayed after he decided to do residency and practice in the state.

“We chose to stay because of the opportunities that were afforded to us here,” Matson said. “While I understand and appreciate the spirit of this, in the sense of wanting to make sure that Iowans are staying and practicing here, I do not disagree with that, but I feel like this is a little bit short-sighted in the sense of, we need to grow.”

Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, who chaired the panel, said she and her husband moved to Iowa from Michigan because they were recruited but view themselves as an exception to the rule.

Meyer pointed to data that shows that residents of Iowa are more likely to stay in the state after graduation and practice in the state.

The bill will move to consideration by the whole House Health and Human Services Committee.