A bill for an act relating to tuition, degree programs, employment, and related matters pertaining to students enrolled at regents institutions. (Formerly HSB 51 .) Effective date: 07/01/2025.

STATE OF IOWA
KIM REYNOLDS
GOVERNOR
May 6, 2025
The Honorable Paul Pate
Secretary of State of Iowa
State Capitol
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Dear Mr. Secretary,
I hereby transmit:
House File 440, an Act relating to tuition, degree programs, employment, and related
matters pertaining to students enrolled at regents institutions.
The above House File is hereby approved on this date.
Sinc^ely
KimTOynolds
Governor of Iowa
cc: Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House
STATE CAPITOL DES MOINES, IOWA 50319 515.281.5211 FAX 515.725.3527 WWW.GOVERNOR.IOWA.GOV
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House Pile 440
AN ACT
RELATING TO TUITION, DEGREE PROGRAMS, EMPLOYMENT, AND
RELATED MATTERS PERTAINING TO STUDENTS ENROLLED AT REGENTS
INSTITUTIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act shall be known and may be
cited as the "College Affordability Act".
Sec. 2. Section 262.9r subsection 19, paragraph a. Code
2025, is amended to read as follows:
a» Not less than thirty days prior to action by the board on
any proposal to increase tuition, fees, or charges at one or
more of the institutions of higher education under its control,
send written notification of the amount of the proposed
increase including a copy of the proposed tuition increase
docket memorandum prepared for its consideration to the
presiding officers of the student government organization of
the affected institutions. The final decision on an increase
in tuition or mandatory fees charged to all students at an
institution for a fiscal year shall be made at a regular
House File 440, p. 2
meeting and shall be reflected in a final docket memorandum
that states the estimated total cost of attending each of the
institutions of higher education under the board's control.
The regular meeting shall be held in Ames, Cedar Falls, or Iowa
City and shall not be held during a period in which classes
have been suspended for university holiday or break. The final
decision on an increase in tuition charged to all students at
an institution for a fiscal year shall be made at a regular
meeting held no later than April 30 of the previous fiscal
year.
Sec. 3. Section 262.9, Code 2025, is amended by adding the
following new subsections:
NEW SUBSECTION. 39. Direct each institution of higher
education governed by the board to begin efforts to offer at
least one baccalaureate degree program that can be completed
in three years.
NEW SUBSECTION. 40. Direct each institution of higher
education governed by the board to begin implementation of
at least one work study program whereby a student engages in
part-time employment while pursuing a degree with the employer
being financially responsible for the student's tuition
and mandatory fees during semesters in which the student is
employed by the employer.
Sec. 4. INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNED BY THE
STATE BOARD OF REGENTS — UNDERGRADUATE TUITION — STUDY.
1. The State board of regents shall conduct a study on
establishing a policy whereby the tuition amount charged
to students classified as residents that is charged to an
undergraduate student in the student's first academic year
of enrollment will not increase in the student's subsequent
academic years of undergraduate enrollment for three
consecutive academic years.
2. The study shall include projections of how much such a
policy would increase enrollment at each of the institutions
of higher education governed by the board, the technical
feasibility of such a policy, the cost of implementation of
such a policy, and the results of implementation of similar
policies in other states.
House File 440, p. 3
3. The board shall submit a report on the results of the
study to the governor and the general assembly no later than
November 30, 2025.
PAT grassle:
Speaker of the House
AMY SINCLAIR
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
is known as House File 440, Ninety-first General Assembly.
Approved
ME(^AN NELSON
Chief (#lerk the House
2025
KIM R
Governor