Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Let’s send kids back to school safely

    New reports based on information from the Iowa Department of Public Health suggest that current COVID-19 conditions may be worse than we’ve been led to believe. It appears some new cases and deaths have been backdated, making it difficult to know how current circumstances are playing out.

    Let’s all continue to practice preventive health measures, including:

    • Wearing a mask
    • Keeping distance from others in public places
    • Washing hands frequently
    • Staying home when sick

    These defenses against the spread of COVID-19 are our best chance of getting life back to normal as soon as possible.

    It’s back-to school time, and most parents would love for kids to return to their classroom – when it is safe.

    School boards, educators and families continue to deliberate the safest approach with the information available. After all, their health and safety and that of their communities is at stake.

    The Iowa State Education Association recommends a three-point checklist for safely reopening schools:

    1. The COVID-19 pandemic is under control in the community.
    2. Protections are in place to protect students and staff.
    3. Plans are in place to ensure continuous learning for all students.

    Our neighbors to the north are taking these steps and more, showing us a safe way to ease children back into classrooms.

    Minnesota is ensuring high-quality remote education until it is safe for students and educators to return to school. The Minnesota plan:

    • Requires schools that reopen to meet safety thresholds, including masks for students and teachers, social distancing, cleaning and protective equipment—and provides state support to cover the costs.
    • Requires schools that reopen to meet safety thresholds, including masks for students and teachers, social distancing, cleaning and protective equipment—and provides state support to cover the costs.
    • Requires schools that reopen to meet safety thresholds, including masks for students and teachers, social distancing, cleaning and protective equipment—and provides state support to cover the costs.

    No amount of seat time in a classroom will make up for jeopardizing the health of our kids. Let’s put their safety first as we continue to assess our return-to-learn plans.

  • Governor “abusing the power of her office” to force unsafe school reopenings

    Statement by Iowa Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen, 8/5/20

    “Governor Reynolds is abusing the power of her office.  

    “Nowhere in Senate File 2310 does it state that Iowa students, teachers and staff will be required to work and learn in unsafe buildings. In fact, the goal of the legislation was to give school districts more flexibility in online learning, not less.

    “No matter how Governor Reynolds tries to spin it to her advantage, the bill does not dictate the percentage of time Iowans need to spend in buildings. She cooked up that unsafe and unrealistic number herself.

    “I refuse to stand behind Governor Reynolds as she attacks local school board members with threats to yank their local school funding and educational licensure for voting on plans that put the health and safety of students and staff first.

    “I am grateful to school board members, teachers, parents, and students who have stood up to Governor Reynolds’ attempt at a hostile takeover of local control of our public schools.

    -end-

  • Statement on Gov’s executive order on schools

    Statement from Sen. Herman Quirmbach, Ranking Member of the Senate Education Committee, on Governor’s latest Executive Order

    “Iowa schools are being forced into difficult choices between in-person learning and the health and safety of students and staff.  The reason is that Governor Reynolds is losing the battle against COVID-19, making it more difficult for local school districts to protect Iowa schoolchildren, teachers, and other school employees and still achieve quality education.

    “The Governor is continuing to ignore science, common sense, and the health and safety of Iowans.  Infection rates in Iowa are rising again.  The Governor has ignored CDC guidelines regarding proper business opening timelines and has denied local governments the ability to correct her mistakes and meet the needs of their communities.

    “Instead of making the same kind of mistakes that states like Florida have made — where nearly 1/3 of school kids are now testing positive — the Governor should focus on providing widespread COVID-19 testing and robust contact tracing across the state.  Only when we get serious about knocking down this virus can our kids have a quality education and a safe school environment.”

  • 2020 Session Wrap-up

  • Legislative Democrats’ COVID-19 Recovery Agenda

    News Release
    June 1, 2020

    Focus on Keeping Iowans Healthy and Restoring Financial Security  

    DES MOINES – Democratic lawmakers outlined their plan today to address the needs of Iowa families and business during the upcoming session of the Iowa Legislature. 

    The plan was developed by lawmakers to keep legislators focused during the final days of the 2020 session on addressing problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Iowans have worked hard to protect each other from the spread of COVID-19 and deserve to be at the front of the line in our recovery efforts,” Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen said. “We need to stay focused on fixing the problems created by the pandemic and passing a balanced budget.”

