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News from Every Child Counts
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The first of session started with the traditional speeches by legislative leaders in each chamber and party. There was a lot of talk about how long session lasted last year and how this session will be considerably shorter. Only time will tell.......
On Tuesday, Governor Branstad delivered the Condition of the State speech. He outlined two major priorities this coming legislative session: - A 4-point jobs and careers plan of action;
- To again have the nation's best school system
The 4 point jobs and careers plan highlights reducing commercial property taxes and high quality jobs (and education reform).
The Governor also introduced his proposed budget for FY 2013. This is earlier than previous years as we usually don't see the budget until the end of January. Maybe they are serious about getting done early or on time this year! Legislative Services Agency has a user-friendly summary here.
There isn't anything substantial to report, other than an increase in funding for children's health insurance. All other children's programs are funded at last year's levels - no increases or decreases!
On January 12th, the House and Senate both introduced the Governor's proposed bill on education reform. SSB 3009 and HSB 517 are the 156 page companion bills. The final price tag of the reform package is $25 million. The Governor is asking for $17 million in new money through the Education Appropriations bill, and is repurposing $8 million of existing pools of money for the remainder.
The $8 million of repurposed money will be taken from the State Categorical Supplements under the Governor's proposal. $5.2 million would be taken from the Early Intervention Block Grant program, an initiative which is meant to lower class sizes in early grades, and $2.8 million would come from K-12 Professional Development Funds. Under the Categorical Supplements, the current amount of the Early Intervention Block Grant is estimated to be $30.3 million for FY13. Professional Development is estimated at $29.7 million for FY13.
The first week of session is behind us and we look forward to working with all of you during the remaining weeks!
Sincerely,
Sheila Hansen & Danielle Oswald-Thole
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February 8 & 9
Early Childhood Iowa Congress
and Day on the Hill 
Building Quality Systems from the Inside Out: Passion, Creativity & Change is the theme of this year's Congress. Join hundreds of other Iowans who care about early childhood issues for our annual two-day event. The Congress is a place where passion, creativity and change annually come together to forge a high-quality system uniquely capable to meet the needs of Iowa's children and families. You are an important partner in this system building effort as you work every day on behalf of young children and their families. Registration is open now. Register by January 25 to use the early bird rate. Hotel rooms are blocked at the Airport Holiday Inn until January 17 only - call now. See the registration brochure for more details.
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Bills of Interest
 Quality Early Care and Education A study bill for an act relating to programs and activities under the purview of the department of education, the state board of education, the board of educational examiners, school districts, and accredited nonpublic schools; and providing for the retention of certain fees and for the use of certain funds. 01/11/12 Subcommittee - Quirmbach, Schoenjahn, Hamerlinck (In Education) Child Health and Well-Being
HSB 510 - A study bill relating to child abuse reports and disposition data. Subcommittee- Fry, Garrett, Hunter, Lofgren, and Mascher (In Human Resources)SF 2019 - A bill for an act relating to mandatory infant safe sleep training for personnel of child care facilities and child care homes and including applicability provisions. (Referred to Human Resources)HF 2010 - A bill for an act prohibiting a licensed foster parent from providing child care when a foster child is present who has been found to have committed abuse of another child. Subcommittee - Massie, Heaton, and Oldson. (In Judiciary) Child and Family Economic Success
HSB 519 - A study bill relating to property taxation and local government budget. Subcommittee - Sands, Helland, Jacoby, Kaufmann, and Kearns. (In Ways and Means - Gov's Bill) HF 559 - A bill for an act authorizing the establishment of health insurance exchanges in the state and including effective date provisions. Subcommittee - Pettengill, Fry, and Oldson. |
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"Poverty devastates families, communities and nations. It causes instability and political unrest and fuels conflict." -- Kofi Annan
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Health Care Reform
Iowa legislators are among more than 500 state legislators from all 50 states who have filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the constitutionality of the health law, arguing that "the minimum coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act is a valid exercise of Congress's Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause powers."
"Iowa has been named the best state in the nation when it comes to children's health care. Yet there are still 300,000 uninsured Iowans. Skyrocketing health insurance rates continue to hamper job creation in Iowa and make Iowa households financially insecure," said State Senator Jack Hatch of Des Moines, the past chair of the national Working Group of State Legislators for Health Reform. "Iowa's health care crisis will not be solved without a strong federal effort to increase competition, control costs, improve quality, and insure every American." ........read rest of story here.
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Get timely updates from the Child and Family Policy Center:
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How is state policy affecting the families around you?
Tell us about it! Sheila Hansen
Every Child Counts
Director
Danielle Oswald-Thole
Every Child Counts Outreach Coordinator and Policy Advocate
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A donation to
Every Child Counts helps us do what's good for Iowa kids
and families.
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Investing in Kids
Investing in Kids, economist Tim Bartik is devoting January to answering some of the most frequently asked questions on the importance and implementation of early childhood education programs. His responses, which already address the evidence of early education's success and how long-term benefits are generated, are useful for policymakers and advocates as state and federal legislatures open their 2012 sessions. |
Lack of Economic Mobility Adds Urgency to The Pre-K Debates
Economic mobility is in thanks to Republican presidential hopefuls drawing attention to recent studies showing that Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in Canada and much of Western Europe. Read rest of story from NIEER here. |
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