DES MOINES â Republican lawmakers who control the Iowa Legislature pressed ahead Monday with plans to expand school choice for parents with public funds for private and charter schools and with requiring K-12 schools to offer an in-person instruction option as the state struggles through the pandemic.
âThis a huge day for students and parents as well,â said Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, on a day the Senate Education Committee passed Senate Study Bill 1064 and Senate Study Bill 1065.
However, representatives from education groups joined parents, epidemiology experts and Democratic lawmakers in trying to slow down a fast-track process of requiring 100-percent in-person classes for families that choose it, at least until school staffs could be vaccinated against COVID-19 and more mitigation measures were in place.
The Iowa Senate could debate both school bills as soon as this week.
Bills that would require in-person learning and create a system to direct public funding to private schools are moving to the Iowa Senate floor where votes could happen later this week.
The Iowa House and Senate are advancing bills that would help Gov. Kim Reynolds accomplish her priorities for education for the 2021 legislative session.
A bill advancing to the full Senate (SF 160) would mandate that schools offer a fully in-person learning option, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. A similar proposal (HF 103) passed out of a House subcommittee Monday.
Week 2 Update
Hello Friends,
The 2nd week of the session got off to a busy start. It is exciting to see the priorities laid out by myself and others become bills and start the legislative process. I will provide a quick overview of the capitol this week but please use my contact information at the bottom of this email if you have any questions.
1. Preschool
I am the proud sponsor of HF 14 which expands the ages of students who can enroll in preschool in the State of Iowa. Under this bill a child who turns five-years old prior to September 15th but after March 1st will be newly eligible to enroll in preschool with the same level of state support 4-year olds receive.
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Iowa Senate considering state scholarships to attend private school
Jesse Howard of the New London School Board.
The governor’s plan to provide $5,000 state scholarships to cover private school or homeschooling expenses is being debated in the Iowa Senate this week.
The plan would also stop administrators in five school districts with voluntary diversity plans from denying open enrollment transfers out of those districts.
“We’re empowering parents with the ability to choose what’s best for their children,” Logan Shine, one of Governor Kim Reynolds’ policy advisors, said this morning.
Trish Wilger, executive director of Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education, was one of two people to speak in favor of the concept at a subcommittee hearing this morning.
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Bill would remove transfer limits in five Iowa school districts
A bill in the Iowa House would allow all students to transfer out of five Iowa school districts where diversity plans currently limit open enrollment into other districts.
Under current law, administrators in the Des Moines, Davenport, Waterloo, Postville and West Liberty Public Schools may limit the number of transfers, to maintain a student body with diverse economic and racial backgrounds.
Iowa Association of School Boards lobbyist Emily Piper said there are good reasons to deny some requests to transfer to a neighboring district.