The education SWAT discusses state and local issues related to education, such as curriculum and standards for K-12 schools, and how that education sufficiently prepares students for moving either into the workforce, especially for jobs related to agriculture; or into post-secondary education. We’ll discuss school financing issues, but if you’d like more in-depth details about property tax issues related to schools, that will be available at the Tax SWAT page. And, we’ll review Farm Bureau programs, such as Ag in the Classroom.

Communication within the Education SWAT (as well as all other SWATs) is virtual. That means discussions and information-sharing will be conducted via email and the Internet. In the future, we may also look at virtual meetings, too. Opportunities to meet face-to-face are scheduled during the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in December (for issue surfacing) and at the Policy Information Conference in late winter (for issue information and programming discussions).

Members in the Education SWAT will be involved in several ways:

• Receive information about education issues so you become a well-informed “panel of experts” on education issues
  
• Provide input to the organization in issue surfacing
  
• Participate in organized policy implementation efforts, including writing comments, giving comments at public hearings, and being involved in lobbying efforts
  
• Provide input on Farm Bureau programming needs

If you’re not yet a member of the Education SWAT, click here to sign up!