District staff recommended revising the Urbandale Community School District's affirmative action plan to remove any wording that could be interpreted as allowing use of protected characteristics in employment decisions, citing recent federal and state developments and the potential risk to state and federal funding.

A staff presenter summarized historical and recent legal context for school affirmative-action plans, including past federal executive orders, recent Supreme Court rulings affecting race-based admissions, January 2025 executive orders that, according to the presenter, rescinded prior federal written-plan requirements, and federal Department of Education guidance and enforcement activity. On the state level, the presenter cited Iowa case law and House File 856 as shaping current obligations for districts.

The presenter said the district remains legally obligated to submit an affirmative action plan for data collection under existing state code, but recommended removing any references that could be read as authorizing affirmative-action decision-making (for example, using protected class as a decision factor) so as to protect state and federal funding.

"So to summarize, the district is still legally obligated to submit this plan to the state and that focuses on data collection," the presenter said, adding that language that suggests using protected classes to make personnel decisions "should be removed to protect and preserve your state and federal funding." Board members asked clarifying questions and staff said a final version would return to the board for approval on Jan. 26.

At the same meeting the board also reviewed related policy work: policy 105 (nondiscrimination and bullying definitions) was presented for first reading and board members discussed adding a catch-all phrase—"or any other actual or perceived trait or characteristic"—to ensure the policy's list of traits is illustrative rather than exhaustive. Staff said the policy will be brought back for a second reading and vote at the next regular meeting.