By Zach Weigel
Although the state Legislature and Gov. Terry Branstad have made it clear that funding education is not a priority, evidenced by notable divestitures across all levels (K-12 and postsecondary) over the last few years, there are a couple of proposed bills that are positive for the education system in the state. Nonetheless, it appears politics could be getting in the way.To address mental health in the schools, House File 369 proposes to “require the completion of one unit of mental-health or mental-wellness training as one of the six units required for renewal of a standard license” for all secondary-education teachers. Introduced by Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, a retired school teacher, the bill seems quite intuitive, meaning it should have no problem passing; however, since its proposal in February, no action has been taken.
Teachers are required to take continuing-education courses in order to maintain their teaching licenses, meaning that this bill would not impose any additional burden on teachers. It would simply require that one of the continuing-education classes be related to mental health. Seems pretty straightforward, considering the persistent de-stigmatization efforts on mental health by health-care professionals and society as whole. Why, then, have the legislators taken no action on the bill?
I’m no clairvoyant, but if I had to guess, I’d say it all comes back to politics. While this bill seems intuitive and pragmatic, I surmise that it has failed to gain traction because it was proposed by a Democrat. And because the Legislature is controlled by Republicans, it would be logical to presume that they may not want to advance bills that are supported by Democrats, even if the bills are common sense.
Moreover, HF 369 is not the only education-oriented bill that has failed to gain traction. Introduced on March 1, Senate File 390 proposes “an act relating to state and school anti-harassment and anti-bullying policies, providing for training for school personnel, establishing a bullying and violence-prevention student-mentoring pilot program and a school climate-improvement grant program, providing for a school climate and bullying work group and making an appropriation.” SF 390 has been referred to committee, yet there is no guarantee that it will be passed this session, seeing as the Legislature’s session is set to end April 18.
Taken together, both these bills come across as commonsense proposals that would improve the educational environment for Iowa students. Mascher’s proposal would ensure that secondary-education teachers are qualified to deal with students who have mental-health concerns, and SF 390 would further address the emotional well-being of public-school students by creating avenues for student support.
Therefore, if these bills fail to pass, political warfare between Democrats and Republicans may be to blame. Budgetary constraints have revealed that the Republican-controlled state political institutions are reluctant to spend money on education, but beyond that, the inaction of commonsense bills signals that political identity means more than pragmatic policy.
