Senator Boulton’s January 27 Newsletter

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From the Desk of Senator Boulton

I’ve spent a lot of time this week listening to and talking with people about the $900 million private school voucher bill that was rushed through the legislature late Monday night.

A common theme, from teachers and parents to administrators and school board members was frustration. For the past six years, these same individuals who are personally invested in the success of our public school have been told by the Republican majorities in the legislature that there simply wasn’t enough money to allow state funding to keep up with rising costs. Yet, in the blink of an eye, there was enough money to start a brand-new program that will shift nearly a billion dollars towards private schools.

After years of our teachers being degraded, school board members feeling under attack, and kids being caught in the middle escalating political gamesmanship based on scare tactics, the big moment for Iowa education was an intentionally divisive one.

I can’t help but feel that our state is squandering the opportunity to seize on a transformative moment for strengthening our community schools with bold plans for delivering world class education in districts throughout Iowa. If we brought people together, rather than dividing them, and committed a billion dollars toward an inspirational plan that expanded preschool and early learning programs for example, imagine the positive energy we would create around our community schools.

Iowa is ready for a “Dream Big” moment for public schools. Instead, we are getting a scheme that purposefully harms community schools in order to advance private school education in our state.


What Can the Iowa Senate Do for You?

As the legislative session gets underway, it’s essential to know what issues are on your mind, and what you want to see lawmakers working on this year.

Please take this quick survey to share your priorities and let me know how I can speak up for you in the Iowa state Capitol.


Quick Updates

Vouchers are a done deal. Gov. Kim Reynolds and statehouse Republicans rammed their private school vouchers bill through the legislature this week, using an unprecedented array of political maneuvers and parliamentary tricks to pass it into law as quickly as possible.

  • In the House, Republican leaders created an entirely new committee to consider voucher legislation, shutting many of their own members out of the discussion, and then tweaked the rules to dodge any scrutiny into the financial implications of the plan.
  • In the Senate, the GOP used a legislative trick to block any amendments to the bill – from Democrats or Republicans – that could’ve been offered to make it less harmful to public schools and rural communities.
  • The governor welcomed national school voucher lobbyists to the Capitol late Monday night for the bill’s final passage, and then rushed to sign it into law less than 12 hours later.

The final Senate vote was 31 to 18, with three Republicans joining 15 Democrats in opposition. Now, private school vouchers are the law of the land, beginning an unprecedented diversion of taxpayer dollars to exclusive private schools.

The plan is projected to pay private school tuition for 41,687 Iowa students at a cost of $341 million a year once fully phased in – while slashing funding to public schools by $46 million per year.

  • Senate Dems support family leave. Last week, every Senate Democrat signed on as cosponsor to SF 95, a bill establishing paid family leave for Iowa’s working families. Senate Democrats’ number one priority is supporting working families, lowering costs, and creating opportunity, and paid leave is essential to accomplishing those goals.
  • License to Kale. The Senate Local Government Committee advanced a bill to open up farmers markets vendor licenses on a statewide basis. That means your favorite stand could have an easier time covering multiple locations this summer.
  • Cold Cases at DPS. The Senate held a hearing this week on the creation of a cold case investigation unit in the Department of Public Safety. Solving cold cases give closure to victims and is a huge morale boost for a police force.
  • Don’t device & drive. A bill banning handheld devices while driving advanced in the Senate Transportation Committee this week. SF 60 is aimed at keeping Iowa’s roadways safe by preventing distracted driving. Under the bill, using a device while driving would be a moving violation subject to a $100 fine and could lead to a suspension of your license.
  • Insulin relief is on the way. Medicare beneficiaries who need insulin will see tremendous relief with the implementation of price caps included the federal Inflation Reduction Act. That’s great news for Iowa, which currently faces the second-highest out-of-pocket insulin costs in the nation. Check out this report on the Rx benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act.

This Week in the Capitol