Warning to Legislators
A survey released last week found that 75% of Iowa’s local school leaders will again be forced to raise class sizes, cut teachers, and reduce opportunities for students – if Republican lawmakers follow through with plans for a 2% or lower increase in basic school funding for next year.
In addition to raising class size, school leaders said underfunding schools again would force them to delay purchases for books and classroom materials (65%); delay new technology (24%); and cut back on literacy programs (27%).
70% of the school leaders recommended the state provide at least a 4% increase in basic state funding, supplemental state aid.
Lawmakers have 30 days from the Governor’s budget release to set school aid for the 2018-2019 school year. After House Republicans refused to approve an SSA bill last year, we are still one year behind setting school aid for 2017-2018.
Republican Lawmakers Release Budget Cut Plan
After Governor Branstad recommended $150 million in budget cuts a few weeks ago, Republican lawmakers announced their own budget cutting plan on Tuesday. The budget cuts come after recent corporate tax breaks and credits, approved in 2013, now top more than $500 million annually – revenue no longer available to help provide critical services to Iowans.
This session’s Republican proposal identifies a total of $88.2 million in reductions and $25 million in transfers from other appropriated funds. The cuts, which will take effect immediately if approved, include an $18 million cut to Iowa’s three state universities, a $3 million reduction to community colleges, a $38 million cut to Medicaid and human services, and another $5.5 million cut to public safety. An additional $11.5 million in cuts is not specified in the bill and it’s still unclear what impact this would have on public services to Iowans.
The plan outlined by Republican lawmakers is different than the Governor’s proposal and does not make any attempts to revisit, change or scale back any portion of the corporate tax breaks approved in previous sessions, nor use funds available from the reserves of $738 million.
Both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees approved the budget bills on a party-line vote. Debate is expected in the Senate next Thursday.
Free Tax Preperation
Last year, over 20,000 federal tax returns in Iowa were filed using free tax preparation services. The service is open to low-to-moderate income Iowa, elderly, and Iowans with a disability.
In addition to the free tax preparation service, January 27th is Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day. In 2016, 206,000 Iowa workers received more than $470 million in EITC refunds, with the average refund of $2,279. If you are an Iowan who worked last year and had an income less than $53,505, you should check your eligibility for EITC.
EITC eligibility can be complex, and varies by income, family size and filing status. By visiting the links below, you can access IRS-trained and certified volunteers who can help you determine if you qualify for the EITC and other refundable tax credits such as the Child Tax Credit or education credits. Volunteers at these sites also prepare and e-file (electronically file) tax returns at no cost. More than 697 volunteers prepared over 19,400 returns during last year’s filing season.
To find out where and when this free service is available, visit: http://theiowacenter.org/
http://irs.treasury.gov/
High-Demand Jobs Information
The bi-partisan taskforce working on initiatives to have 70% of the workforce receive education or training beyond high school by the year 2025, has opened their website at http://www.futurereadyiowa.gov
The Future Ready taskforce wanted to provide one easily accessible place for information about education, training, and high-demand jobs. It will be useful for anyone considering their future career plans.
This is the second website launched by the Future Ready Taskforce. Last week they released a report on the college readiness of Iowa students, showing 71% of high school graduates enrolled in college or a job training program within a year after graduation. The Postsecondary Readiness Report is located athttp://educateiowa.gov/
Condition of Education Report
The Iowa Department of Education released its annual Condition of Education report providing a wide range of state-level data, including student achievement results. The number of enrolled students increased for the fifth straight year, including increases to minority student enrollment. Iowa also continues to have a high percentage of students who take advanced classes.
The report showed Iowa’s ACT score for the class of 2015 was 22.1 (the highest in the nation in states like Iowa where at least 60% of students participate). 68% of our Iowa students in the 2016 class took the test, which is up 1%. Iowa leads the nation in the percent of students that graduate high school in four years, and the report shows that Iowa remains the only state in the nation above a 90% graduation rate, increasing slightly in 2015 to 90.8%.
Other findings outlined in the report:
- The number of students enrolled in Iowa’s public schools during the 2015-16 school year was 483,451, up from 480,772 the year before. This represents the fifth enrollment increase in as many years. The smallest and the largest school districts increased enrollment while the ones in the middle declined (300-2,500 students).
