The More Options for Maternal Support (MOMS) program was established in 2022 to fund anti-abortion pregnancy centers. The total funding was increased to $2 million last year, but the state has not been able to distribute the money.
The law requires that a third-party administrator manage and distribute the funds, but the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has so far been unable to fill that role. A new bill filed in the 2024 legislative session would strike the requirement for the MOMS administrator to have three years of experience and would allow the state to administer the program until officials are able to hire a suitable nonprofit. The bill advanced out of a House subcommittee last week.
New rules for minors in child care centers
In the third week of the 2024 legislative session, Republican lawmakers introduced a bill that builds on a law passed in 2022.
The proposal would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to care for infants and toddlers at child care centers without direct supervision from an adult. That expands on a law passed in 2022 that allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to care for school-age children without an adult or teacher in the room.
Health care proposals
Medical providers could refuse to perform health services on the basis of ethical, moral or religious beliefs under a bill moving forward in the Senate. Medical providers expressed opposition to the bill, while Christian organizations were the only groups to back the proposal.
Education bills that moved forward last week
A bill passed by a Senate subcommittee would require schoolsto incorporate evidence-based reading instruction, often called science of reading, in kindergarten through third grade. The bill is separate from Gov. Kim Reynolds’ plans to require new elementary teachers to pass an exam based on the science of reading.
Another bill advancing in the Senate would require schools to set aside fundsto help teachers purchase classroom supplies using existing funding. And the Senate Education Committee received a bill last week that would give schools the option to hire a paid or volunteer chaplain.
In the House, a bill was introduced that would prevent schools from teaching gender-neutral versions of world languages like German or French that incorporate gender into the language. Another would require students to sing the national anthem in part every day.
Coming up this week at the Capitol
A public subcommittee hearing is scheduled for a proposal in the Iowa House that would remove gender identity from Iowa’s civil rights law. The bill would also add gender dysphoria as a disability that’s protected under law.
To read more about what happened this week at the Iowa Capitol, follow our liveblog and sign up for IPR’s weekly newsletter, Political Sense, for Statehouse updates sent directly to your inbox.
