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House passes its version of bill changing Area Education Agencies • Iowa Capital Dispatch [1]

['Robin Opsahl', 'More From Author', '- February']

Date: 2024-02-29

The Iowa House approved a revamped bill Thursday making changes to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies — but more revisions to the proposal may come from negotiations between Republicans in both chambers and the governor’s office.

House File 2612 differs significantly from the AEA legislation introduced by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at the start of the 2024 legislative session. Where the governor’s proposal would have allowed school districts to seek contracts with private companies or directly hire specialists to meet the needs of students with disabilities, the House bill would require AEAs to continue providing special education services.

The House bill does make changes to the special education funding model. While federal special education dollars would continue to go directly to AEAs, state and property tax funding for these services would be allotted first to school districts. The district would then be required to send them to AEAs for services.

School districts would be able to look for other providers of media and general education services currently offered by AEAs beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, with the ability to continue to work with AEAs through “fee for service” contracts.

The legislation also makes changes to some oversight responsibilities over the agencies, proposing the creation of a Division of Special Education within the state Department of Education, staffed by employees in charge of AEA accountability and oversight duties.

The House adopted an amendment to have the division staffed by 40 total employees who would be assigned to regions based on student population. The original House bill specified there would be five Department of Education employees for each regional AEA.

Reynolds’ original bill would have staffed the division with 139 employees, funded by $20 million in funding moved from AEAs through the state.

The House amendment also made changes to a task force to be convened to study AEAs and make recommendations on changes to the system prior to the next legislative session. Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, said concerns were brought up during the public hearing and subcommittee meetings about who would serve on the task force. The amendment ensured that specific stakeholders would be included in the conversation, including a parent of a student with an Individualized Education Program, as well as superintendents and special education teachers from both large and small school districts

The amendment also would reinstitute operational sharing, a concern brought up by school and AEA employees with the House proposal. Wheeler said the legislation passed by the House is the culmination of nearly two months of conversations on AEAs and the best way to approach changes.

“We have listened to everybody in the state,” Wheeler said. “We have done our due diligence. And that’s why the bill before us today, I think, is phenomenal for our republic.”

Many educators, members of the public and Democrats praised House Republicans for introducing the legislation — a significantly scaled-back proposal in comparison to Reynolds’ proposal. While Democratic House members said the legislation was better than what was originally being discussed, they said the changes to AEAs included in the bill would still harm Iowa students and schools.

Democrats call for studying AEAs before making changes

Democrats introduced an amendment to remove changes to AEAs, but keep the creation of a task force to study the agencies and special education services and outcomes in Iowa. Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, called for lawmakers to “slow this process down” on changes to AEAs. She said there is no need for immediate action before the task force learns more about what issues currently exist in the state’s special education system and what the best remedies to these problems would be.

“Then next year, we can make an intelligent decision instead of a rushed one,” Steckman said.

But Republicans, including Wheeler and Rep. Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs, said the changes made in the bill came following intensive discussions with AEAs, school districts and families. Siegrist, former Iowa Association of Area Education Agencies executive director, said while the legislation still “gives me some heartburn in some areas,” he saw it as an important step forward on improving special education services in Iowa.

“I’m not saying I love this, I’m not saying it doesn’t give me a little heartburn, but I think what the timelines that are in there — a year to three years out — I think it’s a very workable product,” Siegrist said. “If it would all go away, and we could do this internally, that’d be great. But that’s not the hand we’ve been dealt. And so I think this bill, as amended, will go a long way to having the AEAs have a chance to improve themselves, improve services for the kids and educators and parents at the state of Iowa and eventually be a more efficient body.”

In a news conference earlier Thursday, House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst said there’s no reason to “rush” on passing AEA legislation.

“Let’s be honest about what this is: House Republicans want to vote on a bill on the AEAs, because the Senate is going to pass a bill that the governor wants, and that’s the one they’re going to have to vote for because they aren’t talking to each other,” Konfrst said. “They’re playing games and they’re wasting time.”

Senate bill changes funding formula

With the House’s 53-41 vote, the legislation goes to the Senate for consideration. The Senate also has another bill on AEAs eligible for debate: Senate File 2386. The Senate bill, an amended version of Reynolds’ original legislation, includes changes to special education funding. School districts would directly receive 90% of the special education funding amount calculated each year to spend on AEAs or other providers, with 10% going directly to AEAs, beginning in fiscal year 2026. The bill also splits funding going to general education and media services funding, 60% designated for districts and 40% for AEAs.

In a statement Thursday, Reynolds praised House leadership for passing legislation on AEAs, saying there was a need for change.

“The AEA system is failing our students, national and state test scores show it and the U.S. Department of Education tells us that too,” Reynolds said in a news release. “Improving student outcomes has always been at the forefront. 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.”

Reynolds’ proposal initially followed a report by the Guidehouse consulting firm that found Iowa students with special needs ranked below the national average in certain National Assessment of Educational Progress results despite spending more than $5,331 more per-pupil on special education than the national average.

Democrats argued that the AEA shortcomings identified in the consulting firm’s report does not accurately reflect the quality of special education in the state. Steckman said the report does not mention statistics that show improved results for special education students, such as graduation rates for students with disabilities increasing from 69% in 2016 to 80% in 2020 and drop out rates dropping from 20% to 17% during the same time frame.

Steckman criticized the continued discussion on AEA changes by lawmakers. “Just your talk here this session has severely damaged the morale of our folks and children’s support system,” she said. “In my opinion, all of this rhetoric since January is based on false claims.”

Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, asked Wheeler if he was committed to getting the House bill as written signed into law, or if he anticipated changes. While Wheeler said he is “open to any and all conversation” and cannot speak to the governor or the Senate’s opinions on the future of the AEA proposal, he intended for the bill to move forward.

“I believe that we are in the best spot in this building, and we have put together this work,” Wheeler said. “My intention is to make this bill law.”

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