Iowa House Bill Would Set Residency Requirement for ISU Veterinary Medicine Program

An Iowa House subcommittee approved legislation Tuesday that would place Iowa State University’s veterinary medicine program on the list of professional degrees with residency requirements.

House File 2209 would require that at least 80% of students in ISU’s DVM program be Iowa residents or have previously attended a college in the state. Similar residency rules were enacted last year for the University of Iowa’s dental and medical programs.

Rep. Craig Williams (R-Manning), the bill’s sponsor, told the subcommittee that the measure aims to address Iowa’s shortage of rural veterinarians. “We have the best veterinary medicine school in the country, and we ought to be able to get those two things together,” Williams said.

The bill also encourages ISU to give admission preference to applicants pursuing the “mixed animal option” track and who intend to work in rural Iowa communities after graduation. Additionally, it bars the use of noncognitive tests, like CASPer, which the Iowa Board of Regents no longer requires.

Currently, Iowa students make up just under half of ISU’s veterinary program. With the expanded definition of qualifying students in the bill, that ratio would rise slightly above 50%. Only 13 Iowa students pursued veterinary programs outside the state last year, and enrolling them all would bring residency to 57%.

Iowa Veterinary Medical Association Past President Ken May highlighted the importance of programs that provide immediate impact, such as loan forgiveness for rural vets, while subcommittee members debated the effectiveness of residency quotas versus incentive programs.

Rep. Jeff Shipley (R-Fairfield) emphasized the urgency of the issue: “We need to make sure we’re doing whatever we can to ensure that we’re getting Iowans in these positions and veterinarians that will stick around and serve rural Iowa.”

The bill now awaits further consideration by the higher education committee.