On Tuesday, March 29, Iowa House Republicans passed a bill to increase transparency in education for parents.

House File 2577 requires school districts to post the syllabus, textbooks, and related core and instructional materials to an online portal parents can access. It also requires a catalog of every school library book to be available online and allows parents to tell the school if there are books their child is prohibited from checking out. 

Representative Phil Thompson (R-Jefferson) ran the bill through the Iowa House. 

"Iowa parents have raised concerns over age-inappropriate material and left-leaning curriculum in their child's classroom and school libraries," Thompson said. "I believe that parents matter, and they deserve a voice in their child's education. The best way to give them back their voice is to increase transparency. Parents deserve to know what their child is being taught."

Thompson said he's worked hard with education groups to make sure this bill is feasible for teachers. The bill allows teachers to update their class material throughout the school year and gives 14 days to correct a violation.

Speaker Pat Grassley praised Thompson's work on this important legislation. 

"Rep. Thompson has taken feedback from teachers to ensure that this bill is workable for them," said Grassley. "Most teachers are already using an online platform and this requirement will be easy to meet.  Most teachers are already doing the right thing. But this bill will provide accountability for the teachers and administrators who have been using their roles in schools to indoctrinate students into their political thinking."

HF 2577 passed the House with a vote of 60-35. 

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