Statement on School Vouchers

Currently the Iowa legislature is considering a bill spearheaded by Gov. Reynolds that would allow for a voucher-style program that sets aside public tax dollars to be used to pay tuition and fees at private educational institutions. The republican majority has taken to calling this policy “school choice” and “providing more options for parents”, but this choice of education does not seem to reflect the situation in the state. Rather than provide more choice for parents this bill aims to take funds from public schools and funnel them to private schools and, in particular, religious schools.  The wall separating church and state has been under assault in the past years by Christian Nationalists and this is simply the latest iteration of their theocratic ideology. Make no mistake, the goal of this bill is to funnel as many public dollars into unaccountable and sectarian institutions as possible in order to prop up and legitimize religious teaching of young people in the state of Iowa.  This means that Iowa tax dollars will go directly into the coffers of religious institutions, institutions that are exempt from human and civil rights laws, disability access, equitable admissions processes, and even can be used to fund political activity. 

The choice that is touted by the bills supporters is a false one since the only real options given are specifically Christian schools in the state of Iowa. Less than half a dozen schools that are registered as private institutions in the state of Iowa are secular, less than 6 out of 183 private institutions. That is less than 4% of schools in only two areas of the state, Central and Eastern-Central Iowa, being secular and with mission statements that are inclusive to all students.  Religious schools and institutions, whose very foundation was and is based on the right to exclude non-religious, or in many cases, non-white, children from gaining access to education remain the bulk of “options” for students.

This is a complete violation of the foundational ideas that are laid out in the constitution, both nationally and in the state of Iowa.  Section 3 of the Iowa Constitution: “…nor shall any person be compelled to attend any place of worship, pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for building or repairing places of worship, or the maintenance of any minister, or ministry.”  Pushing public dollars into the upkeep and maintenance of these sectarian schools is a direct violation of that separation of church and state and should be seen as such.  This is much less a side effect of these voucher programs but actual point as evidenced by testimony from the bills supporters as well as political contributions and public statements of religious institutions. 

The voucher scheme being considered is nothing less than Christian Nationalism come to Iowa in the false language of choice and freedom,  the effects of which will be an explicit state endorsement of religious indoctrination.

Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers reject the idea of a voucher system that funnels money to unaccountable religious institutions and stands for the separation of church and state. 

By Jason Bennell

Press Secretary

Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers

Two Senate Files: Pro Covid, Pro Ignorance, Anti Public Health

Two bills have been filed in the Iowa Senate related to Coronavirus and pandemic mandates, Senate File 45 and Senate File 91. Both bills would make it harder for Iowa to enforce science-based public health measures promoted by the Federal Government. 

Over the last three years, conservatives enthusiastically embraced the conspiracy that common sense measures to reduce death and sickness of a deadly pandemic are really leftist attacks on personal freedom and liberty. If liberals are for it, they must be against it. Covid has killed over a million Americans so far. The death toll should never have reached that level, but it did —  thanks at least in part to the conservative anti-vax obsession.  I just don’t understand.

And they aren’t done yet. Brad Zaun sponsored Senate File 45, a bill “prohibiting the labor commissioner from implementing, enforcing, or conforming to certain federal occupational safety and health standards relating to COVID-19.” The health and safety standards in question are those involving Covid testing and vaccinations in the workplace. Employers would be 1) prohibited from requiring Covid tests or vaccinations and 2) prohibited from determining whether an employee is vaccinated, has had a Covid test, or has ever had the viral infection. 

Senate File 91, by Senator Salmon, is “an act relating to powers and duties applicable to state of 2 disaster emergencies and public health disasters.” According to this bill, after the Governor declares a public disaster, only the General Assembly would be allowed to rescind, extend, or amend the state of emergency. 

This bill includes explicit religious exemptions for vaccines. It would make it easier for medical practitioners to promote quack medicine. Emergency measures shall not infringe on a fundamental constitutionally protected right unless the measure is justified by a compelling state interest, is narrowly tailored to achieve its specific purpose, and is achieved by the least restrictive means possible. The bill interferes with contact tracing, quarantine measures, and social distancing requirements. Basically, it would reduce the state’s ability to impose most of the common sense measures used to reduce the spread of Covid 19 over the last three years. 