- There were 336 school districts in 2015-16, down two from the year before. There are 333 districts in the current school year.
- The number of teachers in Iowa remained level at 34,700 for the 2015-16 school year.
- The percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches continues to increase. In the 2015-16 school year it was 42%, which is an increase of 1% from the year before.
- Minority student enrollment also increased by 1%, up from 22% the previous year to 23% in 2015-16.
- The percent of public school students whose primary language is not English (English Language Learners) in the 2015-16 school year remained unchanged at 5.7%.
- The percent of students from the Class of 2016 who took chemistry was 71%, up from 67% percent the year before. From the Class of 2016, 31% of students took physics, up from 29% the year before.
- There were 45% of students from the Class of 2016 who took higher-level mathematics, including calculus, statistics, and trigonometry. This is up from 41% percent the year before.
- Schools in the state that have a bandwidth of at least 100 MB, which is 100 times the minimum bandwidth requirements for digital learning, is 76%.
The Week in Photos
It’s always beneficial and informative to visit with Cedar Rapids Police Chief, Wayne Jerman. He was hereThursday to offer information to House and Senate committees about the purpose and value of traffic enforcement cameras in Cedar Rapids and to discuss several other important public safety bills relevant to our local law enforcement.
The chief is pictured here, in the House Speaker’s chair, with Representatives Todd Taylor, Ashley Hinson and Ken.
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Thursday morning I met with Jim Prickett, a member of the Iowa Association for Behavior Analysis. I learned that Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is one branch of behaviorism in which the principles of behavior are applied to social issues in order to systematically change and improve behavior. The focus of ABA is to modify behavior by changing the contingencies that maintain it.
The IABA was here as part of their effort to seek state licensure. In November 2013, there were 40 Board Certified Behavior Analysts and 4 Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts in the state. As of November 2016, there were 88 Board Certified Analysts and 13 Assistant Behavior Analysts. Clearly there has been rapid and substantial growth in this field, and licensure may help provide consumers with protection from those who profess to deliver this specialized treatment but who do not possess the appropriate training.
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Doctors and administrators from Broadlawns Medical Center visited the Capitol Thursday morning, so if you were going to get sick here, that would have been the day to do it. I spoke with Mary Krieg, Chair of the Board of Trustees; Dr. Larry Severidt, Director of Medical Education and Administrator of the Residency Program; and Carl Velums, CFO of Broadlawns.
A concern of the Broadlawns staff was the financial hit they have taken since the governor’s plan to privatize Medicaid was implemented, with Broadlawns receiving nearly $1 million less per month in Medicaid reimbursements from the 3 MCOs who routinely and incorrectly deny coverage and require additional (triplicate) paperwork. Perhaps most surprisingly, many of the reimbursements that they have been denied have come from patients undergoing court ordered treatment.
Broadlawns is one of a unique group of hospitals whose mission is to provide for those most in need of assistance. From their Mission Statement, “Broadlawns Medical Center is dedicated to ensuring that high quality healthcare is accessible to individuals throughout our community who have inadequate insurance coverage and for those who do not have insurance coverage of any kind.”
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The Iowa Association of Community College Trustees were on the Hill Thursday and they brought dozens of community college students from all over the state with them, including a stellar group from Kirkwood.
Iowa’s community college system is one of the best in the nation, and the depth of the questions these students asked reflected the quality of the education they are receiving. I responded to questions regarding the Governor’s proposed cuts to community college budgets, the process by which the legislature evaluates budget/taxation decisions, and the long term consequences that slashing higher education funding may have on Iowa students and universities. I was very impressed with how polished and informed these students were.
Iowa’s future is in great hands – as long as we continue to properly support higher education.
Pictured are Kirkwood Community College students Chase Damewood, Macie Njus, Cooper Hopkins, Anthony Scheer, Matthew Lansing, Becca VanderHeiden, and Sarah Grabner.
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Many Legislators reminisced about the occupational dreams of their youth on Thursday morning as the Iowa Firefighters Association visited the Capitol. When groups like the IFA reserve space here you can be sure that the room will be packed.
I stopped by and received an update about the Cedar Rapids staffing levels and response times – performance stats about a group of firefighters that any city would be proud to have.
Marv Trimble, the Vice President of the IFA, shared information about the IFA’s continued opposition to the legalization of consumer fireworks, and their desire to work with both the legislature and local governments in providing next generation 911 service statewide.
Pictured are Marv Trimble, and Bill Halleran, Chief of the Sigourney Fire Department
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At the Iowa Association of Nurse Anesthetists legislative reception Tuesday evening, Amanda McKinley, Randy Cornelius, Mark Bennett Jr. and Sarah Tweedy spoke with me about the CRNA practice and the state of health care in rural Iowa. The IANA represents more than 350 CRNAs who practice in Iowa.
CRNAs have been providing chronic pain management services in Iowa for more than 20 years and are the providers of chronic pain management in more than 50 percent of Iowa’s community hospitals.
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Tuesday evening, at the Iowa Soybean Association legislative reception, it was great to meet up with Lindsay Greiner, a soil and water conscious Iowa farmer, who “adopted” me several years ago. He has been a friend and mentor on Iowa agriculture issues, including farming conservation practices and projects. He’s also a clean water advocate so, of course, the conversation with Lindsay and United Soybean Board Director, Larry Marek, centered on expanding the use of cover crops and finding funding for water quality improvements in Iowa.
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Late Wednesday morning I had the opportunity to speak with Rachel Woodhouse outside the House Chamber. Rachel is the Community Impact Specialist for Bravo of Greater Des Moines – formed in 2004 by a collaboration of nine central Iowa local governments to provide reliable funding and leadership to the arts, culture and heritage community. A total of 17 partner communities have committed a portion of their hotel-motel tax revenue to administer a competitive accountable grant program supporting the arts, culture and heritage non-profits in the region.
Bravo is advocating for continued funding for the Iowa “Model of Excellence” Mentoring Program – a $25,000 appropriation (matched by Iowa Alliance for Arts Education). Bravo and IAAE would also like the Legislature to expand the Fine Arts Consultant position at the Iowa Department of Education from ½ to 1 full time employee.
The arts are an essential component of a great education and it is vital that we support them, along with the celebration and recognition of cultural diversity, in all our communities.
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As part of CCI (Citizens for Community Improvement) day on the Hill this Tuesday, I spoke at a meeting with members of the organization – along with Senate Minority Leader Rob Hogg and several other State Senators and Representatives. We had a broad, open and productive conversation about the impact of proposed stand your ground legislation, minimum wage, and water quality issues, among others.
It is the passion and civic involvement of people like these CCI representatives that helps to remind me, every day, why I have this job as representative. Thank you all for being here, keep the pressure on for good legislation, and keep up the good work!
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The Iowa Association of School Boards visited the Capitol early in the week to apprise elected officials about their priorities. As a teacher, and House Education Committee member, I am particularly interested in how legislators can work with local school board members to improve Iowa schools. Some of the best were here to visit us in the House Chamber: Gary Anhalt (Cedar Rapids), John Laverty (Cedar Rapids), Tim Cronin (Central City), Craig Martinson (Central City), Jim Green (Linn-Mar) along with Representatives Kirsten Running Marquardt and Liz Bennett.
Among the IASB’s priorties:
• Provide and fund technical assistance to help school districts fully implement the Iowa Core Content.
• Support research-based professional development that provides educators with training.
• Include and fund all the components of successful standards systems including assessments.
• Support repeal of the December 31, 2029 sunset on the statewide penny sales tax for school infrastructure.
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Monday morning was ACEs day at the Capitol and I received an overview of legislative priorities from Chaney Yeast, Blank Children’s Hospital; Lisa Cushatt, Iowa ACEs 360; and Deanne Cook of United Way of Iowa.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that can dramatically upset a child’s sense of safety and well-being, and have serious implications for mental and physical health later in life. Types of ACEs range from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, to various types of household dysfunction.
ACEs 360 is seeking to raise awareness about this issue and help treat those already effected by:
• Promotion of trauma informed care in Iowa Schools, hospitals, and daycare clinics
• Addressing Iowa’s shortage of mental health providers by supporting NAMI’s recommendation for a Mental Health Loan Forgiveness Program
I will continue to urge legislative support here in the Iowa House.
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We kicked things off Wednesday morning with a visit from the Iowa Public Transit Association (IPTA) in the Rotunda. 1 out of 16 Iowa households rely on public transportation, and as a result of the 35 public transit systems in state, there are 29 million connections made annually. This provides an invaluable service to low-income residents, senior-citizens and students in Iowa who rely on public transportation to get to work, class, medical appointments, and even to vote.
