Sen. Tom Rielly’s Mar. 5 Column
Iowa Senator Tom Rielly (D)
For our students to do their best, they need a great start in school. That’s especially important in the early grades, when kids are learning to read. That’s when one-on-one time with teachers can make a big difference in a student’s life.
To ensure students get the attention they need, the Senate voted to prevent $30 million in cuts to Iowa’s kindergarten through third-grade classrooms.
This class-size reduction effort—officially called the Iowa Early Intervention Block Grant Program—was set to disappear if the Legislature didn’t vote to continue it.
For more than a decade, school districts have relied on these resources to increase students’ basic skills. Local districts have used the money for additional licensed instructional staff, before- and after-school programs, tutoring, all-day kindergarten and other steps to help young learners.
When this effort started in 1999, we had third-grade classrooms with more than 30 students. Now the statewide average is 21 third-graders in a single classroom.
There are lots of education reform ideas in the hopper at the Iowa Capitol this spring. Few of them, however, will produce the results we get from simply giving kids more individual attention.
The legislation now goes to the Iowa House. I hope it will quickly pass and be sent to the Governor for his signature.
Protecting agricultural producers from fraud
The Iowa Senate has voted to establish new penalties for those caught getting a job at a livestock confinement or on a farm in an effort to disrupt the operation.
A bipartisan group of urban and rural legislators worked with the Iowa Attorney General’s on House File 589. The bill establishes a crime of “agricultural production fraud.” It prohibits gaining access to an agricultural production facility, along with lying on a job application or employment agreement, with intent to commit fraud.
The first offense is a serious misdemeanor with a penalty of imprisonment up to one year and fines from $315 to $1,875. The second offense is an aggravated misdemeanor with a penalty of imprisonment up to two years and fines between $625 and $6,250.
Supporters say the bill will provide protections for livestock producers concerned about exposure to disease and other problems associated with unauthorized people accessing their private property under false pretenses.
The Iowa House approved the Senate version of this bill, which now awaits the Governor’s signature.
Upcoming public forums
3/16/2012
8:30-9:30 a.m.
Albia Listening Post
At Main St. Café, 11 North Main Street
3/23/2012
10-11 a.m.
Centerville Listening Post
At Tangleberries, 104 West Jackson Street
3/24/2012
8:30-9:30 a.m.
Oskaloosa Eggs & Issues
At Smokey Row, 109 S Market Street