If this bill becomes law, the State’s responsibility to reduce the health risk of deadly pandemics and other emergencies will take a back seat to conspiracies, ignorance, science denial, and religious dogma. 

Please click on the links and read these bills. Or at least the final section labeled “EXPLANATION.” I know, they are all hard to read, written in dense legalese. But there is so much more detail. As hard as I try, I always feel like my brief summaries and explanations still miss too much.

Senate File 99: An Anti-Vaxxer's Dream

Senate File 99, “an act relating to immunization information requested on a medical examiner investigation form,” is an anti-vax dream. This bill would require medical examiners to document recent vaccination history every time they investigate the death of a child age 0-3. 

The CDC recommends that every child receive ten different vaccinations — sometimes multiple doses — before age three. Literally every child age 0-3 who dies will have multiple recent vaccines in their medical records — and all that information will go into a publically available spreadsheet. Every vaccine conspiracist out there will gleefully point to that list and say, “all those innocent children were given vaccines, and then they died!”

You all know which fallacy that is, right? T

his bill is a gift to the purveyors of ignorance and science denial. Contact you legislators and tell them to vote no on Senate File 99

More Bills Like This, Please

Senate File 51, introduced by legislators who are NOT Christian Nationalists, would require hospitals to prominently post policies related to admission, nondiscrimination, and reproductive healthcare. In other words, they would have to clearly explain on their website policies related to LGBTQ patients, religious minorities, and abortion-related care, among other important matters. Catholic hospitals, in particular, go out of their way to NOT make this information publicly available. They are morally obligated to make this information available, but they do not. This bill would force them to do the right thing.

I do occasionally talk about good bills that should be enacted. I don’t really expect any of them to pass this year.The odds of this bill becoming a law in Iowa approach zero. But it should be the law everywhere.

The thing is, greater than zero means there is still a chance that it will pass. If we all do nothing, then the odds really are zero. Talking about it now can change people’s minds next year in the general election. Don’t give up. We have important things to do and lives to save.

Two Anti-LGBTQ/ Anti-teacher Bills Filed Today

Conservative Representatives filed two related anti-LGBTQ/anti-teacher bills today. House File 8 prohibits public schools from teaching anything about gender identity or sexual orientation from Kindergarten through grade three. I haven’t compared it line for line to Florida’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill but it seems equivalent.

I’ll admit, there aren’t a lot of situations where teachers need to discuss gender identity or sexual orientation with kids this young, but the exceptions seem incredibly important. Imagine the following conversation in a grade school in Florida, or Iowa after this bill passes:

Bobby: “My two dads took me to DisneyLand this weekend.”

Johnny: “You have two dads? What happened to your Mom? You’re Weird!

Teacher: “Johnny, There are all kinds of families. Lots of families have a Mom and Dad. Some have two Dads, and some have two Moms. But they are all families and there is nothing wrong with that.”

Question: Did the Teacher just violate the law? Seems like it to me. Teachers Have to be able to talk about these subjects honestly without fear of losing their livelihoods. The only “sinister agenda” here is that of Christian conservatives who hate all things LGBTQ and have no problem smearing the entire education profession in order to own the libs in their culture war.

House File 9 would require written consent from parents for any accommodation meant to affirm a student’s gender identity if that identity differs from that assigned at birth. That’s not a problem if the parents recognize and accept their LGBTQ kids. But if parents are NOT accepting of their LGBTQ child, What happens then? Those kids are way more likely to suffer mental illness, depression, and suicide. This bill would compel teachers to out children to hostile parents.

That seems pointlessly cruel to me. But for bills like this, cruelty is the point.

A couple years ago, when conservatives filed dozens of anti-LGBTQ bills, OneIowa was able to muster such an overwhelming outcry against them that the GOP sponsors nixed all most all of their own bills, letting them die in committee. It was an awesome sight to behold, and gives me hope that we can successfully push back now if we complain loudly enough.