Most legislators believe every parent should play a central role in their child’s education, and we’ve worked hard to give them a greater say in the education process by passing several pieces of legislation over the last two years. This week the Iowa House passed HF 2577 which aims at creating a more transparent classroom so parents can view instructional material being taught to their children.
The purpose of the legislation is to empower parents, while at the same time making it as simple as possible for our educators. Under the proposal, school districts would post the syllabus, textbooks, and other related classroom documents for parents to access through an online portal. Educators would update their online postings each week, allowing for discussion on current events or other topics they deem most engaging and educational.
In addition, legislators from across the state have heard many concerns about obscene books and materials in school libraries and classrooms. This legislation seeks to address this problem from the angle of transparency. Our bill would require a catalog of books in school libraries to be published online and a process be implemented ensuring parents can have oversight of the materials their children are seeing, reading and checking out. Parents can, and should, talk with their local school boards and superintendents to address concerns over certain materials and potentially have them removed.
The bottom line is this, parents should know what is happening in their children’s education. They deserve all the transparency and understanding of instructional material their children are seeing in the classroom and school library. We will continue to work on ways to promote the voice of parents and work alongside our fantastic educators to promote a transparent educational experience.
