All Roll Calls
Yes: 142 • No: 0
IowaSF 208691st General Assembly (2025–2026)Senate
A bill for an act authorizing schools to offer an elective junior fire fighter program to students enrolled in grades eleven and twelve. (Formerly SSB 3007.) Effective date: 07/01/2026.
Sponsored By: COMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE
Signed by Governor
labor and workforce
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 2 mixed.
Schools must insure student firefighter trainees
Beginning July 1, 2026, schools offering the junior firefighter program must provide medical and liability insurance for participating enrolled students. Coverage must apply to all program-related activities. The law does not specify coverage amounts or guarantee payment of every expense.
Student trainees lack workers’ compensation coverage
Beginning July 1, 2026, junior firefighter participants are not employees, volunteer firefighters, or fire department members for any legal purpose. Participation creates no employment relationship with a fire department or city and gives no right to related wages or benefits. Program injuries are not covered under Iowa workers’ compensation chapters 85, 85A, 85B, or 87. A parent or guardian must sign a liability waiver for a minor; adults and emancipated minors sign their own. Families may face injury costs that insurance does not cover.
New firefighter training with student safety limits
Beginning July 1, 2026, Iowa school districts and accredited nonpublic schools may offer firefighter training in grades 11–12. Schools can offer it after school or through career and technical education; they are not required to offer it. Schools must first agree with a local fire department on supervision, allowed activities, training, and insurance duties. Instructors and lessons need Fire Service Training Bureau approval, and instructors face existing background-check and termination rules. No participant may respond to real emergencies, be dispatched with a fire department, or provide firefighting or emergency medical services at active scenes. Students under 18 may do only legally allowed, supervised activities between 6 a.m. and midnight. Limits include training vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds and charged hose lines up to 1¾ inches; lines over 2½ inches face added restrictions. Hazardous work is barred or tightly limited, including confined-space entry, hazardous-material incidents, ice rescues, aerial ladders, and activities risking falls of 6 feet or more. Structure entry requires the incident commander to declare it safe; breathing equipment, power tools, and air-cylinder work face training and supervision limits.
Student firefighter testing access has limits
Beginning July 1, 2026, students who successfully finish the program can take Fire Fighter I certification tests. They must submit certification registration and local verification forms and pay any required registration fees. Training must be coordinated with a local fire department to cover required components, including written and practical exams. Students who pass before age 18 cannot receive certification until they turn 18.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
COMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE
Affiliation unavailable
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
House vote • 3/24/2026
Passed House
Yes: 95 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/24/2026
Passed Senate
Yes: 47 • No: 0
Actions Timeline
Signed by Governor.
6/1/2026SenateReported correctly enrolled, signed by President and Speaker, and sent to Governor.
5/5/2026SenateExplanation of vote.
3/30/2026HouseMessage from House.
3/24/2026SenateImmediate message.
3/24/2026HousePassed House, yeas 95, nays 0.
3/24/2026HousePlaced on calendar.
3/19/2026HouseCommittee vote: Yeas, 15. Nays, 0. Excused, 2.
3/18/2026HouseCommittee report, recommending passage.
3/18/2026HouseSubcommittee recommends passage.
3/12/2026legislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 03/12/2026 10:45AM House Lounge.
3/10/2026HouseSubcommittee: Rinker, Kniff McCulla and McBurney.
3/10/2026HouseRead first time, referred to Labor and Workforce.
2/25/2026HouseMessage from Senate.
2/24/2026HouseImmediate message.
2/24/2026SenatePassed Senate, yeas 47, nays 0.
2/24/2026SenateAmendment S-5025 filed, adopted.
2/24/2026SenateCommittee report, approving bill.
1/22/2026SenateIntroduced, placed on calendar.
1/22/2026Senate
Bill Text
As Introduced
Enrolled
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