As District 6 Iowa Senator, Craig Williams, nears the end of the fourth week of his first term in the Iowa Senate, he says he found his email flooded with messages about proposed education bills. Last week, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation that has districts offering schooling with a 100 percent in-person option. Williams says this legislation came about because of a few districts, not the majority.
Locally, there is no impact from this Senate File, but he adds the bottom line is it gives parents a choice.
Williams received around 1,000 emails on the Senate’s student first scholarship proposal. A portion of this allows funding for those enrolled in failing schools to follow the student to an accredited school of their choice. Williams put in many hours investigating the bill, educating himself on what it included and why.
He wants to ensure the scholarship portion is understood by constituents.
There is only one district in the listening area that is currently deficient, and Williams believes by the time this is enacted in 2022, they no longer will be. Some positives of the bill include an increase in tax deductions for educators spending their own money for classroom use and it gives families an additional $750 in textbook credits on their taxes. Another big-ticket item that passed through the Senate recently was the Iowa Constitution Second amendment language change that will go to a public vote in November of 2022.
He says if approved, any challenge to the amendment would be subject to “strict scrutiny” by the judicial system. He was surprised he did not hear anything from constituents on this bill. Williams will be taking part in the upcoming Legislative Forum on Saturday morning, Feb. 6 with Iowa House District 12 Representative, Brian Best. Details on how to submit questions and to view the virtual forum can be found by following the link included below. Also included there is the full interview with Senator Williams.
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Details on Saturday’s Legislative Forum:
Second Carroll Chamber Legislative Forum To Be Held Virtually Saturday
Full interview with Senator Williams:
https://www.1380kcim.com/episode/kcim-interview-state-senator-craig-williams-2/
