DES MOINES – Kim Reynolds and her Republican comrades in the Iowa Legislature are not satisfied with how Area Education Agencies provide services to needy Iowa kids and are looking to overhaul and consolidate the system, and Mason City’s Representative, Sharon Steckman, is warning their bills “will hurt kids.”
An editorial from Rep. Steckman:
When you have a problem you want to fix and you need advice, who do you call? The experts, right? Someone with experience.
An out of state, Virginia-based consulting group was paid $125,000 taxpayer dollars to give advice that literally dismantles the Area Education Agency, firing many of its employees. They did not call on the experts: parents, superintendents, teachers, audiologists, speech therapists, counselors, etc.
How did they gather their information? Did they consult Iowans? Did they talk to Senator Chuck Grassley one of the founders of AEA when he was in the Iowa House. In 2022, he stated, “I’ve enjoyed watching the success and profound impact these agencies have has on education.” Apparently, he was not consulted.
I’ve received thousands of emails from concerned Iowans. Not one has even remotely suggested that dismantling the AEA and concentrating power in DesMoines with the DE was a good idea.
I learned talking to our Iowa experts:
*This is not a choice for schools, private or public. Schools will lose on economy of scale. Now they purchase supplies cheaper, check out media for classroom use, use the skills of trained specialists rather than hiring their own – going outside for these services is cost prohibitive.
*US DOE designated Iowa “in need of assistance” in 2018 by DE non-compliance, not the AEA. The AEA has been working with the DE to help them get back in compliance.
*This will not save property owners money. If the school must spend more money on special education services, it will be forced to raise its special ed. deficit, which automatically raises property taxes.
*AEA is currently reviewed glowingly by the DE and the BOEE…annually and transparently.
*AEA’s administrative rate is 5%. MUCH lower than privatized Medicaid.
*AEA’s do not teach special education; they support it in so many ways that if all were listed, I would go WAY over my word limit.
This bill will hurt kids. To find out more, go to the experts…Iowans
House Study Bill 542 (tabled at the moment in committee)
On January 31, Reynolds released this statement in response to Senate Study Bill 3073 passing the Senate Education Subcommittee:
“From the start, my focus has been on improving special education for Iowa’s students with disabilities. I want to thank the Senate Education subcommittee for their willingness to continue the conversation. The amendment reflects feedback from legislators, parents, teachers, and school superintendents, ensuring that AEAs can continue offering the services they do today. If schools like the services provided by their AEA, they can continue to use them. By allowing schools to control their funding, creating efficiencies in the AEA system, and increasing teacher salaries, more money will be infused into our classrooms, so every student receives the quality education they deserve.”