How are Iowa leaders reacting to the planned dismantling of the Department of Education?

DES MOINES — Iowa's governor this week praised President Donald Trump's plan to dismantle the Department of Education, while some other state politicians and education leaders warned of dire potential impacts for schools and students.

Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that calls for the U.S. Department of Education’s deconstruction. Under Trump’s order, the department would be reduced to only a few core functions, although such an action likely would require an act of Congress.

The federal education department manages loans for college students, special education programs for students with special needs, provides funding for schools with large populations of low-income students and establishes public education requirements, among other tasks. The department also has an office of civil rights, which handles complaints against K-12 schools and colleges.

Trump’s order instructs his education secretary Linda McMahon, “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”

The reaction in Iowa, from education stakeholders and political leaders, varied.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was at the White House for Thursday’s signing. Reynolds, in social media posts, celebrated Trump’s order and said it was an honor to attend the signing, which she called “historic.”

“Education decisions should be made by those who know students best — parents, teachers, and local communities,” Reynolds said in the post while thanking Trump and McMahon for their “leadership and commitment to education freedom.”

Education decisions should be made by those who know students best—parents, teachers, and local communities.

Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump and @EDSecMcMahon, for your leadership and commitment to education freedom.

It was an honor to attend today’s historic signing -… pic.twitter.com/0mwVCqe4NJ

— Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) March 20, 2025

During an appearance on a Fox News program later Thursday, Reynolds said she is excited that education could be returned to the states, school districts and parents.

“This is an expensive organization that has failed for over 40 years based on their own standards that they put in place,” Reynolds said. “The status quo is no longer acceptable. So I am so grateful to President Trump to give states the ability to streamline the process, to make it more efficient and effective just like we are doing it in Iowa.”

Education isn’t one-size-fits-all. It belongs with parents, teachers, and local communities who know their students best—not Washington bureaucrats. pic.twitter.com/rSSegqHhJH

— Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) March 21, 2025

Reynolds went on to say her administration has given Iowa parents “educational freedom to decide the best environment to educate their children.” Reynolds and statehouse Republicans in 2023 created state-funded scholarships for private school tuition assistance, equal to the per-pupil funding for public school, roughly $8,000.

The move will allow states and districts to use funds for instructional support, instead of regulatory compliance, Reynolds said.

"This will allow states to reduce the bureaucracy and the overreach and the regulatory environment," she said.

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But Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown said downsizing the federal education department will impact Iowa students’ fair and equal access to education by cutting off funding for grants to local education agencies, programs helping low-income and homeless students and small and rural school achievement programs.

“The abolition of programs in the U.S. Department of Education will directly impact families in every community in Iowa, threatening our children's educational opportunities and the stability of our local economies,” Brown said in a statement. “The U.S. Department of Education is a critical advocate for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination and ensuring every student has access to an education that will help them succeed. It was created for this purpose.”

A spokeswoman said the Iowa Department of Education “welcomes the opportunity to leverage greater responsibility and flexibility to best serve Iowans through the empowerment of state and local education leaders.”

“As always, the Iowa Department of Education will continue to support educators in meeting the needs of all students alongside their families.”

The Iowa Association of School Boards and the School Administrators of Iowa did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

Iowa Democratic leaders respond to executive order

Iowa Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights who leads the minority party Democrats in the Iowa House, said the idea of turning control over federal education policy and funding to the states is “scary” because she does not trust Reynolds and statehouse majority Republicans’ education policies.

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“It’s very clear that Iowa families cannot trust Kim Reynolds and Republicans in the (Iowa) Legislature to handle public education in the way that it deserves,” Konfrst told reporters Thursday at the Iowa Capitol. “We are very concerned about where that money will go, how it will be spent. And if we look at what (Iowa Republicans) have already prioritized, we’re very concerned about how they’re going to prioritize public education and the 90 percent of Iowa kids who go to public schools.”

Konfrst, who in recent months has said she is considering running for governor or Congress in 2026, said Iowa Democrats also are concerned with how dismantling department could impact students with special needs.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart, a retired teacher, said Trump’s executive order puts Iowa’s rural schools and special education programs at risk.

“If Kim Reynolds hasn’t made her disdain for Iowa’s public schools clear enough through her voucher scam that gives taxpayer money to private schools for wealthy families, she made it pretty clear (Thursday) by flying all the way to Washington, D.C. to watch Donald Trump sign an executive order that will gut the Department of Education,” Hart said in a statement.

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