Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds focused on boosting education and healthcare opportunities in an expansive agenda laid out for legislators in her annual state address on Tuesday evening.
Reynolds demanded significant revisions to the state's approaches to mental health and substance use, as well as how special education was provided in schools.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Proposes Improvement in Education, Healthcare
Reynolds began her annual Condition of the State address by reflecting on last week's high school shooting in Perry. She expressed gratitude to first responders, several of whom were in the audience.
On Monday, she did not mention gun laws, which brought college and high school students to the Capitol Rotunda to support gun control measures.
She talked about "troubling" performance measures for students with disabilities in the classroom despite funding levels for special education that are higher than the national average. She said she would target the nine regional agencies, known as Area Education Agencies, which currently handle the provision of special education services in Iowa.
Concerns have already been raised about potential agency reforms, prompting Reynolds to provide clarification to families who were told they were planning to end the AEAs or even cut services their families depend on. She claimed that it was categorically false.
Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum expressed concern that rural Iowa will be disproportionately affected by the possibility of further privatization of education services.
A strong victory of Reynolds in her re-election in 2022 allowed her to push through most of the proposals she made about the state's status last year. On Tuesday, she celebrated a few of those programs, including her landmark school choice bill to create publicly funded educational savings accounts that families could use for private school education.
"There are those who said we did too much, too fast. That change wasn't necessary or that it would make us worse off," Reynolds said.
In her speech, she pledged to reduce taxes, increase work-based learning opportunities, protect minors from online pornography, and strengthen Iowa's laws governing foreign property ownership.
This year, Reynolds also prioritized mental health and substance use for the Legislature, investing $20 million of Iowa's settlement funds from opioid lawsuits and streamlining the state's behavioral health administration.
Democrats Support Reynolds
Reynolds requested the Legislature to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for moms earning less than $42,000 a year from 60 days to 12 months.
However, it was not as expansive as legislation Democrats had previously suggested increasing the Medicaid benefit for all mothers. She has advocated for a few health care measures, such as parental leave for state employees and over-the-counter contraception, supported by Democrats but failed to win over some Republicans.
House Speaker Pat Grassley said that "we can't just ignore" the measure, but he would not also commit to the legislation passing a majority of his caucus.
Democratic House leader Jennifer Konfrst hopes that Republicans and Democrats in the House will discuss ways to address the goals they share.
She said they were hopeful that they would be bipartisan and work together. However, she asked, "The question is, will Republicans include us in this conversation or not?"
