Bill to change Iowa AEAs’ operations, funding headed to Gov. Reynolds’ desk

DES MOINES — State general funding for Iowa’s K-12 public schools will increase by 2.5 percent, beginning public teachers’ salaries will be boosted and the funding and structure of Iowa’s nine area education agencies will be altered under sweeping education legislation that soon will be signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Iowa Senate Republicans approved the bill Tuesday, giving final legislative blessing to a proposal that realizes — at least partially — a goal set out by Reynolds almost three months ago during her Condition of the State address.

Shortly after the bill passed the Senate, Reynolds’ office announced she will sign it into law Wednesday at the Iowa Capitol.

Area education agencies oversee education of Iowa students with disabilities and offer media and consulting services to schools and students within their boundaries.

The legislative approval “sends a strong message: every Iowa student deserves a world class education, and the compensation of every Iowa teacher should reflect the importance of their role,” Reynolds said in a statement Tuesday.

“Over the last several weeks, this bill has been the focus of much discussion and debate. Change is seldom easy, but it is necessary to achieve better results,” Reynolds’ statement added. “Reforming the AEA system creates accountability, transparency, consistency, and most importantly, better outcomes for all Iowa’s students.”

Only Republicans voted in favor of the legislation, and a few in each chamber voted against it. Democrats said they support the boost in teacher pay but voted against the final version of the bill because of how it would alter area education agencies and because they believe the state school funding increase is too low.

AEA changes

Currently, federal and state special education funding goes directly to Iowa’s nine area education agencies. AEAs also receive property tax funding for media services and other education services for schools in their region.

Once the bill, House File 2612, 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 how they see fit, 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 for AEA services or for another entity.

The proposal 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. The bill also establishes a task force to study AEA structure and funding and recommend future changes.

The plan has drawn 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 to the legislation, although some said they are in favor of having more control of their special education dollars.

Cindy Yelick, chief administrator of the Heartland AEA in Des Moines, was on hand for the Senate debate and vote at the Iowa Capitol. Afterward, she said she expects a “bumpy” few years ahead for area education agencies.

“I can’t really tell you what it’s going to look like long-term. The timeline (to implement the changes) is short, the changes are significant,” Yelick said. “As always, the AEAs will be focused on doing their very best to deliver supports and services to children and families and students and teachers and schools. That is who we are. And we will remain focused on that, and do our best to preserve that level of service that we’ve been known for.”

Yelick said other AEAs have already seen staff leave because of uncertainty.

“There’s a lot of unknowns. And I can’t stand here today and say that people aren’t going to feel a difference in the next three months, six months, a year,” Yelick said. “But as I say, our long-term goal will always remain with the students.”

What lawmakers said

One Republican senator who voted against the bill was Charlie McClintock, of Alburnett. He called the proposal “universally disliked by both parties.”

“Based on the content and input that I receive, I can say with some confidence that no one really likes this bill,” McClintock said during Senate debate. “The very idea of dismantling and defunding the area education agencies has upset and offended the people in Iowa to a whole ’nother level.”

Democrats also expressed heavy criticism of the bill’s AEA provision, and accused Republicans of siding with the governor despite pleas from the public.

“By doing this bill today, what you are saying to your constituents is they don’t matter, what they say doesn’t matter, that you serve the governor and not the people,” Sen. Molly Donahue, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids who has worked for 33 years as a special-education teacher, said during debate.

Democrats also criticized Republicans adding multiple elements to one bill — AEAs, school funding and teacher pay — saying each should have been debated separately.

Sen. Lynn Evans, a Republican from Aurelia and a former teacher, principal and superintendent, said the bill returns special education oversight to the state and will attract more teachers to work in Iowa.

“This bill in its entirety will not only improve student achievement in special education, it will not only help improve the AEA system, which is a support system for special (education) and general education, but it’s going to raise student achievement in its entirety in our state,” Evans said.

Public school funding

The 2.5 percent increase in state general funding for public school districts means an additional $119 million in the 2024-2025 school year, for a total of $3.8 billion, according to the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.

At that funding level, the number of school districts on the state funding program’s “budget guarantee” — which allows districts to receive funding that would ensure a budget at 101 percent of the previous year, funded by local property taxes — roughly doubles, from 71 districts to 140, more than 43 percent of districts in the state, according to agency.

“We are consistently and continually underfunding our public schools every year, and this bill just makes it worse,” Sen. Claire Celsi, a Democrat from West Des Moines, said during debate.

Teacher salaries

The minimum salary for first-year teachers in Iowa would increase from the current $33,500 to $47,500 in the 2024-2025 school year and $50,000 the next year.

And the minimum salary for teachers with at least 12 years of experience would be set at $60,000 in the upcoming school year and $62,000 the following year.

The bill also includes $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.

“Those paraeducators work directly with those children, and they form a bond with those children and their children’s families,” Evans said. “These are important, critical people that work with our kids on a daily basis. This is a good addition.”

Caleb McCullough of The Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau contributed.

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