Friday, April 28, marks the scheduled end date of session, also known as the 110th day.
This year, we will extend session to continue our work. However, this date does signify the last official day with clerks and pages. I want to take a moment to recognize these outstanding folks.
The Senate page class of 2023 was a great bunch. They all have very bright futures ahead of them and I cannot wait to see what they accomplish. I wish them all nothing but the absolute best. Thank you all for your work this year. During this session, I had Kanyon Huntington serving as my student intern. Kanyon is a junior at Iowa State University, triple majoring in political science, sociology, and environmental studies. He was a great addition to our team this year, and we wish him the best of luck with his senior year and future plans. My clerk, Erica Nasstrom, joined me again for another session. She is also a junior at Iowa State University majoring in marketing. This marks the completion of our third session together, and I’m so glad to have her on my team. I look forward to continuing our work together. Thank you all for your work this session. I greatly appreciate all of your time and efforts.
This week House Filled 135 was passed 49-1 in the Senate. This legislation will give prospective students at Iowa’s regent universities the information they need to make their future college decision. HF 135 requires the Board of Regents to post the following information on their webpage, sortable by graduating class, academic major and institution, and update it annually:
• The percentage of students who have completed a graduate-level degree program after completing the bachelor’s degree
• The median annual income of students one, five, and ten years after completing their bachelor’s degree
• The median student loan debt of students who complete a bachelor’s degree
• The ratio of the student loan debt of students who complete a bachelor’s degree to the annual gross income of such students
• An estimate of a student’s monthly student loan payment and the percentage of this payment relative to the student’s monthly gross income
First-year students should be able to access this information, which is why regent institutions are required to provide a link to the online report on their university site. This information will provide transparency about the financial impact. With postsecondary education being such a large commitment, we want to help prospective and current students, and their families have all the information they need.
House File 614 passed in the Senate this week. Amidst the teacher shortage in Iowa, this legislation makes it easier for teachers out-of-state or out-of-country to come teach in Iowa. Last session, HF 2081 was passed unanimously; this legislation took away Iowa’s Praxis test requirement. Although other states may still require this test, Iowa will not, and this bill clarifies that. Additionally, the Senate passed HF 256. Iowa is a leader nationwide in the number of students taking advantage of concurrent enrollment. This bill will create flexibility for students to ensure that their age does not prevent them from being able to obtain a teaching, coaching, substitute, or other licenses from the Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE) as long as they have completed all required courses.
I encourage my constituents to continue contacting me using my legislative email ([email protected]) with any comments, questions, or concerns. I look forward to another great week of representing the people of District 42.