Iowa's House File 2317, which if enacted would have reversed the state's adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards in 2005, died on February 16, 2018, when a deadline for bills to pass committee in their house of origin passed.
In addition to undoing the adoption of the NGSS, HF 2317 would also have prevented the state from requiring adoption of the state science standards or the use of specific instructional materials and would have required further revisions to the state science standards to be approved by the legislature and governor.
The lead sponsor of HF 2317 was Sandy Salmon (R-District 63), who originally objected to the state's adoption of the NGSS in part because they "present evolution as scientific fact and shine a negative light on human impacts on climate change," according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette (March 2, 2015).
Salmon previously introduced bills to block the adoption of the NGSS, to reverse the adoption of the NGSS, and to make compliance with the NGSS optional; she also cosponsored a 2017 bill requiring teachers to include "opposing points of view or beliefs" to accompany any instruction relating to evolution, the origins of life, global warming, or human cloning.
Among the organizations taking a stand against the bill were the Iowa Association of School Boards, the Iowa State Education Association, the Des Moines Public Schools, and the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Action Fund.