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AEA changes, education funding and teacher pay boosts signed into law by Iowa Gov. Reynolds
Reynolds calls changes to Iowa’s area education agencies ‘meaningful and necessary reform’
Mar. 27, 2024 4:19 pm, Updated: Mar. 28, 2024 9:35 am
DES MOINES — Significant changes to the funding and operations of Iowa’s nine area education agencies that provide support to schools — plus an increase in state school funding and a boost in teacher pay — were signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The area education agency changes reflect a goal set out by Reynolds during her Condition of the State address nearly three months ago. However, what she signed into law is a stripped-down version of what she originally proposed after strong backlash from advocates for special education and AEAs.
During a bill-signing ceremony in her formal office at the Iowa Capitol, the Republican governor said the new law will improve special education for students with disabilities, and called the changes “meaningful and necessary reform.” She said while the AEA system works well for some students, that “hasn’t been the experience for all students.”
“Some schools haven’t used some of the AEA services despite being forced to pay for them. Others have felt that they didn’t receive the quality that they expect,” Reynolds said. “And many schools, urban and rural, large and small, have raised concerns about a lack of transparency regarding the cost of AEA services.”
Democrats vehemently opposed the changes to Iowa’s area education agencies, arguing from the start that significant alterations were unnecessary.
Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, from Windsor Heights, who leads the minority party in the House, again criticized Reynolds and Republicans for approving the legislation.
“When you look at the celebration (Reynolds) is having, I want you to think about the families who have so much uncertainty now as they’re wondering what will happen to the (AEA) services in their communities, what will happen to their kids who are getting AEA services. There are so many questions,” Konfrst said.
What the new law will do
The new law will:
- Increase state funding for Iowa’s K-12 public schools by 2.5 percent in the next school year, which is a $119 million increase for a total of $3.8 billion, according to the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.
- Raise the minimum salary for a first-year public school teacher in Iowa from the current $33,500 to $47,500 in the 2024-2025 school year and $50,000 the next year, and set a minimum salary for teachers with at least 12 years of experience to $60,000 in the upcoming school year and $62,000 the following year.
- Budget $22 million in the upcoming school year and $23 million the next year to address other veteran teachers’ salaries, and $14 million to help boost the pay of educational support staff, like paraeducators.
- Make many operational and funding changes to the area education agencies: keep some funding for special education and other education and media services with school districts instead of sending the funds directly to the AEAs; move special education oversight from the AEAs to the state education department; and create a task force to study and recommend future changes to AEAs.
AEA changes in the law
Area education agencies oversee education of Iowa students with disabilities and offer media and consulting services to schools and students in their boundaries.
Currently, federal and state special education funding goes directly to the nine agencies. AEAs also receive property tax funding for media services and other education services for schools in their region.
Once the new law is fully implemented in the second year, 10 percent of state funding for special education services will remain with school districts for them to use, while 90 percent will continue to flow directly to the AEAs.
In the second year, all state funding for other education services and media services will go directly to schools — which could use that money for AEA services or to get them from another entity.
The law also creates a division in the Iowa Department of Education — up to 53 new full-time equivalent positions — to provide oversight of special education services provided by the AEAs.
AEA debate reaches conclusion
Reynolds’ proposal to overhaul the agencies, a system created five decades ago by lawmakers, drew strong opposition from educators and parents of students with disabilities who worry it will hurt special education in the state. Most school superintendents also expressed opposition, although some said they are in favor of having more control of their special education dollars.
The final proposal was the result of weeks of negotiations between Reynolds and majority Republicans in the House and Senate, and discussions with AEA officials and school superintendents.
“While this bill has been the focus of much discussion and debate, it has also presented opportunities for insightful conversations and meaningful compromise,” Reynolds said. “When it comes to legislation that offers so much potential for the future of our state, I appreciate knowing that there is a willingness to keep the lines of communication open and to continue to work together to reach a compromise. That took place from the very beginning of the session, and I thin we ended in a really good place.”
The compromise, House File 2612, was approved by only Republican lawmakers. All Democrats and some Republicans voted against the overall bill because of their objections to the AEA provisions.
Democrats said they also opposed the 2.5 percent school funding measure, saying it is insufficient. They expressed support for the teacher pay boost, and criticized Republicans for combining the provisions into one bill.
“The reason teacher pay was included in the final package is to hold teacher pay hostage, and so that they can do exactly what they’re doing now, which is to say that some (Democrats) didn’t vote for teacher pay,” Konfrst told reporters. “There was more wrong with this bill than there was right with this bill.”
Sen. Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Pella who chairs the Senate Education Committee, said the new law will make changes to AEAs that are “modest and fair but necessary,” and will not threaten the viability of the AEA system. He said it also will add accountability and transparency that he says is currently lacking.
“The AEAs have done a tremendous amount of good for many, many years in Iowa, and all of us are appreciative of that,” Rozenboom said at the bill-signing ceremony. “As I’ve said many times, there are a thousand bright stars in the AEA constellation. But the world has changed since the AEAs were created in 1974, and reform is needed.”
Rep. Skyler Wheeler, a Republican from Hull who managed the bill in the House and has a 5-year-old daughter with autism who receives special education services from an AEA, said superintendents, school board members, teachers, private school officials and parents of students with disabilities all were involved in discussions with lawmakers during the legislative process.
“We are improving on a system that will see increases and outcomes for our students,” Wheeler said.
Sen. Pam Jochum, from Dubuque, who leads the minority party Senate Democrats, issued a statement thanking what she said were thousands of Iowans who expressed their opposition to the AEA changes.
“Parents, educators, students, and community leaders changed the course of this legislation,” Jochum said. “They prevented Republican politicians from fast-tracking this bill and exposed Gov. Reynolds’ misplaced priorities.”
The major changes in the new law go into effect July 1.
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com
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