By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

DES MOINES, Iowa – Money can’t buy happiness or true love, but Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is hoping it can buy a better education for students in the Hawkeye State.

After a two-year push for education reform, Branstad finally got a bill from lawmakers that he could support, and he signed it into law on Monday.

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The centerpiece of the new law is money – and lots of it.

According to the Des Moines Register, the reform law increases state K-12 aid by 8 percent (over the next two years), raises starting teachers’ pay to $33,500, gives pay raises to skilled teachers who take on new leadership responsibilities, sets aside $10 million for high-needs schools, and offers tuition reimbursements to top students in Iowa’s teacher colleges.

Whew.

All told, the reform legislation “will cost $7.27 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, and will cost around $160 million annually at full implementation in fiscal year 2018,” reports the Register.

Supporters of the new law seem most proud of the new teacher leadership program, which allows highly effective teachers to spend more time mentoring other teachers and developing curriculum.

The leadership initiative is voluntary, but districts that implement it will receive about $300 in additional per pupil funding from the state.

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The new law also establishes a council of education stakeholders that will make recommendations for improving evaluation systems for teachers and administrators.

“The council will be required to consider student performance, student surveys and other factors as possible metrics in that evaluation, but will not be required to include them in its recommendation,” the Register notes.

While the reform law didn’t include provisions for charter schools or vouchers, as some conservatives wanted, it did contain key victories for homeschool supporters.

The Register reports that “requirements for homeschool students to file paperwork with their local school district and undergo annual evaluation by an independent teacher would be removed.”

Also, homeschool parents will be allowed to teach “up to four unrelated students along with their own children,” the paper reports.