Iowa Senate votes to make school start date a local decision

DES MOINES - Iowa senators voted Tuesday to nix the state's school start date law and give K-12 schools control over when they want to start fall classes - a position that likely will set up a showdown with the Iowa House and Gov. Terry Branstad, who don't want schools to start before Aug. 23.

The Senate voted 32-17 to eliminate the current law that bars public and private schools from starting before the week in which Sept. 1 falls unless they get a state waiver. Twenty Democrats and a dozen Republicans favored the measure, while six Democrats joined 11 GOP senators in opposing the bill.

Senate File 227 would authorize districts to set their calendars based on the best educational interests of the students while ending the waiver process and repealing an aid reduction penalty for early starts by schools.

'This bill quite simply restores local control,” said Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames. 'One size does not fit all.”

The Senate bill came about in response to new school starting date guidelines developed by the Iowa Department of Education in response to a directive from Branstad. The state agency guidelines parallel concerns raised by Branstad, who has sympathized with Iowa tourism officials who say they are losing millions of dollars annually because of early school starting dates that begin on sweltering days in August.

The guidelines could reduce the number of school districts that start early by requiring school officials to prove that students would be harmed academically if they don't start classes early. In the current school year, all but two of Iowa's 338 public K-12 school districts sought and were granted waivers from the current law. In the 2013-14 school year, only 10 Iowa school districts started later than Aug. 23--a date which had been discussed as a compromise in the House last month.

'I'm really disappointed with this bill because it creates chaos,” said Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, by denying opportunities for businesses - especially those in his Iowa Great Lakes tourism area - that generate tax revenue that help fund education and school operations. He said early school start dates are threatening to turn Okoboji 'into a ghost town” when the issue could be resolved by collaboration and cooperation between the schools and the tourism interests.

'This isn't about when school starts but who makes that decision,” said Sen. Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa, during Tuesday's floor debate.

However, Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said that instead of throwing water on a fire, the Senate approach was like fanning it with gasoline.

'I don't see this as the answer. I see it as creating a bigger problem,” Dotzler said. 'I don't think we've thought through this.”

Sen. Dick Dearden, D-Des Moines, said the Senate approach was 'no compromise” by letting schools 'do whatever the overpaid superintendents want them to do.” He guaranteed the bill would return from the House in a much different form.

'Let's face the facts, this bill is not going to go anywhere,” added Sen Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, who was a yes vote.

In Iowa House, lawmakers are considering Aug. 23 as a compromise on the school start-date issue, although they plan to amend their proposal to accommodate year-round schools.

During a meeting with The Gazette Editorial Board last week, Branstad - who wants K-12 schools to start no earlier than Sept. 1 - said he's willing to compromise. But he hinted at a veto for a school start date before Aug. 23.

'The date they've talked about is Aug. 24. That's something we could live with,” Branstad said. 'It's not going to start before the 23rd of August.”

During Tuesday's Senate debate, Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, tried unsuccessfully to resolve the school start date dispute by proposing to establish home rule for Iowa's K-12 school districts - an amendment that was ruled out of order and irrelevant to Tuesday's debate by Senate President Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque.

Sen. Mark Chelgren, R-Ottumwa, also tried unsuccessfully to require that attendance at the Iowa State Fair be allowed as a 'reasonable excuse” for a student's absence from school to participate in what he considered to be an educational activity. That amendment also was ruled not germane by Jochum.

Bowman said the proposal was not needed because it is 'common practice” in his school district in Maquoketa, while Quirmbach called it the opposite of local control to mandate what school districts would have to count as an excused absence.