KDSN RADIO News
Iowa House ‘MAHA’ bill includes school-related proposals
House Republicans have created their own “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, and their bill calls for new standards for school lunches, limits on access to digital devices in early elementary grades, and a continuation of the state policy that bars food stamps from being used to buy things like candy and pop.
Representative Austin Harris, a Republican from Moulton, said the goal is to enhance the health and well-being of Iowans. “For too long, discussing uncomfortable topics like this has been taboo in politics, but here are the hard truths,” Harris said. “Iowa ranks the 11th highest for adult obesity; 77.7% of Iowans are obese or overweight; we have the sixth highest rate for excessive drinking; we rank 43rd out of the 50 states for exercise.”
The bill calls for Iowa students to take the Presidential Fitness Test, and Iowa schools would have to ensure students in kindergarten through fifth grades have 120 minutes of physical activity each week. High school students would be required to participate in at least one extracurricular activity. Republican Representative Skyler Wheeler of Hull said being part of a group or team is important. “Not just in sports, but it could be something else. It could be FFA. It could be chess club — something where you’re involved, where you have to socialize,” Wheeler said, “where you have to get to know people, and you’re a part of something.”
Representative Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, said extracurricular activities are great for students, but not all families can afford it. “While I appreciate the idea, making it a requirement puts undue hardship on kids and doesn’t consider that not all kids are going home and playing Xbox,” Konfrst said. “Some are going to work to support their families.”
Another section of the bill would limit digital instruction in kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms to 60 minutes a day. There would be some exceptions for things like computer science instruction or math and reading programs on laptops or tablets that are tailored for a student’s individual use. Representative Samatha Fett, a Republican from Carlisle, said these are reasonable guardrails. “Teachers and parents have raised consistent concerns about attention, focus, and the depth of learning as screen exposure increased,” Fett said. “Research and classroom experience now show that excessive screen time can undermine comprehension, memory, behavior, early literacy, and math development.”
If the bill becomes law, there’s a list of dyes and additives that could no longer appear in the food or drinks served in Iowa schools, and students would have to be taught the nutritional benefits of animal-based protein, dairy, vegetables, and fruit. The bill has some elements of the governor’s MAHA bill, including a move that could give Iowans over-the-counter access to ivermectin if a pharmacist agrees to sell it. Representative Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines who is a doctor of internal medicine, says research shows ivermectin is not an effective treatment for COVID or cancer, and misusing ivermectin can cause dangerous conditions like seizures and liver failure. “Perhaps that is why there is a clause in this bill that gives immunity to pharmacists who are handing this out now like candy because people want to experiment on themselves from something they read on the internet,” Baeth said.
Harris, the Republican from Moulton who led the House debate on the bill, replied. “Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Idaho have legalized this. A total of 49 million people have access to over-the-counter ivermectin, and in that time, there have been zero reports of overdoses from this,” Harris said.
Last fall, officials in Colorado, where there are no over-the-counter sales of ivermectin, say a 74-year-old woman died after taking ivermectin intended for use in horses.
The health policy bill Governor Reynolds proposed included an increase in tobacco taxes and a new tax on vaping products, but that’s not included in the bill that cleared the House tonight.
