Featuring markers that guide you to newsworthy highlights. These markers appear on the righthand side of your screen when you hit play on select videos. The timeline tool makes it easy to get an idea of what was debated and decided in washington. Scroll through and spend a few moments on the cspan points of interest. Iowa governor kim reynolds now from the capital in des moines. She addressed to the perry iowa mass shooting. She outlines several legislative proposals including lowering the income tax rate and increasing teachers starting salaries. This is about 50 minutes. Thank you. Thank you. Madam president , mr. Speaker, lieutenant governor, legislative leaders and members, justices and judges, my fellow iowans. Last week, the unthinkable happened in iowa when charts were fired in the halls of perry high school, taking the life of 11yearold and injuring seven others. Our hearts are still heavy in our prayers continue for the victims and their families and for the entire perry community. It is impossible to understand why things like this happen. The senselessness of it shakes us to our very core. Yet even in the darkest hour, light and hope breakthrough. This was certainly the case on that day. The principal was nearby when the shooting began. Despite the danger, he put himself in harms way, risking his life to protect his students. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds at close range. His unflinching bravery save lives that morning. He is a hero and we pray that he is back where he belongs soon with the students that are so lucky to have him. I also want to recognize the courageous actions of the local Law Enforcement officers First Responders, and state and federal agents that were on the scene that day. The first officers arrived just minutes after the shooting began and immediately entered the building. Within 30 minutes of that schools call for help, and arming of more than 150 officers and First Responders from across the metro and surrounding communities arrived on the scene to assist. Officers who heard the dispatch remarked how, everyone sounded, how focused they were. How well they worked together in the midst of such a tragedy. This is who iowans are and what we do. Whether in person or in spirit, iowans showed up that day in perry and they will be there every day through their recovery. Please join me in expressing our gratitude to the brave men and women who created courageously served that day. [applause] i was Law Enforcement officers, First Responders and Perry Service members live up to their oath to protect their communities and citizens every day. These jobs deman i was Law Enforcement officers,e First Responders and military Service Members live up to their oath to protect our communities and citizens every day. These jobs demand service above self and great personal sacrifice. This past year, officer kevin kram of the Police Department and tony hoffman, a firefighter gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Please join me in a moment of silence to honor these two Fallen Heroes and their families as well as all of those affected by the tragic events in perry. E i have addressed this body to report on the condition of the state. The first time the thank you. Or this is the seventh time i have addressed this body to address the condition of the state. In 2018 workforce was one of the top issues. At that time, 50 of iowans had education or training beyond high school. The result was thousands of highquality jobs going unfilled and thousands of iowans missing out on a rewarding career. Together, we set out to increase that number to 70 by 2025. I introduced the future ready iowa act and a few months later, it passed the legislature with unanimous support. Tonight, i am happy to say, we have reached our ambitious goal and we did it ahead of schedule. Now, i want to be clear, this is not mission accomplished. The work of connecting iowas employers with skilled workers will continue this session. Reaching this milestone serves as a powerful lesson in how real change happens. Future ready iowa was born in this building with an executive order and bipartisan legislation. We set the vision and laid the foundation and elected leaders are not the ones who got it done. It was the people of iowa, teachers, administrators, business owners, community colleges, and countless students and adult learners. They are the ones that created a new culture, merging the worlds of work and education like never before, creating apprenticeship programs and bringing the workplace into the classroom, they meant toward young iowans and encouraged their friends to go back to school and supported their loved ones dreams. Iowans took the tools we gave them, and build something extraordinary. To those who have contributed, thank you. You are one of the many reasons that i can stand before you tonight and confidently say, the condition of our state is strong. [applause] everything that we do in this building should follow that same pattern. Set a vision, build the infrastructure and turn it over to the people of i iowa for what they do best. School choice is yet another. Last year we made it our top everything we do in this building should follow that vision. We should turn it over to the people of iowa to do what they do best. Future ready iowa is one example. School choice is another. Last year, we made in our top priority to give all children a quality education that meets their needs. That meant giving families a choice. That is exactly what we did. In the face of intense pressure to keep the status quo, we passed one of the boldest School Choice programs in the country, kicking off a national revolution. We laid the