Request for governor’s veto
To All MISIC members:
In case you did not receive the following email from one of your professional organizations. Please respond as you wish to the call for action on the State Assessment bill.
This message is being sent to members of IASB, RSAI, SAI and UEN:
Your education association leaders have met and together set a consistent course for communicating with the Governor’s office regarding forward progress on a state assessment aligned to Iowa high expectation student learning standards. We have all independently and collectively supported in our legislative platforms the move to a state assessment aligned to what we teach, with the intent of a system to improve instruction for Iowa students.
We are deeply disappointed that funds were not appropriated for implementation of an aligned assessment in the spring of 2017. As such, our groups support the amendment crafted jointly by House and Senate education leaders (SF 2323 section 6) to delay administration of a new state test until the 2017-18 school year. This compromise also eliminates concerns of an unfunded mandate for the 2016-17 school year.
Our groups do not support the amendment added to SF 2323 as section 18 in the House which requires a suspension of DE rules regarding the test and further review by the legislative Administrative Rules Review Committee in December 2016. We are concerned Section 18 impedes forward motion of the assessment, prohibiting the DE from taking the necessary steps to assure a smooth implementation in the 2017-18 school year. We believe that selection of the state assessment is an educational issue belonging under the authority of the State Board of Education without further legislative interference.
We are collectively asking the Governor to sign Section 6, delaying the implementation for schools. We are collectively asking the Governor to veto Section 18 regarding the rules suspension. We are urging the Governor to include an adequate appropriation for assessment in his budget he presents to the 2017 Legislative Session.
To see the recommendation of the Task Force regarding the assessment aligned to our Iowa core Standards, see 2014-12-31 Iowa Assessment Task Force Report
Please contact SAI Government Relations Director Tom Narak with any questions you may have, tnarak@sai-iowa.org.
Respectfully,
Matt Carver, Roark Horn and Tom Narak