U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sat at a table with three third-grade students from Broadway Elementary School in Denison on Wednesday.
“Are all of you working on this project?” McMahon asked. “Are you doing it in Spanish or English?”
The school district, where 66% of students are Hispanic, is known for its strong dual-language program. Broadway Elementary also stands out for growth in literacy, with one-year gains from 65% to 72%.
After visiting several classrooms, McMahon stood at a podium with Gov. Kim Reynolds, education officials and members of the student council.
McMahon announced that she had approved Iowa’s request for a federal waiver that merges some federal funding streams and provides autonomy in how those funds are spent.
It’s the first waiver of its kind in the nation. Other Republican-led states are expected to follow suit.
“With greater freedom and flexibility to develop effective educational practices for students, schools become places where potential roars to life, and what I saw here was kids having fun,” McMahon said.
The Returning Education to the States waiver allows Iowa to consolidate funding from four programs into one block grant of around $9.5 million. The state originally requested more funding.
“And this means greater flexibility to strengthen the teacher pipeline, narrow student achievement gaps and really continue our work to expand evidence-based instruction in both math and reading, and most importantly, it means moving the dial toward the return of education to the states,” Reynolds said.
Opponents argue that block grants divert funds from students who need aid the most.
However, Reynolds said the shift to state control would save millions of dollars by eliminating the red tape imposed by federal regulations.
“Not to spend so much time on compliance and paperwork and take that time and those resources and that expertise that these educators have and get them in front of our kids, and we're gonna continue to see phenomenal results. This is just the beginning,” Reynolds said.
An earlier proposal sought flexibility for Title I, which provides more than $100 million to primarily low-income students in Iowa. The final waiver excludes a majority of Title 1 funding.
Certified reports from Iowa’s school districts showed that in fiscal year 2025, the state’s K-12 public schools received a total of $11.5 billion in revenue. The largest share — about 80% — comes from local and state sources. Federal funding accounts for the smallest share, at $863.4 million.
McMahon said President Donald Trump told her he hopes she works herself out of a job. The administration’s goal is to eliminate the federal education department.
“States should lead, and Washington should support their sound approaches and get out of the way. That's why the Trump administration is granting Iowa this flexibility,” McMahon said. “And we hope that as we partner with congressional leaders to return education to the states, we can work with them to expand these opportunities for states and local leaders to run their education systems."
