(Radio Iowa) – A Senate subcommittee has advanced a bill that’s a response to the case of Ian Roberts, the former Des Moines Superintendent who was arrested by immigration agents in September and has pleaded guilty to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen. The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners granted Roberts a professional license in 2023.

The bill says applicants for teaching and administrative positions in Iowa schools must provide proof to the state’s licensing board and the local school board that they are lawfully present AND authorized to work in the United States. Groups representing school boards and school administrators are suggesting the bill solely require proof a person is authorized to work in the U.S., since that’s the standard Iowa schools are using based on federal requirements.

Senator Lynn Evans, a Republican from Aurelia, says the bill would make state law stronger. “It takes some statements that would be interpreted as may or even directly labeled as may and changes those to a shall,” Evans says, “so that we’re not having things slip through the cracks.”

In October, Governor Reynolds issued an executive order requiring state agencies use federal databases to verify citizenship and immigration status of job applicants. The bill requires those checks for the initial application for a teacher’s or administrator’s license AND for renewing that state license.