foundation and now iowa parents, regardless of their income, can decide what is best for their children. One semester in, this new educational freedom is already changing lives. Just recently i heard from a family whose autistic son is thriving in a Catholic School that welcomed him with open arms. He feels like his boys now have a true shot on the american dream. The change we are seeing is not just limited to those who choose private schools. Educational freedom is not about public versus private. It is about what is best for each individual child. It is about understanding that there is not just one way to educate our kids. That is why im so happy to announce that this month, the state board of education will vote on eight new Public Charter School applications including schools that focus on Career Training and at risk youth. Public School Districts are also stepping up their efforts to attract and retain students. In des moines, the districts efforts delivered an educational project that attracts students and parents to stay with us or come back. The Public Schools sign net gain of students this year from private schools. They have created grand great things they are doing. It goes to show that a rising tide of competition and choice really can lift all votes. Education policies are working because together, we stood firm and passed a law that puts iowans in charge of their childrens future. [applause] by locking in educational freedom, a system however longstanding we must be guided in the same vegetables. By logging in educational freedom we signed a powerful message, when our children are concerned, no system, however longstanding is above reform. In this session, we must be guided by that same principle once again. There is a group of students being left behind. And another longstanding system in need of reform. Special education is overseen by what we call the area education agencies. These nine regional entities that operate without oversight were created in the 70s to provide special Education Support for School Districts. This regional system makes sense and it is not unique to iowa. What is unique to iowa is that our School Districts are forced to give special Education Funding to the aeas. This mandate leaves little room for accountability. Over the last year, in dozens of conversations with parents, teachers, School Administrators and aea staff, it has become clear that while some aeas are doing great work, some are underperforming. We have superintendents that will not use their services that are required to pay for them. Aeas have grown beyond the core mission of making top heavy organizations with high administrative expenses. The results are troubling. Iowa students with disabilities are performing below the national average. In the last five years, they have ranked 30th or worse on nine out of 12 National Assessments and iowa spends 5300 more per pupil on special education than the national average. That is unacceptable. Tonight, i am announcing legislation to change it. Under my proposal, aeas will focus on students with disabilities as they should. Independent oversight will move to the department of education and most importantly, School Districts will now control their special education funds. Meaning there will no longer be mandated to send these funds to the aeas. If the school likes the service, they can continue to use them. If they want to use a neighboring aea instead, they can do that. Or they can go outside the aea system, contract with a private company or partner with other districts to share a speech or behavioral therapist. Or they can spend more on special education teachers and put the dollars right into the classroom. In short, each school will decide how best to meet the needs of their students. I know there are a lot of parents of students with disabilities who have been told that we are planning to end the aeas or cut services that their families depend on. Let me speak directly to you. This claim is categorically false. In fact, we are not reducing special Education Funding by one dime. We are giving control of the funding to those who work directly with your child on a daily basis and taking special education off of autopilot where it has been stuck for far too long. Once again, lets drive transformational change and do whats right for our children. Being read as a key component is a key to every child success. Being able to read is a key component of every childs success. Reading scores have held steady over the last few years because unlike so many other states, we kept our kids in school throughout the pandemic. Holding steady is not good enough, especially when reading is the foundation of learning. Children who cannot read by thirdgrader four times more likely to drop out of high school which dramatically increases their chances of being arrested, using illegal drugs, and having poor health. 35 of iowas thirdgraders are not reading proficiently. Again, it is better than most states. 