    “In these uncertain times, the state needs to be more transparent than ever so Iowans have all the information available to protect their family, open their business, or go back to the office,” said House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard. “When session starts again on Wednesday, the Legislature must also fulfill its duty to provide oversight and make sure our Iowa tax dollars are spent wisely.” 

    In releasing the COVID recovery agenda, the two leaders also said lawmakers must work together to find solutions that balance the physical health and safety of Iowans with their need to work and put food on the table. The full agenda is below.

    COVID 19 Recovery Agenda

    Keeping Iowans Healthy 

    • Access to affordable health care, including mental health
    • Ensure universal access to COVID testing, contact tracing and PPE in all 99 counties
    • Keep hospitals and local health care clinics open 
    • Free coronavirus vaccine once available
    • Support mitigation efforts by cities, counties and emergency management commissions 
    • Prepare for fall COVID resurgence 

     Opening Businesses Safely & Protecting Workers

    • Help small businesses reopen safely and help them stay open 
    • Tests for Iowans returning to the workforce and retesting at workplaces when an employee tests positive
    • Financial security for businesses and workers with COVID positive case
    • Expand whistleblower protections and workers compensation during pandemics, including first responders and health care workers  
    • Expand protections for renters and homeowners during pandemics and severe economic downturns
    • Expand community college opportunities to help Iowans get back to work
    • Paid pandemic leave for workers to stay home when they are sick 

    Kids Learning & Growing Safely

    • Protect K-12 public education funding 
    • Provide universal access to technology and home-based internet for student
    • Provide PPE for all educators and students
    • Increase childcare services for Iowa families
    • Provide timely guidance to schools, parents and students on reopening


    COVID Transparency & Accountability 

    • Expand vote-at-home opportunities statewide
    • Oversight of Test Iowa and other no-bid contracts
    • Require immediate public notification of COVID outbreaks and end threshold reporting requirement
    • Require OSHA inspections and enforcement during health care emergencies

     –  end –

  • Limiting disruptions in the the classroom

    By State Sen. Zach Wahls, Coralville (Senate District 37)

    The Senate has approved SF 2360, which is a step toward fixing what has become an overwhelming concern for our schools.

    Classroom safety and disruptive classroom behavior received a lot of attention during the interim. There has been a lot of media attention on this topic, including the use of classroom measures like “seclusion rooms” and “classroom clears.” Fundamentally, issues of classroom safety are about resources and staffing levels—classrooms are much more difficult to manage as class sizes grow and we have fewer teachers per student.

    As I worked on this bill in the Education Committee, I asked all of the school districts in my Senate district to weigh in with their feedback. I am grateful they were able to provide input as the Senate considered this proposal.

    Responding to those concerns, the Iowa Senate adopted SF 2360, which will give teachers and schools more tools for addressing disruptive student behavior. This legislation is not perfect, but because of good Democratic work in the Education Committee, on which I serve, it has improved significantly from where it started.

    The legislation does the following:

    • Sets up a competitive grant program that will help schools create therapeutic classrooms to provide intensive help for students who need it. Therapeutic classrooms are designed to be short-term breaks for students to “reset” and develop new coping strategies before returning to their regular classroom. Schools may collaborate or partner with local nonprofits and mental health agencies to establish a regional therapeutic classroom.
    • Provides funding to train educators on how to manage classroom disruptions and address student behavior. 
    • Increases job and whistleblower protections for teachers who report violence and personal attacks to school administrators and the police.

    New information and data will be collected from schools so that we can see how often incidents of disruption and classroom clears occur. This will help us continue to make improvements that ensure safe and productive learning environments for all Iowa students.   

    I still have significant concerns about this legislation, especially how little funding was appropriate to deal with what is rightly recognized as a significant statewide challenge. I supported doubling the funding for the first year of implementation. Republicans in the Senate voted against this proposal even though the bill’s manager agreed that more funding was need. That doesn’t make sense.

    I supported this bill, but I’m disappointed in the decisions the majority party continues to make with the resources people give us to improve this state. We must make sure that this first step is only the beginning and not the end.

  • Emergency Action to stop private school vouchers

    ACTION ALERT: We believe a vote on private school vouchers will be held at the Senate Education Committee meeting TODAY at 2 PM in room 22. This is the last scheduled meeting before the funnel deadline.

    IMMEDIATELY:

    1) Call the Senate Switchboard (1515-281-3371) and leave a message for your Senators.

