The Taylor Report by Sen. Rich Taylor

Legislative update from Sen. Rich Taylor, representing Henry and Lee counties and portions of Washington and Jefferson counties.

With the start of a new school year, students of all ages are returning to Iowa classrooms.

I look forward to joining them.

As a state senator, I enjoy talking with all my constituents, but it is a special privilege to meet with young people getting involved in our democracy for the first time.

I give students and teachers a firsthand look at how our laws are made when they come to the Statehouse. I also go to their schools to see what they?re working on.

This year, I?ll be visiting local classrooms to meet with young constituents, answer questions, share ideas and listen to concerns. It?s a great way to give students ? the nation?s future leaders ?a glimpse of how representative democracy works, and to let them know that their ideas count.

In other back-to-school news, a new online job posting system is up and running to help ensure Iowa students have the best teachers in their classrooms.

This year?s education reform legislation called on the Department of Education to launch a ?Teach Iowa? website with all job openings in Iowa?s public schools, charter schools, Area Education Agencies, the Department of Education and the Board of Educational Examiners.

Private schools may advertise their vacancies on the site as well.

The system connects employees with job openings and makes hiring and applying for jobs easy through an online process. Best of all, it is completely free to applicants and employers. While Teach Iowa centralizes the search for employers and employees, all hiring decisions remain local.

A recent glance at www.teachiowa.gov showed 797 job openings across the state for all types of positions ? teachers, administrators, study hall associates, food service workers, bus drivers and more.

For newsletters and further information from Taylor go to www.senate.iowa.gov/senator/taylor.

To contact Taylor during session, call the Senate Switchboard at 515-281-3371. Otherwise he can be reached at home at 319-931-1568. E-mail him at rich.taylor@legis.iowa.gov.

Sen. Taylor is vice-chair of the Agriculture Committee.  He also serves on the Economic Growth, Judiciary, Local Government and Transportation committees, as well as the Justice Systems Budget Subcommittee.