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HF537 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to the Iowa law enforcement academy and required annual training.

A bill for an act relating to the Iowa law enforcement academy and required annual training.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
WHEELER
Last action
2025-02-20
Official status
Introduced, referred to Judiciary. H.J. 381 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to the Iowa law enforcement academy and required annual training.

A bill for an act relating to the Iowa law enforcement academy and required annual training.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to the Iowa law enforcement academy and required annual training.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-02-20 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Judiciary. H.J. 381 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to the Iowa law enforcement academy and required annual training.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House

File

537

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

537

BY

WHEELER

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

the

Iowa

law

enforcement

academy

and

1

required

annual

training.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

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537

Section

1.

Section

80B.11G,

Code

2025,

is

amended

to

read

1

as

follows:

2

80B.11G

Annual

training

——

de-escalation

techniques

and

3

prevention

of

bias

.

4

1.

A

law

enforcement

agency

shall

provide

annual

training

5

to

every

law

enforcement

officer

on

issues

relating

to

6

de-escalation

techniques

and

the

prevention

of

bias

.

Every

law

7

enforcement

officer

in

the

state

must

participate

in

annual

8

training

in

accordance

with

this

section

.

9

2.

The

academy

shall

develop

and

disseminate

training

10

guidelines

for

all

law

enforcement

officers

consistent

with

11

best

practice

guidelines.

12

3.

Every

law

enforcement

officer

shall

adhere

to

the

13

training

guidelines

developed

by

the

academy

pursuant

to

this

14

section

.

The

training

guidelines

shall

include

all

of

the

15

following:

instruction

on

de-escalation

techniques,

including

16

verbal

and

physical

tactics

to

minimize

the

need

for

the

use

of

17

force

and

nonlethal

methods

of

applying

force.

18

a.

An

emphasis

on

law

enforcement

officer

understanding

19

and

respect

for

diverse

communities

and

the

importance

of

20

effective,

noncombative

methods

of

carrying

out

law

enforcement

21

activities

in

a

diverse

community.

22

b.

Instruction

on

diverse

communities

in

order

to

foster

23

mutual

respect

and

cooperation

between

law

enforcement

and

24

members

of

all

diverse

communities.

25

c.

An

examination

of

the

patterns,

practices,

and

protocols

26

that

cause

biased

law

enforcement

actions,

and

the

tools

to

27

prevent

such

actions.

28

d.

An

examination

and

identification

of

key

indices

and

29

perspectives

that

make

up

differences

among

residents

in

a

30

local

community.

31

e.

Instruction

on

implicit

bias

and

consideration

of

the

32

negative

impact

of

bias,

whether

intentional

or

implicit,

33

on

effective

law

enforcement,

including

examination

of

how

34

historical

perceptions

of

profiling

have

harmed

community

35

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H.F.

537

relations.

1

f.

Instruction

on

the

perspectives

of

diverse

local

2

constituency

groups

from

experts

on

particular

cultural

and

law

3

enforcement-community

relations

issues

in

a

local

area.

4

g.

A

presentation

of

the

history

and

the

role

of

the

civil

5

rights

movement

and

the

impact

on

law

enforcement.

6

h.

Instruction

on

de-escalation

techniques,

including

verbal

7

and

physical

tactics

to

minimize

the

need

for

the

use

of

force

8

and

nonlethal

methods

of

applying

force.

9

4.

In

developing

the

training

guidelines,

the

academy

shall

10

consult

with

the

Iowa

civil

rights

commission,

groups

and

11

individuals

having

an

interest

and

expertise

in

the

field

of

12

cultural

awareness

and

diversity,

and

advocacy

organizations

13

with

an

interest

and

expertise

in

the

field

of

biased

law

14

enforcement

actions.

The

academy

shall

also

consult

with

local

15

law

enforcement

agencies

to

consider

challenges

and

barriers

to

16

providing

training

under

the

guidelines

and

methods

to

ease

the

17

burden

on

such

agencies.

18

EXPLANATION

19

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

20

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

21

This

bill

relates

to

the

Iowa

law

enforcement

academy

and

22

required

annual

training.

23

Current

law

requires

every

law

enforcement

officer

in

the

24

state

to

participate

in

annual

training

on

issues

relating

to

25

de-escalation

techniques

and

the

prevention

of

bias.

26

The

bill

removes

the

requirement

of

annual

prevention

of

27

bias

training.

28

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