From State Rep. Sharon Steckman –
Over the next few weeks, Iowa students and educators head back to school for another year. As they return, they will notice a few changes approved by the Legislature this past session.
First, the Legislature increased school aid by 2% plus a 2% cash equivalent bonus to schools. The cost per pupil will increase from $6,001 to $6,121 and the state will pick up 100% of the additional cost to prevent a property tax increase. Next year, schools will receive a 4% increase in funding.
While it was scheduled to end this year, Iowa’s early intervention class size reduction program was extended for another five years. The program provides assistance to identified struggling students and supports additional teachers to keep class sizes low.
The Legislature also expanded the Iowa Learning On-line initiative to include professional development for teachers and services for 2,500 students statewide. While no student can take classes exclusively on-line, the initiative provides additional learning opportunities for students that are not available in their local school.
Launched last week, educators can also now use a new statewide, on-line job posting website just for educators. TeachIowa.gov simplifies the search for education jobs and employees while expanding the pool of job candidates statewide.
Later this fall, several taskforces will begin to develop recommendations for the 2014 Legislature. Topics for those task forces include: Competency Based Education (CBE), which allows students to learn at their own pace and then move on once they have mastered specific concepts and skills; assessments on student progress; teacher evaluations; and school performance.
