Iowa educators: Study area education agencies before making changes

Educators across Iowa are asking for a yearlong comprehensive study of area education agencies before changes are made — as Gov. Kim Reynolds proposes — to the institutions that have served families and teachers for 50 years.

The changes the governor is asking lawmakers to approve early this year would upend the way the area education agencies function and what services they are allowed to provide. Reynolds said the agencies have become too top-heavy and strayed from their mission of serving students with disabilities — while Iowa’s special education students perform below national averages.

“Over the years, AEAs have expanded well beyond the scope of special education, providing a wide array of other offerings for teachers, schools, and districts,” Reynolds wrote in an “open letter” Friday to Iowans. “These range from athletic coaching certification, cybersecurity, and classroom book sets, to providing graphic design and printing. In fact, only about one-third of the services AEAs list today are focused on supporting children with disabilities.”

One of the services the proposal questions is the expertise AEAs provide to districts with curriculum. But Jessica Bartelt, a special-education teacher at Washington Elementary School in the Mount Vernon Community School District, said she relies on the local agency when the district makes curriculum decisions.

Curriculum consultants with Grant Wood AEA — which are a part of the general education services that could be in doubt under the legislation — ensures the content aligns with Iowa academic standards.

Bartelt’s students need curriculum that includes “slow enough lessons at the pace my students need to learn,” she said. This includes multisensory learning that incorporates things like sound and physical movement, she said.

“If it takes a typical student exposure to a lesson three times to learn, it takes one of my students 10 times,” Bartelt said.

Grant Wood AEA — one of nine agencies across the state — serves 74,000 students in public and accredited non-public schools in seven counties in Eastern Iowa, including Linn and Johnson, and employs about 500 staff.

Mount Vernon Superintendent Greg Batenhorst said professional learning opportunities offered to teachers through area education agencies like Grant Wood are “crucial” and “extremely valuable.”

“That’s anything from curriculum to suicide prevention … and they’ve done a great job supporting and mentoring new teachers,” Batenhorst said.

The governor’s bill, filed Jan. 10 as House Study Bill 542 and Senate Study Bill 3073, would prohibit Iowa’s area education agencies that provide expertise to educators and families from offering services beyond special education for students. School districts also could drop their current agency and look elsewhere for services.

Thursday, Reynolds proposed loosening a restriction in her bill, allowing agencies to continue providing general education and media services, if requested by school districts and approved by the Iowa Department of Education. The agencies also would continue to provide all special education services they do now, including Child Find and Early ACCESS for children from birth to 3 years of age, Reynolds said.

An amendment to the bill outlining those changes hadn’t been filed as of Friday.

Calls for comprehensive study

Ryan Wise, dean of the School of Education at Drake University who was director of the Iowa Department of Education from 2015 to 2020 under former Gov. Terry Branstad and then Reynolds, said he appreciates the “spirit” of the bill and its intent to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of AEAs.

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He said he hopes legislators ensure any changes made to AEAs are “sustainable and positively impact local schools, students and families.”

“I would love to see a comprehensive review of the system before we make very rapid changes that could negatively impact schools and kids,” Wise said, echoing leaders of area education agencies, educators and lawmakers who were interviewed for this article.

“Based on my experience of leading task forces and councils, I think a review could be conducted and ready by the fall to bring to the Legislature a full report they could then act on in the next session. This isn’t something that would take years, but it’s going to take more than weeks,” he said.

As the proposal stands now, “I don’t know I see changes in this bill that would directly impact the academic performance of students,” he said.

Improving student outcomes “ultimately comes down to instruction happening in the classroom,” Wise said. The AEAs provide a significant amount of professional development to both new and veteran teachers, which is “really key to effective teaching,” he said.

If AEAs were no longer to offer media and technology — from books to online resources, for example — and educational services including math, science and literacy, “What impact does that have? Who picks up that work so we don’t see a dip in school performance?” Wise asked.

“AEAs are really innovative and open to growth and improvement,” he said. “That’s why I think the spirit of the proposal is right on. How do we as a state go about it in a way that minimizes unintended consequences?”

In his five years as director of the education department, Wise said AEAs were “critical” to implementing state initiatives such as improving early literacy, mental health resources, career and technical education and computer science.

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“We could not have done the work we’ve done as a state without the support of AEAs,” Wise said.

Area education agencies already have a significant amount of oversight, Wise said. Each of the agencies remained accredited as recently as November 2022, after undergoing a routine review process. The process requires the use of an accreditation team appointed by the director of the Department of Education

“The bill takes a lot of local and regional decision-making from local boards and very experienced chief administrators and hands it to the director of the Iowa Department of Education,” Wise said. “Moving from a locally based system very, very quickly gives me pause.”

Addressing achievement gaps

Maria Cashman, executive director of special education for Grant Wood AEA, said she is concerned about “abandoning an existing system for one that has yet to be created” if the bill were to pass in its current form.

Cashman said many data points need to be taken into account when creating a plan to improve outcomes for students who receive special education services.

For each student in special education, a legal document is created with the input of the child’s parent and educators called an Individualized Education Program. Because these plans are so individualized, they’re an important measure to consider when talking about student achievement, Cashman said.

Because the proposal envisions school districts coming and going between AEAs and private companies, some educators and parents worry this would force AEAs to charge a fee for services they provide. If that happens, “we would be much less nimble at being able to meet the needs of students. Frequently, students move in and out of districts, and as this happens, the needs will change,” Cashman said.

“The passion around this issue is wonderful,” Cashman said. “We have to continue to work together to meet the needs of our children.”

But Cashman said no representative from the state education department or the governor’s office has reached out to her or Grant Wood AEA to consult on the bill.

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“We work hard to be responsive to local needs. We encourage continuing that collaborative approach and having multiple people at the table to problem solve and figure out how to continue to improve services for students,” she said. “We always take a collaborative approach, and we’re very focused on continuous improvement.”

Iowa Education Director McKenzie Snow, who was appointed by Reynolds last June, joined a virtual town hall meeting Thursday held by the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council to gather comments about the legislative proposal.

Snow, invited to comment, spoke briefly, saying she appreciated the opportunity to hear feedback and perspectives from Iowans about AEA services. Snow said the proposed legislation is aimed at “closing and narrowing achievement gaps.”

Wendy Andersen, a parent who spoke during the virtual town hall, said Green Hills AEA — which serves 39,000 students in South Central Iowa — has been “supportive and knowledgeable” in helping her family access services for her 14-year-old son, Dexter.

Andersen, who is from Treynor, said she worries that a fee-for-service model could put an additional burden on families who already are persistent advocates for their children with special needs.

“A standardized test score is not any indication of my child’s ability and needs,” Andersen said. “The last 14 years has been a long fight for my family to get the services we need and are entitled to. I can’t imagine the new battles we’ll have to face if this bill passes.”

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