(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has approved a bill designed to give liability protection to schools that choose to let teachers or other staff volunteer to undergo training and carry a weapon to respond to a shooting. Representative Phil Thompson, a Republican from Boone, says the bill requires not just active shooter drills and medical training and learning how to communicate with law enforcement during a shooting, but a yearly background check for the professional permit to carry a gun on school grounds.

“We recognize that this responsibility must be taken very seriously,” Thompson says. “The strict training regimen outlined in this bill ensures that the employees who acquire this permit are equipped with the skills and the proficiency to act appropriately in the event of an emergency.” Republican Representative John Wills is from Spirit Lake, where trained school staff briefly carried concealed weapons, but quit after the district’s insurance carrier threatened to drop coverage. Wills says Spirit Lake, Cherokee and other districts are hoping the bill becomes law soon.

“And it will save lives when cowards attack our kids,” Wills said. House Republican Leader Matt Windschitl, of Missouri Valley, says seconds count when there’s a shooting. “People with bad intentions are going to do bad things,” Windshitl said. “People with good intentions are there to stop them.” Windshitl says he’s heard from companies that insure schools in states that have similar laws that they’ll offer policies to Iowa districts that let staff be armed on school grounds and at school activities.

Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, a Democrat from Ames, says the bill will reduce the liability risk for insurers, but would allow a frightening number of guns in Iowa schools. “If a student is hurt or killed in crossfire, no one will be held accountable,” she said. Representative Sami Scheetz, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says the bill isn’t the answer to gun violence. “Let’s enact extreme risk laws, responsible firearm storage laws, raise the age to purchase semi-automatic firearms to 21 and require background checks on all gun sales,” Scheetz said.

Representative Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, says Iowans want common sense gun safety laws. “And the Republican solution to combat gun violence is more guns,” James said.

A few other education-related bills passed the House last night solely with Republican support. One would create a new set of standards for social studies and civics classes, requiring instruction about specific people, events and documents. Another would require that all schools to teach about fetal development starting in seventh grade and include an animated video called “Meet Baby Olivia” that was developed by a group that opposes abortion.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education held a Work Session Wednesday evening (Feb. 28th), and approved the resignations of:

• James Brauer, HS English Teacher
• Tori Wood, Makyala Lucero and Kaitlyn Geib, SpEd Paraprofessionals

They also approved contract recommendations and/or Letters of Assignment for:

• Trinity Christensen, SpEd Paraprofessional
• Hannah Misner, HS Science Teacher
• Stephanie Kelley, HS Social Studies Teacher.

In other business, the Board agreed to move forward and advertise & hire, a Director of Student Services. Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnsen reminded the Board they conducted a survey of District teachers. Among the 57 teachers that were surveyed, there were 57 written responses. Over 67%  said they would support the DSS position. 31% said they would use that person as a resource.

School Board President Kristy Pellet said the position is something the Board has been exploring over the past couple of years.

Dr. Johnson said the position would be multi-faceted.

She said a good portion of the position could be paid for through the Special Education part of the District’s budget.

The salary would not equal that of a building principal, but it would be twice that of a beginning teacher. The person selected must have an administrative certification, Johnson said, with a background in special education. In other business, the Atlantic School Board received presentations from Iowa Construction Advocate Team (iCat) representative Chad Alley, with regard to potential school construction projects, and how iCat can help to reducing waste and maximizing efficiency through all phases of design, construction and beyond.

And, they received a report from Sara Bradshaw, Broker, Vice President,  Employee Benefits at Holmes Murphy & Associates from West Des Moines. She spoke with regard to ASCD employees United Healthcare benefits, claims and sustainability.

The next, regular, Atlantic School Board meeting is Wednesday, March 13, 2024 in the High School Media Center.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has voted to require that every Iowa business use the federal government’s E-Verify system to check whether employees and job applicants are U-S citizens or legal residents of the United States. Senator Julian Garrett, a Republican from Indianola, has tried to get this kind of a requirement passed for more than a decade.

“People are concerned about what’s going on around here at the border. That’s probably the number one issue. We hear about that all the time,” Garrett says. “…There’s not a lot we can do here in Iowa at the state level, but this is something we can do and I think it’ll make a difference.”

Business groups oppose the bill. They say the E-Verify system is flawed and sometimes isn’t even accessible. Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, is among the 16 senators who voted against the bill. “It’s not your day today business…This is the day that we make our strong, anti-immigrant statement,” Bisignano said. “…We’re looking for you and we’re going to penalize you and Caseys, we may run you out of the state of Iowa.”

Iowa employers could lose their business licenses and be shut down if they’re found to have knowingly employed someone who’s not eligible to work in the United States. The bill now goes to the House, where similar legislation has stalled in the past.

Nebraska and Missouri require businesses as well as government agencies to do an E-Verify system check for prospective employees. Minnesota requires it for some government contractors.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Business Council released its annual review of the state’s economic competitiveness today (Wednesday) which is called “Iowa’s Competitive Dashboard.” The review measures the state’s national rankings in five categories, and I-B-C chair Phil Jasper of Raytheon, Collins Aerospace discussed some of the main points. “Our economy has remained strong with a gross state product of more than 238 billion dollars. And this represents greater than nine and a half percent increase over last year’s report,” he says.

