It’s time to think summer!
Here’s a ray of sunshine on this rainy, gray Friday. All Prairie Lakes AEA offices will change to summer hours beginning Monday, June 9th.  Staff members have the option of working an extended four day week, or five, 7.5 hour days, for a total of 37.5 hours per week.  All offices need coverage from 8 a.m. to 4p.m., Monday through Friday.  Actual work hours must be approved by your immediate supervisor.
 
Normal work schedules resume on Monday, August 11th.

Get ready for the Prairie Lakes prom!
All agency staff will gather from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on May 2 at the Pocahontas Expo Center. While we celebrated homecoming at our fall agency professional development day, our spring learning will include with a prom theme. Those who wish, and perhaps are brave enough, are welcome to dress in the traditional prom attire.

Our agenda is as follows:
Welcome - Dr. Kay
Culture of Poverty Awareness by members of the Learning Supports Team - Linda Linn, Denise Wasko, Amy Gilman, Mary Kay Sharkey, Julie Nadrchal and Deb Lenertz.
Lunch & Association meeting
State of Prairie Lakes AEA Union - Dr. Kay
Years of Service celebrations and recognition for those retiring from our Prairie Lakes AEA family

The staff seating assignments will be included in next week’s Friday News. The day will begin promptly at 9 a.m.

How to comment on a blog
Did you read something on the blog and feel compelled to comment? Like to contribute news from your corner of PLAEA? Here’s what you can do to make that happen.

Under the headline, there is a line that includes the date the article was published and the word Comments. Click Comments and a text box will appear. You’ll also need to enter your name and email address in the boxes to the left. This is required! ONLY your name will appear with the comment. It is OK for you to identify yourself with a code name, i.e. Idea Girl or IMRunner.

ll comments are read to ensure comments are free from personal attacks and other inappropriate content. This is a family-friendly site. While the guidelines are being updated, these are the guidelines under which we are currently operating. Updated guidelines should be available next week!

Mentoring application reminder
Interested in mentoring a new member of our PLAEA ohana? Interested staff should complete the application and submit it to their Zone Coordinator or Supervisor.  The Zone Coordinator or Supervisor will forward applications to the AEA Induction and Mentoring Facilitator, which is Sandy Spangler. Applications are due by May 15.

PD sign-up
Remember to sign-up for one of the three agency professional development strands! Your zone coordinator and/or supervisor can help you with this process!

Interested in learning more about blogging or creating a blog for use in your work? Contact Connie Johnson!

News from the Iowa legislature - Wayne Haddy, AEA Governmental Relations Specialist

Final week?
While the final appropriation figures still need to be resolved between the
legislature and the governor and the need to act on several “must-do” bills
remains, the consensus around the capital is that the session will come to
an end late next week. 

Education Appropriations
The House passed the Education Appropriations bill this week.  Among many
items the bill includes the following:

* A new allocation of $2.19 million directed to the department of
Education to work with AEAs on implementing the Model Core Curriculum.  This
was reduced during debate from $2.59 million. 
* A reduction in the general allocation to the empowerment areas has
been reduced by $1.5 million, for a total of $22.3 million. This reflects
carry forward money of over 30% by 40 empowerment areas.
* An allocation of $15 million for the statewide voluntary preschool
program.
* A $75 million increase in teacher salaries for the student
achievement and teacher quality law is included in this budget. The total
appropriation for teacher quality included in this budget is $248.9 million.
* Language dealing with Medicaid reimbursement.
* The language from HF 2649, Senior Year Plus, was put into this bill.

The bill now goes to the Senate.

Core Curriculum
The House also passed the Model Core Curriculum bill.  SF 2216 requires that
all accredited public and accredited non-public schools adopt the Iowa model
core curriculum. Under current law a model core curriculum exists but it is
voluntary and schools do not have to adopt it. The bill establishes that the
Iowa Core Curriculum is mandatory in all grades.  The bill requires school
districts and accredited nonpublic schools to adopt a set of core content
standards. The content standards must align with the federal No Child Left.

The bill was complicated by the passage of an amendment calling for more
rigorous standards.  The amendment:

* Requires school districts to adopt minimum core content standards
for grades kindergarten through twelve that is identical to NCLB.
* Encourages districts to set higher expectations in local content
standards.
* Allows that the minimum core content standards not be adopted until
June 20, 2012.
* Directs the department of education to adopt rules that identify the
“core content” and “performance standards” with an implementation date of
July 1, 2010.

As of the end of the week the Senate was insisting that they would not
accept the changes made by the amendment.  The bill is being held by the
House on a Motion to Reconsider.

Open Meetings Law
On Monday the Senate passed a comprehensive new open meetings law that
included among many provisions:

* Expands the definition of meetings and includes reconvened meetings.
* Increases the penalties for violations of the open meetings law. 
* Defines records to include information stored in any manner. 
* Defines governmental records to mean those owned, created or
controlled by a governmental body; public records to mean a government
record that individuals have an unqualified right to see and copy and
confidential records to mean those designated as unavailable to the public.

It also creates the Iowa Public Information Board, sets the membership of
the board, allows complaints about open records to be filed with the board
and gives the board investigative and subpoena powers. 

On Tuesday the House State Government Committee determined that there was
not enough time left in the session to study the ramifications of the entire
bill and voted to delete all provisions with the exception of the board.

Other Actions
The following occurred during this past week:
* The Senate passed the IPERS Bill
* The Senate passed the DHS appropriations bill
* Senate Ways and Means committee voted out the SILO bill

Notes
* Still no word of resolution on the collective bargaining bill.
* The Standings Appropriations bill has not been filed yet, but as of
today the intent is to still include another $2.75 million in AEA
restoration funding.
* The Teacher Quality Bill and the bill to roll discretionary
education programs into a formula still await debate in the House.
* Governor Culver said that he has three initiatives that he wants
passed, Senior Year Plus, an appropriation of  $4.7 million for a Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education program at UNI and a model
core curriculum