Education
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Scolaro: Do we really want vigilante justice in our schools?
On Jan. 4, a 17-year-old Perry High School student killed one sixth-grader and injured five others before killing himself. In response to school shootings, Siouxland Christian School in Sioux City has decided to train and arm school staff members. However, to the contrary, there is no evidence showing that more guns decrease violence. In fact,…
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GOP bill to restrict support services at Iowa’s regent universities advances
A redundant bill attacking and restricting measures to increase diversity and support for marginalized people at Iowa’s regent universities passed a subcommittee in the Iowa House on Monday. HF 2327, changes several things about higher education in universities, but the most pressing issue at the subcommittee concerned changes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). DEI…
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Iowan asks Republican lawmakers to focus on real issues instead of picking on libraries
Wearing a green Raygun T-shirt that touted her support of public libraries, Anita Christensen of Indianola laid out a case for why Iowa’s Republican lawmakers should stay hands-off when it comes to libraries during a Monday Iowa Senate subcommittee on the topic. “I believe that public libraries build community,” Christensen said. “What public entities invite…
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‘There’s no reason:’ Iowans question motive of Republican library bills
Librarians don’t want it. The public doesn’t want it. Even the Iowa Leagues of Cities is undecided on the matter, but Iowa Republicans want to change the law to diminish the authority of local library boards and make the institutions more susceptible to political whims. These points and more were raised on Thursday during an…
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Bill promoting pregnancy misinformation in school advances in Iowa Senate
Dr. Emily Boevers, a licensed OB-GYN in Waverly, said if Iowa Republicans want to require anti-abortion curriculum for children as young as 6 up until they graduate high school, it should at least be factual. “As a scientist and a physician, I just have to say that it’s very important that we use accurate terminology…
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Iowa Republicans unveil latest plan to arm teachers with guns
Despite Iowa Republicans calling teachers “sinister,” limiting how they can teach history and social studies, what books they can teach from, and proposing cameras in the classroom to monitor them in real-time, they apparently trust them enough to give them guns. Introduced on Wednesday, HSB 675 would allow districts, private schools, and colleges to arm…
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Iowa Republican’s bill would defund public libraries, eliminate local library boards
Sen. Jesse Green (R-Boone) introduced a bill last week that many library advocates say could lead to the end game for public libraries in Iowa. SSB 3131 would change how cities and counties fund public libraries by changing the language in Iowa Code from “shall” to “may,” which would allow those entities to opt out…
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Kalbach: Why we’re fighting to protect our AEAs
Gov. Kim Reynolds is once again attacking Iowa’s public school system. This time she wants to slash vital services offered by our Area Education Agencies (AEAs). AEAs provide special education support, media services, training, crisis intervention, professional development and more. These agencies are critical for kids, families, teachers and our communities. AEAs serve more than…
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Reynolds’ AEA bill goes dormant in House, but survives in Iowa Senate
When Lilli Norris’ parents adopted her from China, they did not know that she couldn’t speak, that she had a bad heart, and that she was mostly deaf. “The reason I tell you this is that Lilli was the first student at Carlisle Elementary to have a microphone introduced to us by Iowa AEA,” said…
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Satanic Temple welcomes opportunities to serve as Iowa school chaplains
Dressed in all black with the exception of his red-tinted sunglasses and red tie, Satanic Temple Minister Mortimer Adramelech said he and his organization would welcome the opportunity to participate in Iowa’s public school chaplain program. “I personally oppose HF 2073 because I believe in the separation of church and state, but if the bill…
