Legislative Priorities
The Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) believes effective public schools require strong community support involving education professionals, parents, students, and elected officials. We build partnerships, promote advocacy, and work together to achieve support for our common goals. We believe our legislative goals begin by placing students at the center of everything we do.
Ensure every student and education professional is setup for success
- Adequate school funding, minimum 4% Supplemental State Aide (SSA) to address achievement gaps, keep up with increased operational expenses, address unpredictable enrollment numbers and allow competitive wage and benefits for education professionals. We must have adequate funding and resources so that every student, regardless of ZIP code, socio economic status or ability, receives a robust education that best meets their needs. This includes dedicated resources to address ELL, at-risk and gifted programs.
- Expand access to preschool for all 4-year-old children and a greater statewide focus on the importance of early childhood education.
- Protect and expand dedicated recess and child-directed centered play for students, a foundational component of physical health and cognitive development.
- Adequate funding for our community colleges for competitive compensation for quality fulltime faculty and to ensure affordable tuition.
- Education professionals have the expertise to best meet the needs of our nearly 500,000 public school students. We must maintain those high standards while incentivizing more people into the profession and retaining our seasoned professionals. This includes removing burdensome mandates that do not directly benefit students, increasing educator preparation and collaboration time, expanding loan forgiveness, and protecting IPERS.
- Address the mental health needs of students and staff including additional evidence-based resources for our students in the form of additional school counselors, school nurses, behavioral specialists, and social workers. Provide supports for educators so they have the best tools to identify and educate students in crisis. Ensuring supports are available to address the mental health needs of staff including a district wide emphasis on educator well-being. This includes implementing safety protocols to ensure a safe and disruption free learning and working environment.
Public dollars for public schools
- Ensure our precious state and federals funds are first prioritized to adequately fund public schools and educational services. This means:
- Opposing vouchers for private schools and unregulated home schooling.
- Opposing tax policies that adversely affect public education funding.
- Before entertaining further tax cuts that do not directly benefit Iowa taxpayers, restore special education budget cuts to the AEAs so essential student and staff services may continue and be enhanced.
- Ensuring our public schools have adequate resources so students receive a well-rounded education
that includes access to the arts, music, physical education, and career and technical education.
The ISEA mission is to promote quality public education by placing students at the center of everything we do while advocating for education professionals, making sure they are represented in all policy discussions.
For more information contact: Melissa Peterson, Legislative and Policy Director, [email protected]
