EDUCATION
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Stakes are high in Johnston School Board elections
With four of its seven seats up for election, this year’s Nov. 7 school board race in Johnston will determine the balance of the board and the district’s overall priorities until 2025. Most importantly, it will decide whether a group of right-wing officials establish full control of the district and continue the culture war push…
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Six districts where right-wing candidates are bringing culture war to school board
National politics set the tone for a fair amount of school board races in Iowa two years ago, and this year promises more of the same. The 2023 Iowa Legislative session saw Iowa Republicans pass a number of measures aimed at undermining and defunding public schools. Now, many right-wing candidates are running for their local…
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How Jason Arnold would improve Johnston schools
Johnston School Board Candidate Jason Arnold is a father of two students in the district and wants the schools to work for them and all the students in them. He has plans for how to make that happen too. Arnold wants to hire a director for diversity, equity and, inclusion (DEI), conduct an audit of…
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Tim Scott says kids need more exposure to conservatism
While many Republicans across the country have spent the last few years arguing that public schools are being used to indoctrinate kids into leftist viewpoints and that politics should kept out of schools, US Sen. Tim Scott suggests conservatives should get their own political philosophies into those spaces. “Protecting our kids and encouraging our kids…
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How Ashley Hinson made her kids’ school public enemy Number One
The students and staff of the Linn-Mar School District are once again being used as a political punching bag by Republicans thanks to a local issue elevated to the national stage by Rep. Ashley Hinson. Hinson, whose two sons attend school in the district, has actively used her office and power to shine a negative…
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Advocates: Iowa’s ‘Vague Law’ Harms LGBTQ Youth, Schools
Representatives of two Iowa LGBTQ advocacy organizations said the start of the school year is going exactly as expected—and many predicted—after Republican lawmakers passed a slew of anti-LGBTQ legislation targeted at public schools and queer kids. Schools are scrambling to try and figure out how to implement the laws without additional guidance and LGBTQ students…
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How Des Moines Metro Schools Are Applying Anti-LGBTQ Law
New laws passed by Republicans in the Iowa Legislature this year restrict bathroom access for transgender students, forcibly out students to their parents if they express a different gender identity or ask to go by a different name from the one on their birth certificates—even nicknames—and Iowa school districts have to figure it all out.…
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Urbandale Schools Trying To Navigate Iowa’s Anti-LGBTQ Law
The Urbandale School District provided no further clarity on how it will enforce the new state-mandated teaching restrictions for LGBTQ topics at Monday’s school board meeting. Superintendent Dr. Rosalie Daca said, “If your major concern is the gender identity book piece, we aren’t going to make any decisions on how we’re going to tackle that.”…
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Guest Post: I’m a Teacher Wasting Valuable Time on Iowa’s Nonsense New Laws
School started last week. It was crazy—but, like, actually crazy. Typically, before it actually starts and during our back-to-school meetings, we go over the standard back-to-school spiel: Be welcoming, get to know kids, remember to finish trainings, explanation of this year’s initiative (which is NOT another thing to add to your plate, but rather a…
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Guest Post: What Private Schools Get Wrong About Iowa’s School Vouchers
The Students First Act will continue to hobble Iowa’s public schools while providing subsidies to private school parents who typically have the resources to cover the cost of their children’s tuition. The claims some are making—that such a program is more equitable—are untrue. On Aug. 18, Iowa PBS’s Iowa Press hosted Josh Bowar, Sioux Center…