Jasper says this illustrates the resiliency throughout the industry sectors in Iowa. He says finding enough workers continues to be the limiting factor in terms of the potential of our economy.  “We’re effectively tapped out on our workforce. While I will maintain the top six position in labor force participation rate, you will note that is not effectively changed from last year,” Jasper says. He says the focus on work-based learning has led to significant progress.

“Specifically, high school work based learning opportunities across the state increased from 121 school districts and private schools, who provided work based learning opportunities in 2020, to more than 370 in 2023,” he says. Jasper says this is the area that can help turn around the worker deficit. “We believe that continued efforts on work based learning focusing on registered apprenticeships, quality pre-apprenticeships, and high school internship programs has the potential to substantially grow our talent pipeline well into the future,” Jasper says.

Jasper says the I-B-C is a strong supporter of the recent work based learning legislation while also providing funding for our school districts to implement these programs in partnership with Iowa businesses. Jasper says the tax climate for businesses continues to improve. “When the I-B-C began publishing this data in 2011, Iowal ranked 46 in corporate tax climate, and 41st in individual tax climate,” Jasper says.”As recent tax policies come online, those rankings have improved dramatically.” He says Iowa now ranks 29th in corporate tax climate and 22nd in individual tax climate.

Jasper says the I-B-C continues to monitor tax legislation this year and says their long-term goal would be to achieve a top 15 ranking in both categories. Jasper says they have done some adjusting to how they track health care and their update places Iowa within the midpoint of states from a competitive standpoint. He says Iowa continues to struggle in with the number of mental health professionals available, currently ranking 43rd in the nation. Jasper says the demographics and diversity category is the one the requires the most improvement.

“Iowa’s population growth has consistently trailed the national average. We continue to rank 31st In total population, we further ranked 30th in the nation for five year population change and 34th in net overall migration,” he says. Jasper says that state’s population needs to grow in order for business to expand and provide opportunities for the next generation. He says the I-B-C continues to be a strong advocate for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level.

The Iowa Business Council (IBC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose 22 members are the chief decision makers of major Iowa employers across all of the state’s 99 counties.

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa pilot program launched in 2019 to help older Iowans continue living independently in their homes is seeing wide success and will soon be available statewide.

Brian Kaskie, a UI professor of health policy, says a senior citizen who is hospitalized for an illness or a medical procedure may wind up in a long-term care facility if their home isn’t fit for them to return, or if they’re having troubles.

“As people get older, maybe there’s a little bit more challenge for them moving around, it’s harder to stand up and walk without having some challenge to balance,” Kaskie says. “Other folks, that may be nutrition. Maybe they don’t eat as well now that they’re retired and living at home alone. Other folks, it may be challenges with their memory and they may not be thinking as clearly.”

The Iowa Return to Community initiative is expanding in the state, an effort to identify people who may be at-risk and help them to make their homes more comfortable and safe.

“What we’re doing is having doctors and nurses and discharge planners at hospitals and other medical clinics, identify older Iowans who may be at risk, those people who may have some trouble,” Kaskie says, “and what we do is link them up to the local aging service providers, and those folks then will come out to an individual’s home and meet with them.”

Working with the Iowa Department on Aging, those providers can offer a range of help to cover a senior’s needs, like hooking them up with the Meals on Wheels program, which can bring them hot, healthy meals several times a week.

“If we could go in and do assessments and say, ‘Okay, here are things we could do to your home to make it a little more age-friendly,’ that’s part of the program,” Kaskie says. “The other part of the program is they schedule chore services to come out, so if someone needs help with cleaning things, or making small home modifications, the aging network will send somebody out to help them.”

It may be something like recommending a nearby program for exercise or yoga, or replacing a tub-style shower with a walk-in option.

Kaskie says the Iowa Return to Community program is keeping participants happier, healthier, and in their homes longer, while saving the state money.

Iowa has the country’s highest percentage of residents above age 80, and studies find by 2030, for the first time in state history, Iowans over age 65 will outnumber those under the age of 18.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has voted to set limits for the pay of temporary nursing staff working in Iowa hospitals and nursing homes.

A traveling nurse could be paid no more than 150% of the statewide average wage being paid to full-time health care staff who provide nursing services. The bill is a priority for House Republicans, who contend temp agencies are reaping too much of the extra money the legislature has provided nursing homes.

Representative Timi Brown-Powers, a Democrat from Waterloo, is a therapist at Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, She said the bill addresses a big budget problem for hospitals and nursing homes. “It’s a morale issue for health care workers that have been there, stuck in there …working alongside traveling nurses making three or four times what they’re making,” Brown-Powers said.

The bill passed on an 80-17 vote. Representative John Forbes, a Democrat from Urbandale who opposed the
bill, said there appeared to be some price gouging going on as health care employment agencies responded to workforce vacancies during the pandemic. “My concern is that if, in the future, we are putting caps or telling businesses how much they can charge for services, the businesses may not want to do business in Iowa,” Forbes said.

None of the House Republicans outlined their reasons for voting for the pay caps during the six-minute-long debate of the bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration.