Government Hello District 75 from the State Capitol!

Week 15 was slow for most of the legislators,  and the 100th  day  was on April 19th  which  was the last day for legislators to receive a daily stipend for housing and meals.  The House and Senate leadership  continue to  work on negotiations for the budgets.  Also,  one of  Governor Reynolds  and the Senate’s priorities areto see school  Education Savings Accounts (ESAs)  signed into law.

There are many schools across Iowa that are violating law by teaching “Critical Race Theory”, the “1619 Project”, and other ideologies that  the majority of  Iowans do not want taught.  About a week ago, an organization of investigative journalists called Accuracy in Media (www.aim.org)  released a video after  interviewing  several Iowa public school administrators  who admitted  how they blatantly teach what is banned by changing a few words.    This video, “Iowa Administrators Brag About Skirting CRT Laws “Politicians Really Can’t Stop It””  can be seen here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6MnaZz97eU.    

In the  Senate’s  school voucher  bill,  SF  2369,  the  proposals are  for  students from household incomes  at or  below  400% of the federal poverty guide  while  the House is proposing at or below  300% of  federal poverty  income  levels.    This is not just a Republican idea.  There are many democrats around the country in favor of school choice.  Believe it or not, Gloria Romero, Democrat, the former Senate  Majority  Leader in California,  is a huge proponent of school choice. You can read  about  her  from just last November  here:  https://californiaglobe.com/articles/former-senate-leader-gloria-romero-joins-fix-california-initiative-for-school-choice-funding/.

There are 16 states, including Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio that have school vouchers, and Missouri has Education Savings Accounts.  There have been  27 rigorous studies of how students did on test scores after leaving public schools, and 25 of these studies found students had modest gains in their scores.  These vouchers are  absolutely  putting the welfare of students first  and  probably  only one or two percent of students  would use it.  Of course, Iowa schools have fantastic teachers, but there are a  very  small percentage of students  who can  do better  for whatever reason  with another school, and these vouchers can help.

The district conventions were held this last Saturday, and it was great to see Vice-President Mike Pence in Independence!    Also, if you’re interested in seeing some very impressive artwork and want to learn a little history, you can see Buchanan County’s Freedom Rock at the Heartland Acres Event Center at  2600 Swan Lake Blvd. in  Independence.  I highly recommend it!!

Please have  a  safe, healthy,  and  wonderful week everyone  as we welcome May this Sunday!