Iowa legislators are waiting to be called back to the Capitol as Republican leaders are negotiating Governor Kim Reynolds’ school voucher proposal that was passed in the Senate.

Senator Kevin Kinney (D-Oxford) voted against the education bill which would use taxpayers’ per-pupil funds to provide $5,300 vouchers to attend private schools for up to 10,000 students. The House passed its own education bill the day prior, but omitted the voucher proposal. This is the second year Governor Reynolds has pushed for private school “scholarships”, which passed in the Senate last year but didn’t make it out of a House committee. Kinney tells KCII that GOP leaders have a lot more people in the House to persuade than in the Senate, as he’s heard around 20 Republican representatives don’t support the proposal, “They have to come home to their constituents just like everyone else and explain to them why they switched their vote. It’s tougher when it’s a policy issue than a money issue. A lot of times you can kind of come to a compromise in the money, but when it’s a policy issue, it makes it harder.”

Republican Senator Jeff Reichman, who currently represents the Brighton, Marion, and Crawford townships of Washington County, voted in favor of the bill. Republican representatives Joe Mitchell and Jarad Klein have not returned a request for comment. The House bill would require teachers to post materials they use in class online, with the list being updated within seven days if a new book or video is used. Both the Senate and House versions restrict schools from allowing students to see or check out certain books at the parent’s request. You can hear more from Kinney during Friday’s Halcyon House Washington Page on air and at kciiradio.com.