News from the State House

by State Representative Patti Ruff

On Tuesday, I met with our local superintendents. We discussed school funding, school start date, and its impact along with the recommendation of using smarter balance assessments. They are all great at communicating with me on where they stand on these important educational issues.
On Wednesday, I met with Fern Rissman from Decorah and the folks from our workforce development office. I also spoke with educational mangers from Clark University and Luther College.
 
School start date
In the House Education Committee this week we debated school start date. This bill would have school starting on August 23rd, with no wavier to start earlier. This date would have schools starting after the state fair. This bill would also remove the exemption for school aid reduction if a school district starts earlier than August 23rd. Right now, the bill has no exemption for an alternative calendar or a year round school. All education groups are opposed to a hard start date, and all Democrats on House Education Committee oppose the bill. The Senate has passed out of their Senate Education Committee their bill that would allow total local control for school districts.
 
Internal Revenue Code
Iowans will have extra money in their pockets after the Senate and House unanimously passed a coupling bill that updates Iowa tax laws. Some things in this 99 million dollar bill will allow teachers to deduct up to $250 a year for supplies, equipment, and materials in the classroom. It will allow a deduction of up to $4,000 for higher education tuition and expenses for the taxpayer, spouse, or dependents. It couples with a variety of tax credits for small businesses and farmers, including tax incentives for hiring employees, purchasing new equipment, and making donations to nonprofits. It will provide tax incentives for middle class homeowners and gives an incentive to manufacturers and producers to make large equipment purchases. Also, it will create a uniform tax policy with the federal government that eases in tax preparation.
 
Summer Meal Programs
In an effort to head off hunger, the Iowa Department of Education (DE) is seeking sponsors for a federally funded program that provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer months. Just as learning does not end when school lets out, neither does a child’s need for good nutrition.
About 90 percent of the more than 195,000 Iowa students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches during the school year don’t have school-sponsored meal programs to turn to when classes let out for summer break. The Summer Food Service Program, which is administered through DE, is designed to fill that gap.
There are many summer food service program feeding sites across the state of Iowa; however the program is still vastly under-utilized. Last year, Iowa summer food service program sites provided nearly 970,000 meals and snacks to children and teenagers through age 18, feeding on average, 19,000 children on a typical summer day. That represented a 15 percent increase over the previous summer, but still fell short of goals.
A free informational webinar will be held on Thursday, Feb. 26, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Iowa Department of Education’s Summer Food Service Program webpage or register to participate in the Feb. 26 webinar.
 
Workforce Housing Credits  
Last year, the legislature took action to address the state’s shortage of housing for its growing workforce. The legislation removed restrictions on where housing eligible for workforce tax credits could be built, opening the program up for statewide use.
To be eligible for the program, projects must meet one of four criteria:
• Housing development located on a grayfield or brownfield site
• Repair or rehabilitation of dilapidated housing stock
• Upper story housing development
• New construction in a greenfield (community with demonstrated workforce housing needs).
There is a cap on construction of $200,000 per unit. Workforce Housing Tax Credits are fully transferrable and awarded on a first come first serve basis.
To learn more about the eligibility requirements and available tax benefits, go to www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/Community/WHTC. The program application is available at www.iowagrants.gov.
 
Iowa leads the nation in providing college-credit
opportunities to high school students
Iowa is the national leader in the percentage of students who are under the age of 18 that are enrolled in community colleges or in public institutions according to two publications released by the Iowa Department of Education. “Concurrent enrollment opportunities allow students to get a jump start on their college education, saving them money, and reducing student debt,” said Brad Buck, director of the Iowa Department of Education.
The number of jointly enrolled high school students has risen to a record high 42,996 in 2014. The year-to-year growth was 6.8%. Students enrolled in an average of nearly eight credit hours, which is about two to three college courses during the 2013-14 school year. Students can enroll in a variety of ways, such as Postsecondary Enrollment Options courses, college courses offered through a contract between a school district and a community college, and enrollment in college credit courses independently as tuition-paying students.
Until next week!