Iowa lawmakers reconsidering school transparency bill

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) - The Iowa House is reconsidering a bill to give parents more access to what is taught in their children’s classrooms.

The bulk of this year’s plan deals with content in school libraries and how to handle controversial books. It would require school districts to give parents access to a list of all materials in their school library.

Parents would also have the power to prevent their students from checking out certain school library materials. Politicians and education experts spent the last year making changes to come to a compromise.

“We don’t know if there are accommodations allowed for students with disabilities or a non-English speaking student,” said Margaret Buckton, Rural School Advocates of Iowa. “We just have concerns about how this might be implemented. This bill frankly has come leaps and bounds since last year.”

“We are concerned that this bill may cause unnecessary burdens on our education professionals,” said Melissa Peterson, Iowa State Education Association.

Lawmakers tried to pass a school transparency law last session, but couldn’t get it done.

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