[July 06, 2011] Uniform policy revived in Legislature, for now Tweet WATERLOO, Jun 10, 2011 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A proposal allowing schools to set dress codes has new, if temporary, life after it was included in a 600-page omnibus spending bill passed by the House. The House passed the dress code bill earlier this year on a 91-9 vote, but it seemingly died in the Senate amid concerns about students' constitutional rights. It was one of several policy provisions included in the budget bill. Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, said he helped add the provision to the bill after hearing from Waterloo Schools Superintendent Gary Norris and board member Mike Young. "What we tried to do in the House is many of the things we passed on a bipartisan basis, we put those things back in," Rogers said. The uniforms proposal was one of several items attached to the budget bill. Others include tighter restrictions on abortion, requiring state employees to pay $100 toward insurance benefits and cuts to commercial property taxes. Rogers said uniforms had broad support in both the Cedar Valley and among other House members. The hope was that putting the policy pieces in with the budget bill may help entice the Senate into approving one overall bill. "At least it's back on the table now," Rogers said. However, Senate leaders have said they plan to address policy issues and fiscal issues separate from one another. That means some of the issues that couldn't be agreed upon in both chambers may go by the wayside, said Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo. "We in the Senate believe each of these issues deserves a full public hearing," Danielson said. Senators would focus on things, either budget- or policy-related, both parties upon which they agreed and go from there. The more contentious issues would likely get set aside, Danielson said. Rep. Deborah Berry, D-Waterloo, said she was glad to see the bill brought back, even if she didn't support the overall budget proposal. She said other issues in the bill "overshadowed" the positive things, which stopped her from voting favor of it. "Budget bills shouldn't contain a lot of policy, and that's what happened too," Berry said. It's hard to predict the outcome of the proposal now. Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, who initially held up the bill because of concerns about First Amendment issues, still appeared to have concerns, Berry said. "I just don't know what's going to happen," Berry said. "Everything is just so moment by moment." Waterloo Community Schools spokeswoman Sharon Miller was not surprised to see the school dress code bill included in legislation passed by the House Wednesday. Miller noted that the House had "demonstrated overwhelming support" for the bill, but she had no predictions on how the Senate would react. "We do know that there are many senators who support this bill," she said. "It's hard to predict timing or outcome in the Legislature." The Legislature is in its sixth week of overtime. Danielson expected there could be two more weeks of work before a full budget is agreed upon. To see more of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wcfcourier.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]