LCEA Hotline March 16, 2012

House Passes Education Reform Bill
The Iowa House passed an amended version of HF 2380 this week on a 53-46 vote--seven Republicans joined the House Democrats in opposition to the bill. When the bill passed out of committee several weeks ago it was substantially different from the Governor’s proposal. The bill that passed out of the House was amended to be more like the Governor’s bill, including mandatory retention of third graders, support for 100 percent online learning limited to 1 percent of a school district’s enrollment, and expansion of Charter Schools.

ISEA opposes the bill and will be working with the Senate on their version which takes a more student-centered approach. This bill includes literacy supports for students in early grades and time for teachers to collaborate. It restricts online learning to 50 percent of a student’s academic work, unless medically necessary.


Make contact with your Senator
It is critical that you make contact with your Senator this weekend or early next week. You can attend a forum over the weekend, send an email, or call her/him (the main switchboard number is 515-281-3371). Tell your Senator to support education reform that invests in classroom priorities that build on the foundation for student learning and help ensure every student has a qualified, caring teacher in the classroom.