Parties stake turf in ed. overhaul

DES MOINES (AP) — Key lawmakers in both parties on Monday began shaping the debate over overhauling Iowa's schools.

The House Education Committee took up the matter, with Republicans focusing on testing 11th-graders and Democrats looking at literacy efforts for elementary students. Democrats said they have lots of amendments, so the eventual outcome in the committee was uncertain.

Gov. Terry Branstad's education proposal calls for more testing of students and setting tougher standards for those who would become teachers. He would require incoming teachers to demonstrate proficiency in their fields before being assigned to classrooms and would make it tougher for would-be teachers to get into teacher preparation programs in colleges.

Rep. Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia, said Republicans will modify a Branstad proposal that would require all 11th-graders to take college entrance tests. "Not every 11th-grader is going to college. Some are going to community colleges, and there's an alternative test for them," Forristall said.

The final version of the proposal will include some sort of test to assure that students are ready for whatever post-secondary option they choose, he said.

Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, said Democrats are wary of Branstad's proposal to hold back all third-graders who don't demonstrate reading competency. She also said Republicans aren't setting aside enough money for schools.

Democrats, Steckman said, will focus on bolstering literacy programs, beginning in preschool and early elementary grades. "We've got to solve that problem before we hold the student back," Steckman said.

She said Democrats are looking to reshape the package to make public schools focus on competency-based learning programs that test students often and rely less on traditional grades.

"I would like to see us focus on something that's been shown to work in this state, and that's competency-based learning," Steckman said.

She also said the $17 million that the governor has set aside to pay for his overhaul proposal isn't adequate, and that the Republicans, who control the House, want to cut that number.

"We're being rushed right now," Steckman said. "We have to go through a process. You don't want to throw something out there and see if it sticks."

Forristall noted this year's debate over schools won't be the last.

Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht made the same point.

"This is just the first step in a long process," Albrecht said.

Extension of Bush-era tax cuts encouraged

DES MOINES (AP) — An Iowa state senator introduced a resolution urging Congress to extend tax cuts approved under former President George W. Bush.

Sen. Bill Dix, a Republican from Shell Rock, introduced the resolution in the Iowa Legislature on Monday, saying families depend on the tax cuts, which were approved in 2001.

Dix said that allowing the tax cuts to expire would amount to a big tax increase on everyone. He said that would be the worst thing to do in a struggling economy.

Senate panel advances Internet poker bill

DES MOINES (AP) — A Senate panel voted to approve a measure to legalize Internet poker in Iowa, sending the bill to a full committee for debate.

Supporters of the measure said residents already gamble online and the state doesn't get any revenue and there are no regulations. The measure would allow the state's casinos and racetracks to offer Internet poker and would put state gaming regulators in charge.

The measure was approved Monday by a three-member panel of the Senate State Government Committee. Debate by the full committee is expected later in the week.

Projections showed that legalizing Internet poker could generate between $3 million and $13 million for the state. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has issued a study outlining how the state could structure Internet poker.

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