Kim Reynolds attends President Trump’s dismantle-fest of Department of Education and Iowa Democrats are livid

DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds went to Washington D.C. to applaud and support President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order that would dismantle the controversial Department of Education, and Iowa Democrats are losing their minds.

President Trump signed the order on Thursday, in a mock classroom complete with children sitting at desks (see White House photo below), and Kim Reynolds was there to gleefully soak up the ceremony. She has taken many millions of taxpayer dollars out of public schools and diverted the funds to private schools. Some say she has it in for public schools in Iowa, that education here is woefully underfunded, and Republicans are attacking Iowa public schools.

This so-called attack on public schools is not limited to the state level, as Republicans detest the federal Department of Education and have long claimed the agency indoctrinates children and trillions of dollars have been wasted there. Building upon the goal of shutting the agency down, President Trump backed up his campaign promise of attempting to shut the bureaucracy down by signing an executive order Thursday aimed at returning full control of education to the state level.  This builds upon the GOP goal of shutting down federal government agencies and slashing spending in order to somehow get a grip on America’s crushing nation debt.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds was there to revel in the GOP victory once more, saying today, “Education decisions should be made by those who know students best—parents, teachers, and local communities. Thank you, President Donald Trump for your leadership and commitment to education freedom. It was an honor to attend today’s historic signing – Iowa stands ready!”

In response, Iowa Democratic Chairwoman Rita Hart slammed on Reynolds for traveling to D.C. to “show her support for Trump dismantling the Department of Education” and offered a statement:

If Kim Reynolds hasn’t made her disdain for Iowa’s public schools clear enough through her voucher scam that gives taxpayer money to private schools for wealthy families, she made it pretty clear today by flying all the way to Washington, D.C. to watch Donald Trump sign an executive order that will gut the Department of Education. This executive order puts Iowa’s rural schools and special education programs at risk, and creates an uncertain future for our teens who are hoping to attend college soon. It’s time to replace Kim Reynolds in favor of a governor who believes every child deserves equal access to quality education and supports our public schools. This is a moment voters will remember in 2026.”

https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1902826832052793794

Statement from Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown on Executive Order to Dismantle the U.S. Department of Education:

Since 1980, the U.S. Department of Education has provided public school students with fair and equal access to a quality education, regardless of their neighborhood, ability, or differences. The vast majority of our student population attends neighborhood public schools.

The U.S. Department of Education assists Iowa’s public school students through grants to local education agencies, programs helping low-income and homeless students, support for enrichment programs, small and rural school achievement programs, special education grants, Head Start, and childcare programs. These programs have increased graduation rates and provided crucial support to students in need.

Statewide, more than 800 million dollars annually are awarded to 325 school districts for programs helping students achieve, impacting our state’s economy and our ability to grow the next generation of leaders. The abolition of programs in the U.S. Department of Education will directly impact families in every community in Iowa, threatening our children’s educational opportunities and the stability of our local economies.

The U.S. Department of Education is a critical advocate for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination and ensuring every student has access to an education that will help them succeed. It was created for this purpose. The potential dismantling of programs would put our most vulnerable students and all students at risk, and we must act urgently to prevent this.

Like ISEA’s mission to advocate for policies and practices that elevate our profession and public education while placing students at the center of everything we do, Iowa’s students and families need our elected leaders to advocate for them. We are calling on our elected officials to support and protect the Iowa students and families they are elected to serve.