(DES MOINES) - The governor's office today announced that the Iowa Teacher and Principal Leadership Symposium next month is sold out.

In May, Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds joined Education Director Jason Glass to announce they would host the Iowa Teacher and Principal Leadership Symposium on Friday, Aug. 3, at Drake University in Des Moines.

Branstad said he and Reynolds are holding the symposium to focus on how to organize schools to treat teachers as instructional leaders, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

Symposium speakers and panelists will share their thinking about shared principal and teacher leadership.  We'll hear about why this matters, how it's being done in this state and country, and how top-performing school systems around the globe approach this issue.

Symposium registration was open to the public, including educators, school board members, business leaders, parents and legislators. More than 700 Iowans are expected to attend the all-day conference.

"Teacher leadership will be at the heart of our 2013 legislative package because it is critical to give students the knowledge and skills they need to be well prepared," said Branstad.

"We also recognize that growing expectations for students place even more demands upon teachers, without always providing teachers the support needed to meet those demands," said Reynolds. "Stronger, shared principal and teacher leadership can help schools do that more effectively."

Branstad and Reynolds stressed that the symposium is about ending the outdated practice of teachers working largely in isolation in their classrooms and moving toward greater collaboration to help students learn more. Some Iowa schools have already set off in this direction, and two of them will be on hand at the August 3 symposium: Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.

Branstad and Reynolds note that their October 2011 education blueprint included a four-tier teacher leadership and compensation structure, with master, mentor, career and apprentice teachers. When they took the blueprint out on the road to town-hall meetings across the state, Iowans raised good questions about it would be put into operation.

So the decision was made to study the issue further, and make recommendations to the 2013 Legislature.

In February, Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass announced the members of a new Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation Taskforce, which is meeting monthly. Its report is due Oct. 15.

"The status quo is not serving our children well. We have to set the bar higher," said Reynolds.

Here are just a few statistics that drive that home:

• Nearly 23 percent of Iowa third-graders don't read proficiently on state tests.
• Just 33 percent of Iowa fourth-graders read at proficient or advanced levels on the exam known as the nation's report card.
• In math, just 34 percent of Iowa eighth-graders are proficient or advanced on that exam.
• Only 35 percent of Iowa eighth-graders are proficient or advanced in science.

"Our children deserve better," said Reynolds. "A stronger, shared principal and teacher leadership model can help us make faster progress toward restoring Iowa schools to best in the nation, and giving all students a globally competitive education."

To learn more about the symposium, go to: https://educationleadership.iowa.gov/

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

Before we turn to the agenda, I want to say a few words about yesterday's hearing on forensics and a letter I sent to the Attorney General on Tuesday.  We heard from experts yesterday about the current state of forensic science in the courts.  One of the topics of discussion was the recent reports by The Washington Post regarding "sloppy" and "unreliable" work at the FBI crime lab that may have led to innocent people being convicted.

The Post also detailed a 2004 review conducted by the Justice Department to identify cases where flawed work by the FBI crime lab may have been involved.  By all accounts, that review was poorly done and it appears that defense attorneys may not have been notified about cases where problems existed.

These are stunning developments given my work with Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, a former FBI Agent who blew the whistle on problems with the FBI Crime lab in the 1990s.  Dr. Whitehurst's disclosures came at a great cost to him personally as he faced retaliation from the FBI.  However, his disclosures led to an Inspector General report that led to many reforms that have strengthened the FBI crime lab.

Given the recent reports by The Washington Post, Chairman Leahy and I sent a letter on May 21 seeking information from the FBI Director.  Unfortunately, that letter has gone unanswered for over 60 days.

So, on Tuesday, prior to the hearing, I sent a new letter to the Attorney General seeking information about the 2004 review and problems with notifying defendants.  Hopefully, the Attorney General will respond to this letter faster than the FBI has to the letter the Chairman and I sent back in May.

Given this committee's past work with whistleblowers like Dr. Whitehurst and the discussion on improving forensic science, the Justice Department and FBI should provide us answers immediately.

Turning to the Committee's agenda, on S.285, the private relief bill sponsored by Senator Levin, I will offer an amendment.  If that amendment is adopted, our side would be willing to voice vote the bill and report it out.

With regard to S.3276, the FAA Sunsets Extension Act, we're prepared to vote on a straight extension of the law today.  This is an important bill that reauthorizes the FISA Amendments Act, a program vital to our national security.

This bill was reported out of the Intelligence Committee without amendment extending the program through 2017.  The House Judiciary Committee and House Intelligence Committee have both reported a similar bill without amendment.

The Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence have written to us stating that this reauthorization is "the highest legislative priority for the Intelligence Community" this congress.  Further, they added, "Our first priority, however, is reauthorization of these authorities in their current form.  We look forward to working with you to ensure the speedy enactment of legislation reauthorizing Title VII, without amendment, to avoid any interruption in our use of these authorities to protect the American people."

I agree with the Administration, the House Judiciary Committee, and the House and Senate Intelligence Committees that we should reauthorize this program as soon as possible without amendment.

However, the Chairman has a substitute amendment opening the bill to amendment, so our side will have some amendments to offer as well.

This debate is similar to last year's reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act.  There the Administration sought a clean extension given the urgent need for the tools.  However, this committee made unnecessary changes to the law that held up passage of it on the floor.

Here, we have a bill proposed by the Administration simply reauthorizing the tools without amendment that passed by the Intelligence Committee without amendment, and now some are seeking to make changes.

I understand that the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee is prepared to support the changes the Chairman is proposing.  I'm not sure what's changed in the eyes of the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee since she wrote to members on June 19, 2012, supporting her bill without amendment.

In that letter, she stated, "The Select Committee on Intelligence has conducted careful oversight of Title VII."  She then informed us that the Intelligence Committee proposed extending the sunset to June 2017, in accordance with the Administration proposal.  Now, I'm told she supports a 2015 sunset.  This is problematic as the timing will line up the foreign surveillance provisions of the FAA Amendments Act with the domestic provisions of the PATRIOT Act.

Undoubtedly, this will cause confusion and potentially jeopardize reauthorization of two critical national security programs.

So, we're prepared to address this bill today, along with some other important national security matters that should be voted on in Committee.

Japanese Train Car Manufacturer Creates 250 New Jobs and Invests $50M in Rochelle, IL

ROCHELLE, Ill. - July 19, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn was joined by Nippon Sharyo executives today to open the company's new U.S. headquarters and passenger railcar production facility in Rochelle, Illinois. Japanese train car manufacturer Nippon Sharyo is investing $50 million and creating 250 new jobs in Rochelle, which will help the company increase its competitiveness by moving closer to its U.S. customers and suppliers. Today's announcement is a result of Governor Quinn's efforts to bring new business to Illinois.

"I am committed to growing our manufacturing industry, increasing foreign investment and bringing high-speed rail to Illinois," Governor Quinn said. "Our strong transportation network and central location make Illinois the ideal choice for global companies like Nippon Sharyo that are looking to grow."

In Japan, Nippon Sharyo boasts the largest market share of high-speed rail rolling stock. In August 2010, METRA awarded Nippon Sharyo the contract to build its next generation of rail cars. METRA will purchase 160 new rail cars over the next five years with $585 million provided through Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital program. The first car is scheduled to be shipped in September, and delivery of the last car is scheduled for the summer of 2015.

The new 465,000 square foot manufacturing facility will enable the company to meet the Federal Railroad Administration's "Made in America" requirements and compete for contracts to assemble high-speed rail cars as America builds its high-speed rail network. The facility's centralized Illinois location will also help decrease total production costs by reducing transportation costs.

In October 2010, Governor Quinn announced over $10 million in targeted investments to strengthen Nippon Sharyo's expansion in Illinois. The state investment consists of $2.85 million in Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credits, which are based on job-creation, and Employer Training Investment Program job-training funds that will help enhance the skills of the company's workforce. The company will also benefit from being located in an Enterprise Zone. The city of Rochelle was awarded $1.866 million from the Community Development Assistance Program and Economic Development Program to assist with infrastructure improvements for road, water and sewer needs. In addition, the Illinois Department of Transportation is investing $5.5 million through the Illinois Jobs Now! capital program to build a rail spur from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe main line to the new factory. The siding will open up 12,000 new acres for future development.

Since January 2010, Illinois has added 136,000 private sector jobs and 40,700 manufacturing jobs. Under Governor Quinn's leadership, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has worked diligently to identify and aggressively court companies like Nippon Sharyo that are looking to relocate and/or expand their North American presence. Illinois ranks first in the Midwest as a destination for foreign investment and has already attracted 1,597 foreign firms with 6,416 locations, which employ 323,362 Illinois residents. The Governor is committed to playing a key role in marketing Illinois' world-class attributes abroad and personally meeting with companies to recruit them to Illinois.

For more information on why Illinois is the right place for any business, visit www.illinoisbiz.biz.