    2) Send an email to the Republican members of the committee today. Addresses are below.

    amy.sinclair@legis.iowa.gov
    chris.cournoyer@legis.iowa.gov
    jerry.behn@legis.iowa.gov
    jeff.edler@legis.iowa.gov
    craig.johnson@legis.iowa.gov
    tim.kraayenbrink@legis.iowa.gov
    mark.lofgren@legis.iowa.gov
    ken.rozenboom@legis.iowa.gov
    annette.sweeney@legis.iowa.gov
    brad.zaun@legis.iowa.gov

    The proposed legislation is similar to a bill proposed last year by Senate GOP President Schneider. LSA estimated the cost of that bill to be $265 million annually.

    More information:
    Senator Celsi oped: http://bit.ly/2UneQBP-DM-Register-Celsi-Vouchers

    Senator Wahls WHO Radio: https://www.facebook.com/IowaSenateDemocrats/videos/570267840159975/

  • What Iowans are saying

    Iowans want decent-paying jobs, affordable health care and the chance to lead a good life. In recent years, however, we’ve seen stagnant wages, rising health care costs and more Iowans living paycheck to paycheck. Iowans deserve better.

    In a survey earlier this session, Senate Democrats asked what you think can best help everyday Iowans. The table below summarizes your top responses.

    Many Iowans also shared their thoughts on how we can move Iowa forward. Here’s a sample of what you had to say:

    • Jobs – “Iowans I know are working two or more jobs without healthcare benefits to stay afloat. They live paycheck to paycheck with no financial reserves for something as basic as a car repair or an unexpected illness. Thousands of Iowans are barely surviving financially rather than living this wonderful middle class life we keep hearing about. This is true throughout the state and is deeply felt in rural Iowa.” –Mary from Ottumwa
    • Worker training – “Keep improving our community colleges, to expand the trade programs. Our state needs trained workers to fill jobs that are screaming for applicants.” –Ron from Eldridge
    • Rural Iowa – “We need to have more industry of all kinds and technology jobs in rural areas to improve economies of small towns so that people are not moving away to cities and out of state.” -Linda from Spencer
    • Health care – “I hear on a regular basis how parents have had to quit jobs to take care of disabled children. Patients are having to forgo medication because insurance won’t pay for it even if they have tried other medications or been on the medications for years.” –Melissa from Coralville
    • Education – “I’m a parent with a child in kindergarten and I substitute for the same school district, and from both sides, I can see the need to give more funds in education. Our children are the future, we should be giving them the best education we can and paying teacher’s a better wage too for all they deal with.” –Lisa from Clinton

    Thank you to all who offered their input. I am committed to Putting Iowans First by focusing on our shared values of fairness, compassion, dignity, equality and liberty.

    Please continue giving your feedback to ensure we do all we can to help you, your family and your community. Working together, we can get Iowa back on the right track.

  • GOP school funding shortchanges students & schools

    Feb. 4, 2019

    Statement from State Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames,
    ranking member of the Senate Education Committee,
    on inadequate GOP’s education spending plan

    “It’s disappointing that legislative Republicans are even undercutting the Governor’s level of education spending.

    “Senate Democrats will support a robust education funding plan that will make up for inflationary losses over the past two years and provide a modest increase as well.

    “We believe that a 3 percent increase is what Iowa schools, educators and students deserve.”

    -end-

  • 2018 End-of-Session Report

    The Democratic plan for 2018 calls for Putting Iowans First

    • Investing in public schools & preventing more school closures
    • Keeping job training & college affordable for all Iowans
    • Making child care more affordable for working parents & those training for better jobs
    • Raising wages for Iowans
    • Increasing use of renewable energy & fuels
    • Revitalizing rural Iowa with good jobs & a great quality of life
    • Examining tax breaks for big, out-of-state corporations that put the state budget in the red & don’t create Iowa jobs
    • Requiring the Senate GOP to pay for their $1.75 million sexual harassment suit instead of taxpayers
    • Ending privatized Medicaid, especially for our most vulnerable Iowans
    • Keeping health care affordable & accessible for all Iowans
    • Fixing & investing in Iowa’s mental health system
    • Cleaning up the corruption & cronyism in state government


