Iowa City school district encourages parents to stop making individual gifts to teachers

Those coffee mugs, hand lotions, and gift cards you've been giving your kids' teachers for the holidays?

They may be illegal.

That's according to some school officials who say teacher gifts violate Iowa's gift law, which prohibits public employees - including teachers - from accepting a gift of $3 or more in one calendar day from a restricted donor.

'It's a nice thing to give a teacher a gift card, but it's illegal to do that,” said Craig Hansel, chief financial officer for the Iowa City Community School District.

Hansel, who warns against teacher gifts in regular talks with parent-teacher groups, said the restriction is intended to protect teachers from expectations of preferential treatment or claims of bias.

But not all school districts agree. The Cedar Rapids Community School District and College Community school district allow employees to receive student gifts, arguing students are not restricted donors.

Under Iowa Code Section 68B, a restricted donor is defined as a person or company seeking a contract or financial arrangement with the public agency, having a matter pending before a government agency or serving as lobbyist or client of a lobbyist.

The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board noted in a 2007 opinion students, in most cases, are not restricted donors because they don't stand to gain financially by giving a gift to a school employee.

A knowing violation of Iowa's gift law carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail and a $1,500 fine.

Hansel doesn't anticipate cracking down on teachers or parents for holiday gift-giving. 'I would like to think parents wouldn't put teachers in the position of having to refuse it (a gift),” he said.

Teacher gifts have been a hot topic locally and across the country. Several Washington, D.C., area school districts have capped teacher gifts at $100 per family per year and Massachusetts' ethics laws limit spending on teacher gifts to $50 per family. The goal is to limit the potential for favoritism and level the playing field for rich and poor families, according to the Washington Post.

Emily Farber, a mother of four from Iowa City, said she spends about $10 per teacher and administrator.

'There are times teachers have gone above and beyond for my kids,” she said. 'It's a way to say thank you for working with us.”

Farber, who taught English two years at Regina High School, said some of the most special gifts were handwritten cards.

Allison Haack, also of Iowa City, said she feels pressure to come up with a creative gift for her daughter's teachers at Lemme Elementary. 'I feel like everyone is trying to outdo each other with cool Pinterest things they made,” Haack said.

There are ways for students to thank teachers without giving individual gifts, Hansel said. Iowa City parents or parent-teacher groups may give money to the school district foundation for an activity fund for the school, he said. That money would be directed to the principal, who could buy something to benefit students and teachers.

'That way, you're not singling any one individual out,” Hansel said. 'It's done in a collective manner.”