Unfortunately, 54% of Iowa buses are operating beyond their useful life, ranking Iowa as one of the bottom five states in the nation in terms of the age of our fleet. This is far more than just an issue of convenience or cosmetics. As a fleet ages, maintenance costs increase and public transportation operators become less able to ensure the safety of travelers.
The IPTA’s primary focuses this legislative session are creating a transit capital fund that can be used for bus replacement or other transit related projects, and increasing State Transit Assistance allocation from a current 4% to a proposed 5%.
Pictured are two of the most passionate advocates for dependable, accessible, safe and efficient public transportation: Kay Fisk, Director of Transportation Services and Legislative Liaison for Neighborhood Transportation Services; and Tom Hardecopf, Linn County LIFTS Director.
For more information visit www.iapublictransit.com
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Along with a few hundred other Iowans, I stood-in on a Senate subcommittee meeting Tuesday to weigh in and ask questions of the three members, including Republican Senators Amy Sinclair and Jason Shultz about the purpose, intent and impact of Senate File 2 on health care for Iowa women. SF2 is the Senate bill that would defund the health services provided throughout the state by Planned Parenthood and others.
In my time in the Iowa House of Representatives I have never seen, nor heard, of a group this large appearing for a subcommittee meeting to give their input on a bill. It was unfortunate that the subcommittee chair, Senator Sinclair, rejected requests to extend the time or reconvene the subcommittee hearing at a later time to provide more opportunity for input. Not only were most of the attendees not heard, but I was shocked to see that the chair, Senator Sinclair, repeatedly denied the minority subcommittee member, Senator Janet Peterson, the opportunity to ask questions.
I would like to thank all of you who were in attendance. Your support and continued involvement are crucial in efforts to defend both the rights of Iowa women and the rights of all of us in our democracy.
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Tuesday morning the Iowa Recycling Association and the Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations hosted a legislative event in the Rotunda.
The IRA is a membership-based nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing effective recycling by sharing resources, education and advocacy opportunities. I was able to talk with representatives of the group about some very innovative policies that have been put into action in states like Maine, where returned recyclables are collected and labeled with a bar code. When the code is scanned the refunds are applied to either a bank account, a refund card, or a local charity selected by the consumer.
In Iowa, the Recycling Association has these priorities for the current legislative session:
1) Support and sustain Iowa’s Bottle Bill- This program consistently reduces litter in both rural and urban areas and has led to an 85% recycling rate for cans and bottles in Iowa.
2) Promote proper plastics disposal- The proper disposal of plastic grocery bags is not simple. These bags cannot be recycled in municipal single-stream, curbside-recycling programs. The Association urges the establishment of public/private partnerships to better educate the public on proper plastic bag recycling.
3) Management of waste tires- Iowans generate nearly 3 million waste tires each year. The proper management, reuse, recycling or disposal of these tires is essential to the environment and to public health. The Association supports the establishment of a task force to examine increased economic opportunities for waste tire processing.
Pictured are: Troy Willard, CEO of the Iowa Recycling Association; Joseph Horaney, Communications Director for the Solid Waste Agency; Jason Evans Director of Education for the Solid Waste Agency; and in the second picture is Cedar Rapids resident, constituent, and Solid Waste Agency Administrator John Foster.
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An entire room full of people wearing lab coats is a rare sight on the hill but that is exactly what we had Tuesday morning as Des Moines University students and representatives visited with legislators. DMU, founded in 1898, is a private Medical School with an approximate enrollment of 1,600 students.
Previous graduates not only practice medicine, but help formulate public policy. A notable example is William G. Anderson who graduated from DMU in 1956 before returning to his native Georgia and working alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights effort as part of the Albany Movement.
It was a pleasure to visit with DMU medical students with dreams of their own.
Pictured here are DMU Students Kody Massner, Michelle Brenner, and Alisha Fujita
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Asian and Latino Coalition Legislative Breakfast
The smell of great food and the sound of sitar music drifted through the halls of the Capitol Tuesday morning as the Asian and Latino Coalition hosted a legislative reception. Representatives of the organization were here to highlight the very important legislative priorities of their members.