60 of california thirdgraders do not meet that mark. Something is clearly not working. We are the only state in the country that does not require competency in Early Literacy instruction for teacher licensure. The only state and over the last few decades, the way that we teach reading has changed from what we know works, sounding out letters, phonics has fallen out of fashion. Many educators are not letting phonics because a thing of the past. She teaches reading to High School Students who do not speak english as their primary language. What a difficult job and she has done amazing things. Using Evidence Base instruction grounded in the science of reading, anne has helped increase the reading proficiency of her students by 25 . As she herself puts it, she is giving these students one of the most fundamental human rights in education. I agree. In recognition of her success, anne has been named the 2024 iowa teacher of the year. She is here with us tonight. Please join me in recognizing her outstanding efforts. Would you spread what shes doing to every school in our state to make teaching techniques are grounded. I want to spread what anne is doing at hoover to every classroom in the state. Im proud to announce we are well on our way. Through a partnership with alexia learning, the state is providing a no charge a pro program to Elementary School teachers. This helped improve reading scores in other states and i am confident he will do the same here. Already, 2000 teachers and administrators have started training or are registered to start soon. We will also require as every other state does that our teachers pass a nationally recognized test and we will hold colleges and universities accountable by making the foundation of reading assessment a requirement for education majors to graduate. Like their students, our students educators will meet High Expectations when they have the support that they need. I hope every legislator in this room will join me in making literacy a top priority in every iowa classroom. System, l always depend on great teachers. Aside from parents, teachers are some of the most influential figures. Whatever improvements we make to the Education System, the success of our kids will always depend on great teachers. Aside from parents, teachers are some of the most influential figures in a childs life. They push them to be their best, set them on a path to success, and impact and impart a love of learning that can change their lives for the better. We want younger iowans to look at the teaching profession as something to aspire to. One of the highest callings one can have. Lets make sure that teacher pay send that message. Tonight, i am asking the legislature to invest 96 million in new money to increase starting pay by 50 to 50,000 and set the minimum salary of 62,000 for teachers with 12 years of experience. In addition, i am allocating 10 million to a meritbased Grant Program that will reward teachers that have gone above and beyond to help their students succeed. These investments will put iowa in the top five states for starting pay and help recruit more of the best and brightest to join the teaching profession. A rare special session a lot of fetal heartbeat bill for the first time. As an act in a rare and historic session we voted to pass the fetal heart book heartbeat bill. I was more than an ordinary vote. An act of courage and conviction that will save precious lives. I want to thank you for putting iowa firmly on the side of life. Bypassing the heartbeat bill, we affirmed the essential truth, every iowa in counts. To continue with a robust quality of life, we need to ensure that those that are struggling have what they need to have the care they need. I am proposing to propose that coverage to 12 months for new moms that make less than 42,000 per year. Lets do more to help moms, babies, and their families get off to a good start. Critical for families working to get back on their feet the Government Support is the first step on the road selfsufficient programs like medicaid are critical for families working to get back on their feet. Government support is the first step to lasting self sufficiency. Support from inside the community is just as important. The good news is that many of these resources already exist across our state. From faith communities to nonprofits and so many other wonderful organizations, they are doing lifechanging work every single day. The governments role is not to replace these Grassroots Efforts but to amplify and facilitate them. I am thrilled to announce thrive iowa. A new initiative that will leverage faithbased organizations and private Sector Networks to collect individuals to support outside of government assistance. Whatever the challenge, thrive iowa will be there with dedicated navigators to help those in iowa to gain independence and life will change for the better. Media in the aftermath of covid with the influence of social media and a breakdown of the family, Mental Health remains a real challenge for many iowans. We have made significant progress over the last several years investing millions in Behavioral Health providers, creating the states first Mental Health system and funding numerous projects around the state. One of those projects will soon mark a pivotable no for iowas youth. A youth centered nonprofit will open emory recovery campus. A new facility offering 70 Behavioral Health beds and is focused on emergency shelter, crisis stabilization and Addiction Treatment. This project, the first of its kind in iowa, represents the largest private, Public Investment in childrens Behavioral Health in our history. It is truly a model for our state and the country. With us tonight is the ceo andrew allen and we are especially proud to have carly and andrew, siblings who recently graduated from the Addiction Treatment program. They are shared battle against Substance Use disorder is all too familiar to families struggling through the ovoid epidemic. In the midst of desperation, there is hope for recovery. Please join me in recognizing them and congratulating them. [applause] theres so more work to be done. In iowa there is little to no coordination for Mental Health in 19 Substance Use. Its a problem because over there is still more work to be done, in iowa, there is little to no coordination between the 13 Mental Health and 19 Substance Use regions and that is a problem because over 25 of