A bill for an act relating to health-related matters, including health-related professions, nutrition, medication, and education, and including effective date and applicability provisions. (Formerly HSB 694.) Effective Date: Conditional, 07/01/2026. Applicability date: 07/01/2027.
HF 2676 is a broad health-and-education bill titled the Iowa Make America Healthy Again Act. It directs licensing boards to require continuing education in nutrition and metabolic health for certain physicians and requires Iowa medical and osteopathic schools to add 40 hours of nutrition/metabolic health coursework as a graduation requirement beginning July 1, 2028. The bill also changes state nutrition assistance policy by directing the Department of Health and Human Services to seek a SNAP waiver so that eligible foods are treated as healthy foods under state-defined standards, and it authorizes participation in the summer EBT program only if the federal eligible-food rules align with that approach.
The bill makes several school-related changes. It bars school districts from serving or selling meals containing specified additives and dyes, including Red Dye 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, potassium bromate, and propylparaben, with an exception for certain USDA direct-delivery foods. It extends those meal rules to charter schools and innovation zone schools that operate breakfast or lunch programs, and it applies the same standards to nonpublic schools that receive state breakfast or lunch funds. It also creates new student instructional technology standards for grades K-5, including a 60-minute daily limit on digital instruction, a required district technology-use policy, and a checklist before adopting one-to-one device programs, while also creating a working group to study the cognitive effects of school technology on students in grades 6-12.
The bill also expands access to emergency medications and changes pharmacy practice. It authorizes facilities such as food establishments, carnivals, camps, youth sports facilities, and sports arenas to obtain and stock epinephrine auto-injectors for use in anaphylaxis emergencies, with liability protections for trained personnel acting in good faith. It updates school self-administration and stock-medication laws to include epinephrine nasal sprays and bronchodilator canisters/spacers, and it allows schools to maintain and use stock supplies for students or others experiencing anaphylaxis or respiratory distress. In addition, it creates a new provision allowing pharmacists and pharmacies to distribute ivermectin for human consumption over the counter without a prescription drug order and without professional discipline or civil/criminal penalties under that section.
HF 2676 also enacts the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, allowing Iowa to join a multi-state compact for telepsychology and temporary in-person practice by licensed psychologists across state lines. The compact establishes a commission, rulemaking authority, information-sharing and disciplinary processes, and procedures for interstate practice privileges, while preserving state authority over licensure and adverse action. The bill further revises physical education and physical activity requirements in Iowa schools, including reinstating the presidential physical fitness test in the curriculum, changing daily and weekly physical activity minimums, and adjusting exemptions for certain students such as those in JROTC or legislative page programs.
Overall, the bill’s impact is significant across health care, schools, and professional regulation. It amends multiple chapters of the Iowa Code affecting medical licensing, medical education, school nutrition, school health services, pharmacy practice, student technology use, physical education, and interstate psychology licensure. The general sentiment in the recorded votes appears mixed but ultimately favorable enough for enactment: the bill passed both chambers, but several amendment and procedural votes were close or failed, suggesting substantial debate over parts of the package. The main points of contention likely centered on the school food restrictions, the technology limits, the ivermectin provision, and the broader scope of state intervention in education and health policy, while supporters appear to have framed the bill as a preventive-health and child-wellness measure.
HF 2676 amends or creates provisions in chapters governing medical licensing and education, public health nutrition programs, school food standards, student medication access, pharmacy practice, school technology policy, physical education, and the psychology licensure compact. It imposes new continuing education and graduation requirements for certain health professionals, directs state agencies to pursue federal nutrition-program waivers, restricts specified food additives in school meals, authorizes stock epinephrine and bronchodilator supplies in schools and certain public facilities, permits over-the-counter ivermectin distribution by pharmacies, and establishes statewide limits and planning requirements for elementary digital instruction. It also makes Iowa a party to the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, which will affect psychologists, licensing boards, and interstate telehealth practice.
The bill appears to have had generally supportive but not unanimous backing. It passed the House and Senate, but the vote history shows several failed procedural motions and amendments, indicating active disagreement over some provisions. The final passage votes suggest a workable majority in favor, while the narrower or failed votes point to a bill that was controversial in parts rather than broadly consensus-driven.
Likely areas of contention were the school nutrition restrictions on artificial dyes and preservatives, the K-5 digital instruction cap and one-to-one device review requirements, and the ivermectin over-the-counter provision. The bill’s broad reach into school operations and health policy likely drew opposition from members concerned about local control, implementation burdens, or the scientific and regulatory basis for some provisions. Supporters, by contrast, appear to have emphasized nutrition, child health, emergency preparedness, and parental concerns about technology use and school meals.