Some services Gov. Kim Reynolds’ had planned to cut form Iowa’s Area Education Agencies may stay in place after all. Reynolds’ proposed overhaul of the AEAs, designed to create competition in Iowa’s special education system, is undergoing some changes after she and other GOP lawmakers heard feedback from parents and educators.
In her plan, announced as a priority in last week’s Condition of the State Address, Reynolds proposed making special education the only authorized service provided by Iowa’s nine Area Education Agencies.
But in an agreement announced Thursday with Republican leaders in the House and Senate, she said the bill will be amended so that existing media and education services will be allowed continue, if schools request the services and they are approved by the Iowa Department of Education.
“And the expectation is those (services) would still continue to be offered,” House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, told reporters in the House chamber Thursday. “Again, the school districts would decide if that’s how they wanted to utilize the services, but those would still be able to be provided.”
More changes to the bill are possible, Grassley said, as leaders in the House and Senate work to address concerns they have heard from Iowans.
But, he said, the plan will continue to be centered on giving school districts the option to stay with their current arrangement with their local AEA, or to use their special education funding to contract with another AEA or a private company for special education services.
Text of the amended bill has not been released yet. In a statement, Reynolds said she would like to see the plan go before House and Senate subcommittees, where the public can weigh in, as soon as possible.
“I’ve been able to discuss the details with parents and education stakeholders and meet with legislators about what they’re hearing from schools and families in their districts,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Schools and parents know their students best, and this bill ensures they are in the driver’s seat in deciding how best to support their students.”
Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, said Republicans are hearing concerns about cutting services now, but should have taken input before the bill was written.
“I think that what we’re seeing is a reaction from the governor and the Republicans on, ‘Gee, maybe we did this wrong,’ and they did,” Jochum said.
Democrats warn of consequences to special ed
Reynolds and other GOP leaders say the overhaul of the AEAs is meant to maintain, and even improve, services for students with disabilities including early intervention services for infants and toddlers. But Democratic leaders argue special education may not come out of the process unscathed.
“If there are concerns with the AEAs a scalpel approach would have been nice, and this is a sledgehammer, said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights. “It takes a very broad swipe at the AEAs without a lot of consideration for the services that are provided.”
Konfrst said the way services currently overlap with each other allows the AEAs some flexibility with how they distribute funding to supplement the special education supports they offer schools. Cutting other services could have an indirect effect on how the AEAs serve students with special needs.
Kate Fairfax of Des Moines said her twin daughters, Madeline and Audrey, have relied on AEA services since they were born premature six years ago.
Now in kindergarten in the Southeast Polk school district, Madeline does not need much additional help. But Audrey, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, requires extensive assistance from a physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, a teacher of the deaf and others.
“It was so hard sending her to school when she finally got to go to school,” said Fairfax, appearing with Democratic leaders at a Thursday press conference. “But knowing that the AEA was there supporting her and that we got to work with them as a team to train all her teachers, to make sure they knew how to communicate with Audrey best and how to safely transfer her between all of the different equipment she has. And I’m just so grateful for them.”
Fairfax said Audrey uses two wheelchairs and other mobility equipment. Heartland AEA experts have trained staff at Southeast Polk to help her in and out of them safely.
“I honestly don’t know what her day would look like if the AEA wasn’t there,” she said.
Still discussing state oversight
Gov. Reynolds has said an overhaul of the AEAs is necessary to address an achievement gap for students with disabilities. Her original bill makes a plan to hire 139 people to create a new division at the Iowa Department of Education to oversee special education services statewide.
Grassley said the state agency’s involvement is still under discussion.
“I think you’re still going to see that local footprint,” Grassley said. “The objective is not to take people out of the field. The objective is to make sure there is continued oversight of the program.”
The governor’s original proposal gives the state education director power to hire and fire AEA administrators and to approve positions at the AEAs. The DOE director would also be given the ability to determine whether an AEA should close or merge with another.
The governor’s AEA bill also wraps in her proposal to increase teacher pay. It would raise the minimum salary for a new teacher in Iowa from $33,500 to $50,000. The minimum for a teacher with at least 12 years of experience would be set at $62,000.
