Education Funding

Since its inception in 1965 in President Lyndon B. Johnson's "war on poverty," the federal Head Start program has served nearly 40 million children and their families in preparing to succeed in school and life. Head Start has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including flat funding, new mandates, attacks from the Trump Administration and a proposal to eliminate the program entirely. On this episode, we here from different Head Start stakeholders in Iowa about the services this program provides to young children and their families, how they are managing this changing landscape and what the future may hold for this program.

Iowa leads the nation with a federal education funding waiver — what does it mean for classrooms and students? We also explore farmers’ struggles, Iowa’s ties to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and other headlines from the week.

This election, voters in the Cedar Rapids Community School District will decide if they want to finance renovations at three middle schools and one high school through a $117 million bond. It will be the second time the district has brought the proposal to voters, but this time, it no longer includes plans for a new middle school.

Iowa wants to send money to schools with fewer strings attached under a first-in-the-nation proposal. D.C.-based advocacy groups say it could jeopardize services for vulnerable populations, while superintendents say the lack of detail makes it difficult to predict impacts of the plan.

On this Newbuzz edition of River to River, we hear about Iowa's abortion landscape, community college loan defaults and plenty more.

Harvard University refused to follow Trump administration demands, risking the loss of federal funds. On a visit to Iowa, a Harvard professor shares his view on the university's position.

Iowa House Republicans approved a 2% increase for K-12 per-pupil funding Tuesday, sending the bill to the governor’s desk for her signature nearly two months after the deadline to decide education funding.

After achieving accreditation from a global nonprofit, the Iowa City school can now offer independent instruction, teach international students and accept tuition from state tax-funded ESAs.

From agriculture funding cuts to a possible shutdown of the Department of Education, changes in the federal government are being felt far and wide.

In the fifth week of Iowa’s legislative session, lawmakers made progress on education policy, reviewed proposed changes to state IDs, and Gov. Kim Reynolds officially launched her DOGE task force. Let’s review.