Capitol Notebook: Iowa AG leads brief to uphold Arkansas law against ‘indoctrination’ in schools

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a 14-state coalition in a brief asking an appeals court to uphold a state law in Arkansas that is intended to prevent “indoctrination” in schools.

“As a mom, I know how important it is that we create a healthy culture for our kids to learn and grow,” Bird said in a statement Wednesday. “And most schools and teachers do an amazing job at that. But when education turns into indoctrination, parents have a right to push back.”

The Arkansas law was passed in 2023 and codifies a previous executive order from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. It targets teaching “that would indoctrinate students with ideologies … that conflict with the principle of equal protection under the law.” The statute points to critical race theory — an academic concept that argues racism is embedded in legal principles and policies — as an example of such an ideology.

The law, as written, does not ban discussion of the described concepts, but rather prohibits schools from compelling students to affirm them as true.

But teachers and students who sued the state argued the law was being interpreted to ban any discussion of critical race theory. For example, the state’s secretary of education removed the AP designation from the AP African-American Studies course after the law went into effect.

A district court in May partially granted a request from a group of teachers and students to temporarily block enforcement of a portion of the law, but only for the specific parties that sued. In his ruling, Judge Lee Rudofsky cited a 1982 Supreme Court case that found governments cannot remove information from a classroom without a “legitimate pedagogical interest.”

Bird and the other Republican attorneys general argue in the brief that court cases since then have invalidated that precedent. The brief points to more recent decisions that say the government has a right to promote a defined message and value system, as well as a right to condemn certain values.

The brief is joined by attorneys general in Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

Disaster proclamation for July 4 flooding

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation on Tuesday for Chickasaw and Wright counties after the area experienced severe storms and flash flooding on July 4.

The proclamation opens up the Iowa Individual Assistance Program and Disaster Case Advocacy Program for residents of those counties. It also allows state resources to respond to the severe weather.

Qualifying residents in those counties can access the assistance program to cover property losses and temporary housing expenses. Residents can visit homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/assistance to apply.

Woodbury County was also made eligible Tuesday for the federal Individual Assistance Program under a Major Disaster Declaration after severe storms and flooding in June.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Individual Assistance Program opens up government grants and assistance for people who lost housing, property and wages because of the flooding. People in the covered counties can apply for assistance at disasterassistance.gov.

Other counties covered by the declaration are Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola, Plymouth and Sioux.

New Iowa Taxpayers Association leadership

Tom Sands announced his retirement as president and CEO of the Iowa Taxpayers Association, effective in September, the advocacy organization announced.

Nate Ristow was appointed by the organization’s board as its new president and CEO, effective July 15.

Sands joined the Iowa Taxpayers Association in 2017 after serving 14 years as a state lawmaker in the Iowa House, where he spent six years leading the chamber’s committee on tax policy.

“I strongly believe that taxpayers not only need to be invited to the table, but sitting at the head of the table, when it comes to setting fiscal policy,” Sands said in an Iowa Taxpayers Association news release. “It has been my honor and privilege to serve as President & CEO of the Iowa Taxpayers Association for the last seven and a half years.”

Ristow joins the organization having served as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Administrative Rules Coordinator and policy adviser since 2019, according to ITA. Previously, Ristow served in multiple roles for former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

“I am excited for the opportunity to continue ITA’s mission of educating and informing Iowans and state policymakers on sound fiscal and tax policy that promotes economic growth throughout the state,” Ristow said in the news release.

Reynolds appoints district judge

Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed Ashley West-Joons, a county attorney from Missouri Valley, as a district associate judge in Iowa's 4th Judicial District.

West-Joons is the Harrison County Attorney and also works in private practice at West Law Office, Reynolds' office said in a news release. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and her law degree from Creighton University.

Judicial District 4 includes nine southwest Iowa counties: Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie and Shelby.