     Gov. Reynolds & Republican lawmakers: Misplaced priorities & mismanagement

    • Instituting the most restrictive abortion ban in the country (SF 359)
    • Slashing investment in skilled worker initiatives (SF 2117, HF 2493)
    • Making record-low investments in public schools (HF 2230)
    • Sending more money to out‐of‐state, for‐profit online schools (SF 475)
    • Raising tuition & reducing opportunities with millions in mid‐year cuts to community colleges & state universities (SF 2117)
    • Allowing unregulated health care plans that can deny people based on pre‐existing conditions (SF 2349)
    • Reducing services at county courthouses with mid‐year cuts (SF 2117)
    • Cutting $4.3 million from an already strapped Department of Human Services (SF 2117)
    • Eliminating protections in current gun ownership laws (HJR 2009)
    • Banning sanctuary cities even though Iowa doesn’t have any (SF 481)
    • Putting Iowans’ safety at risk with lower inspection standards (HF 2297)
    • Cutting energy efficiency programs & discriminating against renewable energy options (SF 2311)
    • Passing a huge tax giveaway that overwhelmingly benefits corporations & the wealthy (SF 2417)
    • Failing to extend funding for school infrastructure & providing more than $100 million in property tax relief with SAVE (HF 2481)
    • Failing to take advantage of industrial help as a promising agricultural commodity (SF 2398)
    • Allowing doctors to give incomplete information to pregnant women (SF 2418)

     

    Several bipartisan bills were approved

    • Requiring ignition interlocks & no temporary license restrictions for OWIs (HF 2338)
    • Ensuring health care coverage for telemedicine services (HF 2305)
    • Expanding mental health services for complex needs (HF 2456)
    • Expanding Move Over law to make the roads safer (HF 2304)
    • Expanding consumer security freezes to protect credit (SF 2177)
    • Expanding Safe Haven laws (SF 360)
    • Helping more veterans by expanding the Veterans Trust Fund (SF 2366)
    • Creating security plans for all Iowa schools (SF 2364)
    • Prohibiting shaming of students who can’t pay for their lunch (HF 2467)
    • Protecting student athletes with new concussion protocols (HF 2442)
    • Requiring suicide prevention training for school employees (SF 2113)
    • Cracking down on electronic forms of identity theft (HF 2199)
    • Licensing for genetic counselors (SF 2228) & autism counselors (SF 192)
    • Enhancing funding for EMS transportation (HF 2285) & 911 HF 2254)
    • Establishing Future Ready plan to train more skilled workers (HF 2458)
    • Expanding work background checks for those with access to personal info (HF 2321, HF 637)
    • Cracking down on electronic eavesdropping (HF 2392)
    • Expanding help through Crime Victims Compensation Fund (SF 2165)
    • Giving schools (HF 2441) & communities (SF 2258) flexibility with certain funding to meet local needs
    • Improving teaching for those with dyslexia (SF 2360)
    • Approving a plan to start combatting Iowa’s opioid crisis (HF 2377)
    • Providing sharing incentives for schools to improve efficiency & save money (HF 633)
    • Protecting the privacy of student data (HF 2354)
    • Taking a first step toward fairer funding for rural schools with high transportation costs (SF 455)

     

    Good news: These GOP bills failed

    • Raising property taxes & reducing local services by ending the state’s property tax backfill for local governments & school districts (SF 2420)
    • Shifting $200 million from public schools to private & home schools through vouchers (SF 2091)
    • Eliminating the Iowa Department of Public Health (HF 2017)
    • Reinstating the death penalty (SF 335)
    • Instituting political discrimination for university faculty (SF 288)
    • Intimidating abortion providers to limit health care choices for women (SF 26)
    • Ending retirement security for public employees, including teachers, fire fighter, & police officers (IPERS, PORS & 411) (SF 45)
    • Defining abortion as murder, even in cases of rape or incest (SF 54)
    • Putting Bible literacy classes in public schools (HF 2031)
    • Removing gender identity protections from Iowa Civil Rights Code (HF 2164)
    • Making Iowa Supreme Court Justices part‐time & paying them like lawmakers (HF 2036)
    • Giving Iowans a “license to discriminate” against fellow citizens who are different from them (SF 2338)
    • Creating new requirements & drug testing for recipients of Medicaid, FIP & SNAP, while limiting food items (SF 2370)
    • Requiring a super‐majority vote for Iowa Supreme Court decisions (SF 2282)
    • Ending state accreditation for community colleges (SF 2272)
    • Extending school bus riding times for K-12 students (SF 2137)