Latest news with #BarbKniffMcCulla
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House passes bill to allow chaplains in public schools
Rep. Barb Kniff McCulla, R-Pella, was the floor manager for a bill passed by the Iowa House March 26, 2025 allowing public schools to employ a chaplain or allow them to volunteer in providing services for students. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) House lawmakers sent a bill to the Senate Tuesday that would allow public and charter schools to hire chaplains or allow them to volunteer to provide 'support, services, and programs' for students. The House passed House File 884 on a vote of 57-39. The measure would allow public school districts, charter schools and innovation school zones to hire or engage a chaplain to provide services for students. The bill contains language stating that a school cannot 'require or coerce a student to utilize' services or support from a chaplain and that chaplains cannot be used in lieu of a school counselor or guidance counselor. Even so, multiple Democrats criticized the measure as an attempt to introduce religion into public schools. Rep. Elinor Levin, D-Iowa City, said the bill represents 'a dangerous attempt to go around the separation of church and state.' While supporters of the measure compared the measure with current chaplain positions allowed in the U.S. military and in hospitals, she said the considerations of religious services are very different when involving a child who has not necessarily requested to see a chaplain. 'We are talking about a bill that has no consideration for parental consent in having a child meet with a chaplain,' Levin said. 'We are talking about a bill that has no consideration for accreditation of a chaplain, training of a chaplain. We are talking about a bill that makes no prohibition on evangelizing within a school building.' While a school's board of directors can decide to set qualifications, credentialing or other requirements for chaplains they hire or allow to volunteer, school districts cannot require chaplains to have an certification, authorization or recognition from the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE) in order to be in a school, as is required for other school staff positions. Democrats said the measure could lead to adults who are not properly vetted or trained to engage with children from being in schools in an official capacity as a chaplain. But Rep. Brooke Boden, R-Indianola, said the BOEE 'is not in the business of credentialing chaplains,' and that training and other requirements should be left to school districts' discretion. 'If a school wants to make sure that a chaplain is appropriately credentialed, it is their responsibility to make sure they're credentialed,' Boden said. 'That's local control. That's what we gave them in the bill.' Rep. Helena Hayes, R-New Sharon, cited research by Dr. Lisa Miller, author of the book 'The Spiritual Child,' that found children and teenagers who have an active relationship with spirituality are less likely to abuse substances and face depression. 'Chaplains trained to provide spiritual and emotional care — they're uniquely positioned to apply the findings that I just shared in schools and assist us in fostering healthier, more resilient students and reducing destructive behavior,' Hayes said. Levin argued that the data Hayes presented is not necessarily linked with the legislation, as only one state, Texas, currently has a law allowing for public schools to employ chaplains. 'This isn't something that has been done in many places,' Levin said. 'This is something that Iowa is considering, and we have to think about Iowans. And the spiritual needs of Iowa's kids should be met outside the school by decisions made by their parents and families.' The bill's floor manager, Rep. Barb Kniff McCulla, R-Pella, said the legislation will help 'protect our youth and make them successful.' 'Every Iowa school in Iowa should have a chaplain, if that's what the school district decides on,' Kniff McCulla said. 'And the usage of chaplains is well documented for impacting lives in a positive direction.' The bill moves to the Senate for further consideration.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would strip state funds from public libraries based on association membership
A bill to strip state funding from libraries based on their membership in certain state and national associations advanced in the Iowa House on Feb. 24. 2025. (Photo by) Lawmakers in the Iowa House gave initial approval Monday to a bill that would strip state aid from public libraries that are 'dues-paying members' of a state or national nonprofit organization that lobbies government such as the Iowa Library Association or American Library Association. House File 284 would change library eligibility for Enrich Iowa funds provided through the State Library of Iowa to exclude members of a nonprofit organization that 'promotes federal and state legislation related to libraries and engages in advocacy efforts at the federal, state or local level.' Supporters of the bill at a subcommittee meeting on Monday focused on concerns about the content of certain books in public libraries and the perceived political agenda of the American Library Association and Iowa Library Association. Rep. Barb Kniff McCulla, R- Pella, said 'we all love' services offered by public libraries, but 'we also have a concern about the types of books that are in the library, and I think that's really what the concern is here today.' Rep. Helena Hayes, R-New Sharon, sponsor of the bill, said the ALA opposes restrictions on library materials based on age. 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is what is upsetting so many library users and parents, is that our libraries will not at least take some action, something, take some books and at least pull them away from the children's sections,' she said. Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have targeted public libraries in various ways the past few years. This year, House File 274 would eliminate the exemption in the state obscenity law for libraries. The lawmakers did not cite any specific books but Jeff Pitts, speaking for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, said he objected to the prominent placement in a Des Moines Public Library branch of 'He's My Mom,' a children's book by Sarah Savage for children who have a transgender parent. 'So OK, so what percentage of the population is that relevant to,' Pitts said. Opponents argued that the state and national associations provide significant support to public libraries, such as continuing education for librarians, assistance in creating programs for people with dementia and aid in adopting the state-preferred literacy model for children. 'I am opposed to this bill because the majority of our rural libraries, which is the majority of libraries in Iowa … rely on money from Enrich Iowa in order to stay open. It is a large, significant part of their budgets,' Nancy Medema of the Ankeny Public Library Board of Trustees said. Leslie Noble, speaking for the Iowa Library Association, said the Dunkerton Public Library received a $20,000 grant from the ALA last year to install a private meeting room for people with disabilities to use for 'confidential issues, meetings and appointments.' In 2023, she said, the Nevada Public Library received a $20,000 grant to install a chair lift to make a basement storm shelter accessible to people with disabilities. After a derecho storm ripped through Marion, that library received a $10,000 grant for laptops, tablets, a printer and wi-fi hotspots to help serve the community in the wake of the disaster, she said. 'It wasn't taxpayer money. It was all contributed by the American Library Association, and it benefited every community member in these communities,' she said. Enrich Iowa, operated through the state Department of Administrative services, spends about $2.4 million a year on assistance to libraries, including $1.1 million in direct grants. Direct grant money has to be used to improve library services, according to the Enrich Iowa website. Hayes said Enrich Iowa said Enrich Iowa awards funds to about 450 libraries a year. 'That's not a lot of money. That's not the main part of their funding,' she said. She also said the State Library of Iowa provides services such as training for librarians. The bill moved out of subcommittee with the support of Hayes and Kniff McCulla. Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, did not support the bill, which moves next to the House Education Committee.
