Sources and methods
Every record on this site comes from a public source. We check each one on a schedule, keep a copy of every file we read, and link back to the original.
Where the records come from
- Administrative Rules Review Committee meetingsUp to date · checked Nov 7
- Campaign contributions to legislators (Iowa Ethics & Campaign Finance Disclosure Commission)Up to date · checked Nov 7
- Iowa Department of Education bill trackerUp to date · checked Nov 4
- Iowa Legislature bills (LegiScan)Up to date · checked Nov 6
- Iowa Legislature committee and subcommittee meetingsUp to date · checked Nov 7
- Iowa legislators and committees (Open States)Up to date · checked Nov 6
- Plain-language bill titles (AI)Up to date · checked Nov 7
- Board of Educational Examiners rulemaking (rules.iowa.gov)Up to date · checked Nov 7
- Department of Education and State Board rulemaking (rules.iowa.gov)Up to date · checked Nov 7
- Heartland AEA board (Simbli)Not available: the publisher blocks automated access
- Van Meter school boardNot available: the publisher blocks automated access
- Waukee school board (Simbli)Not available: the publisher blocks automated access
- West Des Moines school board (Simbli)Not available: the publisher blocks automated access
Credits and licenses
Bill, sponsor and roll-call data from LegiScan, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. We reformat it for display.
Legislator and committee data from Open States, a project of Plural Policy.
Committee meeting notices from the Iowa Legislature. The bill tracker from the Iowa Department of Education, which publishes it for information, not endorsement. Address lookups use the US Census Bureau Geocoder.
Campaign contributions from Iowa Campaign Contributions Received and the Commission’s committee registry, published by the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Finance Disclosure Commission on the Iowa Data Hub and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0. We total and summarize it, and leave out individual donors’ names and addresses. Its accuracy depends on what campaigns report. Under Iowa Code section 68B.32A(7), this information may not be used for any commercial purpose.
What counts as an education bill
We track every bill on the Department of Education’s bill tracker, plus bills assigned to an education committee. A meeting counts as education-related when its agenda names one of those bills or is about schools.
School boardsThe school districts in our pilot area post agendas on a platform that blocks automated access. We’ve asked for permission and will add them when it’s granted.