(Atlantic) At Wednesday’s Atlantic School Board meeting, High School Principal Dr. James Brauer outlined how Iowa’s new Student Removal Act is being implemented in local schools following the passage of Senate File 2428 during the 2026 legislative session.
The law, signed by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, establishes procedures for removing students from classrooms because of non-violent or violent behavior. School administrators say the legislation is intended to provide students with a safe, orderly learning environment while protecting teachers and other students.
Brauer says under the law, non-violent removal can occur when a student’s behavior interrupts classroom instruction. Examples include disorderly conduct, abusive language, bullying, harassment, and repeated behaviors that prevent a teacher from conducting class.
Violent removal involves threats of violence toward teachers or other students, significant property damage, or assault.
For non-violent incidents, teachers have the option of requesting a student’s removal. Once that request is made, an administrator cannot deny it. The student must remain under the supervision of an administrator or designee for 30 minutes.
Students in grades six through 12 cannot return to the classroom until the next school day. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade may return after an appropriate period and completion of the required procedures.
In cases involving violent behavior, teachers are required to have the student removed, and administrators must follow through with the removal.
School administrators have been developing procedures for student re-entry in accordance with guidance from the Iowa Department of Education and school administrators’ organizations. At the middle and high school levels, students complete a reflection or de-escalation exercise identifying what happened and what they could have done differently. Administrators then meet with the student either that day or the following day before the student returns to class.
The law also requires every school to establish an oversight review committee consisting of two teachers elected by the faculty and one person appointed by a school administrator. The committee establishes conditions for students to return to the classroom.
If the required procedures are not followed, a teacher can object to a student’s return to the classroom. Teachers also have the option of filing a grievance with the school district’s board of education if they believe a principal failed to follow the law or the school’s oversight review committee procedures.
The legislation establishes additional consequences for repeat removals. Following a second non-violent removal and any subsequent removal, an administrator must assign an in-school or out-of-school suspension. Administrators do not have discretion to waive that requirement. An alternative placement may also be considered if the district has one available.
Administrators also emphasized that students receiving special education services must continue to receive a free and appropriate public education. Procedures must ensure students continue receiving special education services and have the opportunity to maintain their schoolwork following removal.
Brauer said they began informing parents about the new requirements through social media and Facebook in August. Administrators also discussed the law with new students and parents during back-to-school orientation and conducted staff training to explain the requirements.
At the high school, Brauer said the law had been invoked three times, all involving non-violent removals. None of those students had reached a second removal. He said the middle school had reportedly experienced one removal, as had one of the elementary schools.
