(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has unanimously voted to get rid of the exit exam college graduates must pass in order to get a teaching license in Iowa. Representative Tom Moore, a Republican from Griswold, was a teacher for 33 years. He’s been trying to get rid of this test for new teachers since 2015.

“These exams they have been forced to take to gain a license have no bearing on their abilities, their knowledge or their ability to become a quality teacher,” Moore says. “In fact, it simply was a barrier for some and an added expense for all.” A decade ago, Governor Terry Branstad asked legislators to require both an ENTRANCE exam for college students entering Iowa teacher preparation programs and an EXIT exam before graduates could be licensed to teach in Iowa. The bill gets rid of both requirements.

“I think it’s important that we get this done for our students that we have right now in the teacher prep institutions and I think it’s important that we, here in the House…go to our senators and say: ‘We’ve got to have this,'” Moore said, pounding his desk as he spoke, “‘…so that we can combat this teacher shortage that we have.” In the past decade, lawmakers made entrance exams for college teaching courses optional and lowered the passing grade for the test required for a teaching license.

College graduates who fail that test also have been able to teach for up to a year, as they re-take the test to try for a passing score. Representative Sue Cahill, a Democrat, is a teacher in Marshalltown. At the start of this school year, Cahill unexpectedly was assigned to be substitute teacher in a second grade classroom for nine weeks after a rookie teacher learned she hadn’t passed her proficiency test.

“This young lady who had a year of successful teaching is waiting for us to pass this bill,” Cahill says. “She is back as a long-term sub in that classroom, but our superintendent even mentioned that if this bill passes, he’s going to have that contract ready for her to sign that very day.” Cahill says students aren’t judged on one piece of data and teachers shouldn’t be either. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that’s passed the Iowa House forbids educational institutions in the state from having COVID-19 vaccination mandates for students. The ban would last until July 1st, 2029. Republican Representative Henry Stone of Forest City was the only supporter to speak about the bill. “House File 2298 is a bill that does not allow licensed child care centers, elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools to require the COVID-19 vaccine for enrollment whether virtual or in person,” Stone said.

The ban would apply to both public and private schools, including private colleges like Grinnell College which required students be vaccinated against COVID before the fall semester. The bill passed on a 57-to-36 vote, with two Democrats joining all Republicans present to support it. Representative Sharon Steckman, a Democrat from Mason City, was the only lawmaker to speak against the bill.

“I thought we were to stay out of private business,” Steckman said. “This tells private day cares, private K-12, private colleges what they can do, what they can’t do, so for that reason, and for childrens’ safety, I am a no on this bill.” The bill was debated and passed by the House in just three minutes and sent to the Senate for a vote.

A hit-and-run incident in Creston, early Monday morning (Feb. 28) caused $700 damage to a parked 2019 Toyota Tundra Crewmax pickup truck and $2,000 damage to a garage. According to Creston Police, the owner said she heard a bang at around 4-a.m., but thought the wind knocked over her trash can.

An investigation determined an apparently red vehicle was traveling south on N. Birch Street in Creston, and pulled into the driveway at a high-rate of speed. The unknown vehicle hit the curb in the driveway before colliding with the rear end of the pickup. The force of the impact caused the pickup to be pushed into the garage.

The unknown vehicle then backed out of the drive, leaving car parts through the yard. The vehicle “Peeled out,” continuing southbound on Birch.

(Winterset, Iowa) –The Iowa State Patrol, Monday evening, released the names of the victims of Sunday morning’s crash in Madison County. The Patrol reports the driver of the 2003 GMC Sierra pickup, 16-year-old Jacob Ryan Short, of Indianola, was trapped in the vehicle and died at the scene.

The accident happened as the pickup, which was traveling at excessive speeds in the 2400 block of 195th Trail at around 2:30-a.m., Sunday, went out of control, entered a ditch and struck a tree. The driver, who was trapped, died at the scene.

Three passengers in the pickup were injured: 15-year-old Halley Renee Brown, and 17-year-old Blake Charles Feuring, both of Winterset, along with 18-year-old Cameron Ryan Johnson, of Lorimor. None of the victims were wearing their seat belts. The Patrol says Brown was transported by personal vehicle to the Madison County Hospital, in Winterset. Feuring and Johnson were not transported to the hospital.

Alcohol is a suspected contributing factor in the crash. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Madison County EMS assisted the Patrol at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – The superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district will be stepping down at the end of this school year – a year earlier than expected. Last spring, the Des Moines School Board voted not to extend Superintendent Thomas Ahart’s contract beyond June 2023. Ahart now says he plans to resign June 30th of this year.

“Des Moines Public Schools is in a really good place right now considering especially the record low funding that we’ve had over the last decade,” Ahart said, “and so I feel it’s a good time for me to take a step away to reevaluate where I want to go with my career.” At the start of school in the fall of 2020, Ahart led the Des Moines district’s defiance of state rules requiring in-person attendance. Republican lawmakers reduced state support for the district in early 2021 in response.

“The last two years didn’t feel like two years,” Ahart said. “You know, it felt more like, you know, four or five years.” Ahart, speaking at a news conference this (Monday) afternoon, told reporters the work has been tough. He sent school employees an email before the news conference to announce his departure, saying there’s a fine line between a groove and a rut.

Ahart has been the district’s superintendent since 2012. The school board will appoint an interim superintendent for the upcoming school year and conduct a nationwide search for Ahart’s replacement.