From left, Archbishop Thomas Zinkula of Dubuque, Bishop John Keehner of Sioux City and Deacon Mark Prosser, an Iowa Catholic Conference board member, speak at the conference’s 2026 legislative breakfast at the state capitol Jan. 28.
For The Catholic Messenger
DES MOINES — The four Catholic bishops of Iowa and several board and committee members of the Iowa Catholic Conference (ICC) visited the state capitol Jan. 28 for their annual legislative breakfast. Meetings with legislative leaders and informal chats about public policy issues took place. One of the ICC’s priorities this year is to help improve access to preschool programs. HSB 604 passed a House Education subcommittee recently. The bill would allow community providers such as Catholic preschools to apply to the state Department of Education for funding.
“The status quo is that the community provider’s participation (such as Catholic preschools) is totally up to the school district,” explained Tom Chapman, executive director of the ICC. “Some districts will allow it, others won’t.”
The bill also allows for continued partnerships with public school districts, according to ICC officials. The ICC advocates for the public policy initiatives of Iowa’s four bishops. More information is at https://iowacatholicconference.org/
