(Radio Iowa) — A Democrat in the Iowa Senate has drafted legislation that would direct Iowa schools AND colleges to keep the calendar clear on Caucus night. Senator Rob Hogg, of Cedar Rapids, says “We shouldn’t have classes and extracurricular activities and practices conflict with Caucuses.”  Hogg says it’s time to ensure students, staff and parents don’t have to choose between participating in the Iowa Caucuses or attending school activities.  “This is important because Iowa is first-in-the-nation because we do it best,” Hogg says. “If we want to do it best, we need to make sure that students and people associated with our schools can participate that in the caucus process.”

Hogg says as a side benefit to his proposal, school facilities would then be available as sites for the precinct-level meetings.  “We are really challenging the capacity of some of our facilities, so we need to have as many facilities available as we can for Caucus Night,” Hogg says. Hogg has posted his idea on social media and discovered some schools have already scheduled events on February 3rd, 2020. Hogg says that’s why the legislature should address the issue THIS year, to give schools and colleges in Iowa time to adjust their schedules.