Among these priorities are:
1) Opposing voter ID legislation- Voter ID is unnecessary, expensive and threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Iowans. Iowa has one of the most trusted voting systems in the country and any attempt to disenfranchise voters should be defeated.
2) Health Care and Mental Health Service- The coalition is calling for an end to the privatization of Iowa’s Medicaid programs and a return to administration by the state.
3) Collective Bargaining Rights- Collective bargaining, Chapter 20, has been around for over 40 years and it has worked. Chapter 20 creates stability and predictability in the public sector workforce.
More than 11,000 Asian Americans and Latinos live in Linn County and play a vital role in our community. Whether it’s a part of our collective cultural identity, our business community, or simply as our neighbors, we must ensure that their voices are heard, and that their priorities are among our priorities.
Pictured are Yogesh Shah MD, Staff Physician at Broadlawns Medical Center and ALC member; JJ Kapur of the Iowa Sikh Turbanators.
For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/
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It was a pleasure to talk with Cedar Rapids residents and American Cancer Society volunteers Stephen Nilsen (also a constituent), Sandra Cummings, and Jen Lellig Monday afternoon. The ACS Network is tireless in efforts to inform and support reasonable legislation that will improve the lives of not only cancer patients/victims, but all of us.
This session the ACS is focusing on a few primary initiatives. Among them are:
1) Banning the use of indoor tanning beds for individuals under 18 years of age
a. Indoor tanning is associated with a six-fold increase in melanoma risk, largely among non-Hispanic white females under the age of 30.
2) Increasing Iowa’s investment in Tobacco prevention to save lives and money.
3) Increasing access to Palliative Care for cancer patients
a. Palliative Care is a specialized medical care that improves quality of life for patients and families by focusing on relief from pain, stress, and other symptoms of treatment for a serious disease such as cancer. 96% of doctors support patient access to Palliative Care.
In addition to these priorities I am happy to be co-sponsoring a bill that would require Radon gas testing and mitigation (where needed) in our Iowa public schools.
Pictured are constituent Stephen Nilsen, Sandra Cummings, and Jen Lellig.
To learn more visit: https://www.cancer.org/
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More than 26,000 people attended the Iowa Women’s March this past weekend at the Iowa Capitol. The Iowa march was a branch of the larger Women’s March on Washington which included 673 events in all 50 states, 81 countries, and on all seven continents (yes, including Antarctica). All told, event organizers estimate that more than 2.5 million people took to the streets last weekend making this the largest nationwide/worldwide protest since the Vietnam War.
The goal of the march was to address the rhetoric of the past election cycle that, “ insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us – immigrants of all statuses, Muslims and those of diverse religious faiths, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Native people, Black and Brown people, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual assault.”
The message was simple, “we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.”
I applaud all of you who marched this past weekend. I intend to do everything I can in the Iowa House to be a champion for the issues you so clearly voiced. Women’s rights are human rights.
For more information visit: https://www.womensmarch.com/
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Monday was AMP day at The Capitol. Achieving Maximum Potential (AMP) is a youth-driven, statewide group that seeks to unleash the full potential for personal growth among foster and adoptive children in Iowa. AMP works to help youth become independent adults who can successfully educate others about the child welfare system and take an active role in making life better for themselves and others in state care.
Among the legislative priorities for AMP:
• More permanency for foster care youth, with Iowa accessing federal funding to implement the Guardianship Assistance Program
• Funding and implementation of the Anti-Bullying Bill
• Request for the State of Iowa to adopt Erin’s Law, requiring schools to implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program
• Specialized housing options for youth with high mental health needs and those youth transitioning out of foster care• A ban on conversion/aversion/reparative counseling/therapy for LGBTQ youth.
It was truly a pleasure to be able to spend some time visiting and listening to these articulate young adults. Their passion for these important issues was immediately apparent.
Pictured in the first image are Celia Vanmeter, Tiara Mosley , Vachon Robertson, and Corey Anderson
In the second image Siwema Dezire shares a touching story about her and her family’s journey from Tanzania – along with her successes accomplished with the help of the AMP program.
More about AMPs here: http://www.ampiowa.org/
Upcoming Hunter Education Classes
Iowa’s Unemployment Rate at 3.6%
DNR Releases Strategy for Water Quality Monitoring
To read the rest of my Statehouse News go to:http://iowahouse.org/
