Visiting with veterans; advancing school choice

The legislature reconvened on Tuesday after a three-day weekend to observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The legislative week may have been shorter, but we still packed lots of business into the days we were at the Capitol.

We saw the introduction of many bills, held subcommittees on others, and even began to see legislation passing out of committees. Personally, I was the chair of the subcommittee for SF 3, which is a bill from the Workforce Committee and relates to the treatment of adoptive parent employees and making penalties applicable.

My subcommittee recommended passage of this bill. Now, the next step for this piece of legislation is to be voted on by the entire Workforce Committee.

In addition to our work on legislation, we hosted the Iowa Youth Conference for their day on the hill.

This event provided us with the opportunity to speak with young Iowans who are passionate about our state on the work we do here in the statehouse. I was able to stop in the rotunda and talk to Ellie and Addy Yates about their opinions and ideas on voter registration.

Not only did we meet with the Iowa Youth Conference, but a number of other groups came to Des Moines to talk to their legislators about important issues, including the Iowa Travel Industry Partners, the State Police Officers Council, and the Iowa Chamber Alliance.

It is a pleasure to meet with these groups and people, listen to their concerns and the issues important to them, and work on the best path forward to make improvements to benefit Iowans.

On Jan. 13, I was proud to see Gov. Reynolds be sworn in as governor for another term. It was a great way to end a week full of speeches and ceremonies, and listen to her talk about her passion for Iowa and its people.

My family was able to make it back down to Des Moines to attend this ceremony and the ball that followed on Friday evening and we all agreed that this was an amazing experience and something we will always remember.

Veterans Day at the Capitol

Every year, veterans from all over Iowa come to the Capitol. On Wednesday, this tradition continued.

Many of these men and women gathered in the rotunda and listened to speeches from various officials, including Gov. Reynolds, Major General Benjamin Corell, retiring Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, Todd Jacobus, the Commandant of the Iowa Veterans Home, and the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chairs, Sen. Jeff Reichman and Rep. Chad Ingels.

Many veterans spent time in front of one particular wall in the Capitol rotunda. The rotunda has a wall with the names and pictures of Iowans who died in the line of duty in the War on Terror.

Some reminisced about people on that wall they knew while others simply stood in silence. We are grateful to all of them for their service and sacrifice for this great country.

Students First Act Advances

Last week the Senate Education and Appropriations committees passed Senate File 94, commonly known as the Students First Act. Gov. Reynolds spoke at length about this bill in her Condition of the State speech last week.

The bill has been the primary topic in the Iowa Senate over the first two weeks. After passing both committees the bill is now eligible to be debated by the full Senate.

The Students First Act empowers all parents and students to choose the public or non-public school to best fit their educational needs.

It establishes an Educational Savings Account (ESA) for parents to pay for private school tuition, tutoring or other non-public school related expenses. The plan phases-in over a three-year period.

Once fully implemented all students will be eligible for an ESA. Currently, only families with significant financial means are able to afford to pay their income, sales, and property taxes while also paying thousands of dollars per year in private school tuition.

This bill opens school choice to low- and middle-income families as well.

The governor’s bill also includes over $1,200 per student in new funding for public schools with resident students attending a non-public school.

Public schools will keep their property tax revenue and they will receive an estimated $1,200 for each resident student opting for private education with an ESA.

SF 94 also creates an opportunity for nearly a hundred million dollars statewide, currently unused in restricted accounts in public schools, to be used to raise teacher pay.

Experiences in other states with substantive school choice programs show improved student achievement in both public and non-public schools.

Eleven peer-reviewed studies show improved achievement from students in private schools, and 25 studies show improved achievement from students in public school in states with school choice programs. Furthermore, students in rural schools also see improved achievement.

Arizona, a state with one of the most expansive school choice programs in the country, saw rural students improved by 21 points between 2007 and 2019 compared to a national rural decrease of two points.

Some critics say school choice will take funding away from public schools. This claim is quickly countered by the record of increases for K-12 schools over the last several years.

Since 2017, cumulative increases in K-12 spending is roughly $1.5 billion.

Next year, Iowa schools are expected to receive over $17,000 per student, for an average of over $340,000 for a classroom of 20 students, and a total of $8 billion statewide from all sources.

I have three children currently enrolled in and will continue to attend public school because I love our school and it is what is best for our family. I believe a vast majority of Iowa students will continue to choose public school.

Through school choice, we are offering an option for what education is best for the student. I want to make sure that every child gets the education they deserve to make them successful in the future.

I appreciate my constituents from District 46 reaching out to me on this topic and will consider everyone’s opinion and concerns before I vote.

As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any other concerns you have on this piece of legislation or any other piece of legislation we are working on in the legislature.

Overall, it was another busy, yet productive week in Des Moines at our beautiful Iowa State Capitol. I am eager to continue working on all of the important legislation that is being introduced in the 90th General Assembly.