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Legislators talk school choice, tort reform
Andy Hallman
Mar. 14, 2022 11:26 am, Updated: Mar. 15, 2022 12:23 pm
MT. PLEASANT — Henry County’s two state legislators answered questions from the public during the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance’s legislative breakfast Saturday at the Masonic Lodge.
State Sen. Jeff Reichman and State Rep. Joe Mitchell, both Republicans, gave their take on Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ “school choice” bill. The bill would allow qualifying students to use 70 percent of their per-pupil funding to attend a private school. The remaining 30 percent of a student’s per-pupil funding would go to small school districts.
Reichman and Mitchell said the bill was designed to help students in urban areas who are stuck in schools not following state guidelines. They said it was not targeted at schools in Southeast Iowa
“We have destination schools here. We’re not talking about the kids here,” said Reichman, who added that the program is capped at $5 million, which he said was a “blip” compared to the billions of dollars the state spends on education each year.
Mitchell said the program is akin to the Iowa Tuition Grant that gives students money to attend one of the state’s private colleges. Resident David File disagreed with that analogy, because school choice takes money away from public school districts that lose students. Mitchell said the analogy was apt because the Iowa Tuition Grant directs state money toward private colleges that could have gone to a state institution, had the student chosen to attend one.
“I’m not anti-public school at all,” Mitchell said. “Some legislators want to give a zero percent increase to schools, and I’ll fight that till the day I die.”
When asked a similar question later that morning, Mitchell said a few school districts, such as those in the Des Moines area, continued to keep students at home when most other school districts had returned to in-person learning. He said that the purpose of the school choice bill was to give more options to these students, who often can’t afford to attend private schools or be home-schooled.
Other audience members questioned Mitchell on efforts in the Legislature to require teachers to put their learning materials online so parents can see them. Mitchell said it was a reasonable request designed to increase transparency. Resident Jeff Fager and others disagreed and said that it was a costly intrusion into the classroom, arguing that nothing is stopping parents from reviewing the materials their children bring home now.
Danny Cornell, former mayor of New London, spoke in opposition to a bill on tort reform that limits damages in medical malpractice cases. Cornell is an attorney who represents clients who have been harmed during medical procedures, and he felt the Legislature’s attempt to limit damages in such cases was an example of government overreach. In particular, he said it violated the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees a trial by jury, because it limits the amount of money a jury can award to a victim.
The bill would limit “non-economic” damages for medical malpractice or in cases against the owner or operator of a commercial motor vehicle. Cornell said he’s representing a family whose father, an employee of the Iowa Department of Transportation, was killed while working along the side of the road when he was struck by a vehicle. He said the cap in this bill would limit the family of five to receiving $1 million, which he thought was wrong.
Mitchell said he did not believe the bill was a violation of the Seventh Amendment, and reiterated that the cap applied only to non-economic damages. He said that the high cost of medical malpractice lawsuits has forced small hospitals to close, and that this issue is the No. 1 concern of hospital CEOs he’s talked to.
Cornell said the economic damages, like the hospital bills and lost wages, are but a small part of the harm caused by medical malpractice. He said the real loss is the absence of that person from a family’s life (in the case of a death), or in the case of a serious injury, it’s a parent who can’t play catch with their child. Furthermore, Cornell felt that the real problem facing hospitals was the government’s low reimbursement rate for Medicare and Medicaid, not medical malpractice lawsuits.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
Iowa State Sen. Jeff Reichman, left, and State Rep. Joe Mitchell speak during the legislative breakfast Saturday morning, March 12, at the Masonic Lodge in Mt. Pleasant. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
David File, center, asks a question during the legislative breakfast Saturday morning at the Masonic Lodge in Mt. Pleasant. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Danny Cornell, standing, talks about tort reform during the legislative breakfast Saturday at the Masonic Lodge in Mt. Pleasant. Cornell said he opposed the current bill designed to limit damage payments to victims, some of whom he has represented as an attorney. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Mt. Pleasant School Superintendent John Henriksen speaks during the legislative breakfast Saturday, March 12. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Jeff Fager, second from left, asks a question about the Legislature’s attempt to require teachers to publicize their teaching materials online during Saturday’s legislative breakfast in Mt. Pleasant. (Andy Hallman/The Union)