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The Warme Wire: Week three of session

It’s hard to believe we’re already into the third week of the legislative session! Things have really kicked into gear here at the Capitol, and I want to update everyone on what we’ve been working on. This week, a lot of our focus was on education. As a mom of two girls in public school, a school-based mentor, and a licensed substitute teacher, I am always looking for ways to improve our schools and set children up for success and self-sufficiency.

This week I got to meet with many experts, advocates, staff, and students across public and private education as well as support organizations to hear about what’s working and where challenges exist. It was great to speak to student representatives from the Marshalltown school board, a representative for Catholic schools across the state, the Ames superintendent and school board members, a Gilbert principal, and a Colo-NESCO Community Schools school board member, among others.

Senate Republicans released a funding proposal for the next fiscal year with $4.2 billion in General Fund state aid allocated for all K-12 students (nearly half of the entire state budget). This is an increase of $235 million for K-12 education and includes the second year of the teacher pay increase passed in 2024, the largest teacher pay increase in Iowa’s history. We prioritized getting the numbers out early, something requested of me by many districts in our area, to help our schools in their planning processes.

When you look at the state budget, it is clear education is a priority. The state is investing $7,983 of your tax dollars per student in Iowa. After all funding sources are considered, including property taxes, state aid, federal dollars and other sources, public schools in Iowa will receive an estimated $18,722 per student next school year.

Funding alone, no matter the level, will not solve the extensive mental health and behavioral challenges at our schools. I strongly believe that phone-free school days would help our students tremendously and am pleased that we finally got the new policy language about personal electronic devices in schools. The bill also includes required instruction for middle schoolers on the effects of social media. If you’ve been following this one closely, I encourage you to read through the proposed Senate Study Bill 1065 and send me your feedback. This is a critical step forward in making sure our students are learning and growing in the best environment possible.

Speaking of healthy communities, a constituent from Laurel (southern Marshall County, population 219) brought a group of her fellow physician assistant (PA) classmates at University of Iowa to talk to me about improvements to PA licensure. It worked! This will be the first bill I am managing in my role on the Health and Human Services Committee. I’m looking forward to learning more about the topic in our upcoming subcommittee discussions and doing what we can to improve health care access across our state.

As always, your feedback is welcome because I am here to represent YOU! Together, we can continue to make Iowa a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

——

Kara Warme, a Republican from Ames, represents

District 26 in the Iowa Senate.

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