A plan to make changes to the state’s Area Education Agencies has cleared the Iowa House but the bill passed by House Republicans is a departure from what Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed at the start of the legislative session.
The state's nine regional AEAs provide a wide range of services for school districts including providing curriculum materials and teacher training, but the majority of their work involves providing special education services from specialists such as school psychologists, speech pathologists and physical and occupational therapists.
Gov. Kim Reynolds had originally proposed in January for school districts to take control of the funding that currently flows to the AEAs on their behalf. She wanted districts to purchase services they currently receive from AEAs from whatever provider they choose.
Under the House plan (HF 2612), school districts must continue using the AEAs for special education services. In the second year under the bill, districts could begin using state funding that currently goes to the AEAs in order to purchase media services from another provider. In the third year, districts could also shop around for educational services.
Speaking on the House floor Thursday, the bill’s Republican floor manager Rep. Skyler Wheeler of Hull said that as the parent of a daughter with autism he personally understands how important AEA services are to families.
“I gave myself this bill because I believed if there was going to be something that affected my daughter’s future directly, I was going to have my hands on it,” Wheeler said. “This bill does not change anything with special education. It does not dismantle the AEA system. And it does not have the Department of Education provide special education services.”
The bill does transfer much of the authority held by the AEA boards to the Iowa Department of Education. The department would also have to approve professional development programs provided by the AEAs.
It requires the AEAs to report back to school districts quarterly on the value of the services they have received.
The House plan also creates a task force that would study the AEA system, including outcomes for students in special education. One of Gov. Reynolds' main criticisms of the AEAs has been that test scores for Iowa students lag in comparison to other states.
The task force would also look at how services provided by the AEAs compare across the nine regions, how the system is funded and how much AEA administrators are paid. The panel would include a parent of a child with an IEP, or individualized education plan, and a parent of a child with a 504 plan, which provides accommodations for students with disabilities. Two special education teachers would be on the task force — one from a district with more than 1,000 students and another from a district with fewer than 1,000 students.
“I think those are the people we need around the table — we should have had around the table to start with — that will be able to take us and say, ‘How do we improve special education scores? How do we get more efficient with these nine Area Education Agencies?’” said Rep. Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs, who is the former executive director of the Iowa Association of Area Education Agencies.
But Rep. Molly Buck, D-Ankeny, said the House bill has the process backwards. The task force should weigh in first, she said, before lawmakers make changes that no one had considered until several weeks ago.
“No one asked for this bill. No one campaigned on this issue," Buck said. "The AEAs were blindsided by this bill. And I can tell you that schools and teachers felt really blindsided, too."
Democrats said the process for AEA legislation has been confusing and frustrating for families that depend on the AEAs for services. The governor introduced a bill, then amended it. The House replaced that bill with its own plan, and the Senate continues to consider its own ideas to overhaul the system.
“The service itself may not change with this bill, but what we have done to those families by putting them through the angst of wondering if their child would receive services down the line, how they would receive services,” said Rep. Sue Cahill, D-Marshalltown. “Families have had their mindset changed as they have worried about the upheaval of this system that would affect their child.”
Wheeler said House Republicans started over after rejecting Gov. Reynolds’ original bill and talked with parents, AEA leaders and superintendents from across the state about ways the AEAs could improve.
“We killed the other bill and we started from scratch,” Wheeler said. “The rollout sucked. Personally, I wish I could go back. I think there could have been some things done differently. But of my own accord, I have zero regrets.”
The bill passed on a vote of 53 to 41 with nine Republicans joining Democrats to vote against the bill. In a statement, Gov. Kim Reynolds thanked GOP leaders in the House for making progress on the AEA proposal.
“Improving student outcomes has always been at the forefront,” Reynolds said. “The system must provide transparency and accountability to school districts, those closest to our students, and drive consistency across the AEA regions to improve services for students with disabilities. That’s what I’ve heard from over 100 school districts as I’ve traveled the state, and I look forward to more conversations as the legislation moves forward.”
The bill now heads to the Senate but there is no indication of how it will be received there. The Senate Education Committee had already advanced its own version of AEA legislation that divides control over funding for special education, media and education services between the districts and the AEAs.
