Kniff McCulla determined to see chaplain bill through to completion next session

Editor’s note: The following is a part of a series of stories covering the priorities of lawmakers who represent Jasper County communities. The issues covered do not represent all of what legislators want to accomplish but merely a small handful of what they consider top priorities in the coming year.

State Rep. Barb Kniff McCulla does not foresee any separation of church and state issues getting in the way of her bill that allows public and charter schools to use a chaplain to provide support to students. The Republican representative of House District 37 is making it a priority to see the bill through this next session.

According to a March 2025 report from Robin Opsahl of Iowa Capital Dispatch, the chaplain bill contains language that states a school cannot “require or coerce a student to utilize” services or support from chaplains. The schools also cannot use a chaplain in lieu of a school counselor or guidance counselor.

However, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that the bill has been criticized by Democrats as a way to introduce religion into public schools. When pressed by Newton News if she considered the bill to be in violation of constitutional principles, Kniff McCulla said, “There isn’t a separation of church and state.”

She added, “The church was created and those that are in this state believe in the church. So there is no separation of church and state. That was something that’s been thrown out there continually… It’s not mandatory, but once they hear about what schools are doing and how it’s helping, it’ll be a trickle effect.”

Chaplains are already utilized by the military, public safety agencies and big businesses, she argued. They are also used by Christian schools. Kniff McCulla said the only places that do not have them are public schools. To her, young children need to have these individuals for support.

“I think it’s important,” she said. “That is one of the reasons I’m at the legislature to do, to just make sure that children are cared for and loved upon.”

The chaplain bill will be “key” to the school system, Kniff McCulla said. She loved what the Iowa Legislature did this past year regarding cellphones in school. She said parents have told her it has been a blessing. Adding a chaplain, she said, adds another layer to schools to “bring down the amount of anxiety and issues.”

To her, it is another resource in the school district.

During the 2025 legislative session, the chaplain bill passed in the House and through Senate subcommittees but got traded at the last minute; it never made it to the Senate floor. Kniff McCulla is hoping to run it again this legislative session with great success. She stressed it is just an option for schools. It’s not required.

“They can do it now,” Kniff McCulla said. “Sometimes they like to have it in writing that they are able to have that person in the schools. The schools vet them, the schools take care of all of that. They can be paid or not paid … I just want to make sure we can bring that to our great state of Iowa.”

STRESS LESS LAWS

Similarly to what State Sen. Ken Rozenboom told Newton News for this series, Kniff McCulla wants to see a smaller government and fewer bills considered by the Iowa Legislature. She disagreed with the record amount of bills proposed. Kniff McCulla said the country is better when lawmakers do not “overlegislate.”

She said, “I thought that was an overexaggeration of the amount of bills. Even leadership said, ‘Oh c’mon, guys.’”

Kniff McCulla said the state’s businesses, industries and corporations do not need to be weighed down with laws they have to comply with if they are doing it right already. To her, it is pointless to “hamstring” these businesses with more laws than necessary to operate.

“Less laws are better,” Kniff McCulla said to Newton News. “Let the economy run. We know what we’re doing as far as small business leaders and large business leaders and individuals. The government should only step in where it’s absolutely necessary to step in.”

BATTERY STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM

Inspired by the desire to be a good steward of Iowa land and its landfills, Kniff McCulla is in the midst of drafting a battery stewardship bill. Kniff McCulla said visits to the recycling centers and landfills have brought up discussions about battery disposal and the hazards they can produce.

“Even the recycling trucks have caught on fire with some of these batteries; not the AA or AAA, but some of these other batteries that have been thrown away and they didn’t know about them,” Kniff McCulla said. “At the recycle center as you’re coming in on 163 into Des Mones … they’ve had fires.”

Instead of disposing those chemicals and materials into the ground, Kniff McCulla said it would be responsible to start collecting used batteries.

“I need to get that full proposal pulled together,” she said. “We’re working on it as we speak, so I don’t have a draft or anything to show … Stay tuned!”