Gov. Reynolds: Iowa does not need all 9 of its area education agencies

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the annual Condition of the State address Jan. 9 at the Capitol in Des Moines. In her speech, she outlined a proposal to overhaul the state’s nine area education agencies, which provide services and expertise to school districts and students. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/Des Moines Register via AP)

JOHNSTON — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday she does not believe the state needs all of its nine area education agencies that provide support and expertise to schools, which she has proposed overhauling while insisting she isn’t calling for their closures.

Reynolds’ proposal would redesign AEAs’ funding structure, streamline the services they offer and create new oversight in the Iowa Department of Education.

She has said her proposal is needed to update a 50-year-old system and to improve special education services and outcomes for students with disabilities by narrowing the focus of AEAs’ work. The education agencies have strayed beyond their original charge of supporting special education services, she said, and have become too top-heavy.

When asked Friday, during recording of her appearance on this weekend’s episode of “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS, whether Iowa needs nine AEAs, Reynolds said, “No.”

“We’re a small state,” she said. “That’s why I did the realignment bill with state government. I need local governments to take a look at the level of bureaucracy that we have in place to serve the citizens of Iowa. It’s too much. We need to drive consistency. We need to get that funding in the classroom and do everything we can to improve the outcomes for these children.”

Reynolds’ office has insisted that the governor is not calling for the closure of any AEAs, and that her legislative proposal likewise does not require any to close.

However, Reynolds has noted that there already has been consolidation in the system — there used to be 15 AEAs in Iowa, and now there are nine — and her plan gives school districts the option to use funding for special education expertise elsewhere.

“We need to do something big. We need to reform, and I think by giving the districts the ability to hold the AEAs accountable, to decide what program works best for the students that they are serving,” Reynolds said on “Iowa Press.”

Reynolds’ proposal would restructure the way the agencies are funded: instead of state and federal funding going to the AEAs to fund the services they provide — Reynolds says Iowa is the only state that operates that way — that money would instead go to K-12 public school districts, which would determine whether to use that funding for those AEA services or find similar services elsewhere, either at a different AEA or through a private company.

Reynolds’ proposal also would create an oversight apparatus in the state education department. The AEAs now are overseen by locally appointed boards.

As justification for her proposal to overhaul and refocus Iowa’s AEAs, Reynolds has cited statistics showing Iowa fourth-grade students with disabilities perform below the national average, and fourth- and eighth-grade students with disabilities rank 30th or lower on national reading and math assessments.

“That’s unconscionable,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds this week announced some changes to her initial proposal, which she unveiled Jan. 10, the day after highlighting it during the annual Condition of the State address. The amendment to make those changes, which would loosen the types of services AEAs could be allowed to offer beyond special education, has yet to be filed with the rest of the bill.

Reynolds has taken the unusual step of issuing public statements on consecutive days this week to update Iowans about the legislative process of her proposal. In those public updates, Reynolds said she has received feedback about her proposal from parents, teachers, superintendents and state lawmakers.

“Really what we’re doing is kind of eliminating or reducing some of the overhead,” Reynolds said on the Iowa PBS show. “Right now we have nine AEA districts, nine chiefs, and they were making on an average when you look at their total compensation package, about $310,000 each. And we don’t need nine. We’re a small state.

“(The AEAs have) varying degrees of what they were offering. We want to simplify it. But that money will go back into the system and into the classroom.”

Reynolds’ proposed legislation was introduced in the Iowa House. The bill, House Study Bill 542, as of Friday had not yet been scheduled for a legislative hearing, the first step in the state lawmaking process.

“Iowa Press” airs on Iowa PBS at 7:30 p.m. Friday and noon Sunday, and can be viewed online at iowapbs.org.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com