The Iowa Senate on Tuesday approved an amended House bill that would make changes to the state's local education agency. The bill also includes state funding for K-12 public schools and teacher pay increases next school year.
Senators passed House File 2612 by a vote of 30-18, approving amendments made by House members last week. Three Republicans, Sens. Waylon Brown, Mike Klimesh, and Charlie McClintock, joined all Democrats in voting against the bill.
Sen. Sarah Tron Garriott (D-Waukee) criticized Republicans for passing the bill despite its problems.
“Several Republicans in the House of Representatives publicly acknowledged over the weekend that there are many problems with the latest version and mistakes that need to be corrected,” Tron Garriott said. “But they voted for it anyway. And so many people in this chamber will vote for this too, sloppy seconds in the House. Because this is something that should be done as quickly as possible to please the governor. The unvarnished truth is that this is a desperate attempt to pass a law.”
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds initiated discussion of AEA changes in January, highlighting them as a top priority for the 2024 Legislature in her State of the Nation Address. After Tuesday's passage of the bill, she issued a statement thanking the lawmakers and education experts who worked hard on the bill.
“Over the past few weeks, this bill has been the focus of much discussion and debate,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Change is rarely easy, but it is necessary to achieve better outcomes. Reforming the AEA system will increase accountability, transparency, consistency, and most importantly, all Iowa students. It will lead to better outcomes for you.”
In its final form, the bill differs significantly from the governor's proposal to direct all state and federal special education funding directly to school districts. The bill sent to Reynolds on Tuesday puts most of the special education funding in the hands of the AEA.
In the second year of implementation, special education funding for Iowa's K-12 schools would go first to school districts, with 90% of the needed funding going to the AEA, with an option to retain the remaining 10%. The bill would also send 40% of general education and media services funding directly to the AEA and 60% to school districts in the first year, with the entire amount going to school districts in the second year.
The bill also creates a special committee to study the AEA and recommend to lawmakers possible changes for the next Congress.
McClintock, an Alburnet Republican, said he has seen several unpopular bills during his time in Congress, but “this is the first bill that is not only universally disliked by both parties, but is overwhelmingly unilateral in its passage.'' ” he said. ”
After reading letters from voters, many of them Republicans, who said the bill would have a negative impact on Iowa families and education, McClintock said, “I have some confidence that no one really likes this bill.'' “I can say this with confidence,” he added.
“Let me tell you, I don't think the governor was wrong to call for a review of the AEA,” he said. “All that is said is that the AEA is not only fully capable, but fully willing to review the process without this legislation being forced. It shouldn't be done by legislators, it should be done in a conference room somewhere with the AEA director and school administrators.”
Sen. Cherilyn Westrich (R-Ottumwa) disputed opponents' claims that no one asked questions or campaigned for changes to Iowa's AEA system, saying she has not been involved in the AEA since 2018. He said that he has been advocating for stronger accountability. She also said of the people who contacted her: When I asked her about this bill, she said many people were concerned about the impact on programs like early access and child discovery, and that these services would not be affected because they are funded by the federal government. Ta.
Westrich said the measure would increase accountability and oversight of the AEA and special education services, and much of the opposition was due to “misinformation” about the measure.
“I believe that what we are doing here today is what I wanted to accomplish and what I set out to do,” Westrich said, adding that Ken, who helped craft the bill, He expressed his gratitude to Senator Rosenboom and Senator Lynn Evans. “They came up with something much better than I could have come up with. I appreciate your efforts to address this and increase transparency and oversight. I think this is going to be great.”
Teachers solicit donations for state subsidy per student
Outside of the AEA, the law sets a 2.5% state aid subsidy rate for Iowa public schools, the amount Reynolds recommended in his budget, which also includes raises for teachers and educational support staff. ing. The bill would set the minimum starting salary for teachers at $47,500 in the first year and $50,000 in the second year, as well as increase the minimum salary for teachers with 12 years of experience to $1,000, the same as the governor's first teacher. The amount will be set at $60,000 in the first year and $62,000 in the second year. Payment proposal.
The bill also provides $14 million for pay increases for paraeducators and school employees who provide health, custody, and food services, among others. The final bill does not include the $15 per hour minimum wage established in the House's original school worker pay proposal, and Rep. Schuyler Wheeler (R-Hull) said during debate last week that the spending would be fully He said it remains unclear whether it will be covered. Increase in salary.
Sen. Bill Dotzler (D-Waterloo) initially opposed the teacher pay increase bill because it was included in the AEA bill, rather than allowing the House to pass it as a separate bill with bipartisan support. He said he hated having to cast a vote.
“The bill you put together deeply offends me in many ways, one of which is that you took away my ability to stand here and support the things that I hold dear to my heart. ,” Dotzler said. “…I support teacher pay, but I'm going to vote against the entire bill. It's wrong to do this. Additional aid is another thing, and we're going to vote against the entire bill. We should discuss and talk about it.”
Sen. Janice Weiner (D-Iowa City) said the bill violates the state's single-entity rule and violates the state constitution's autonomy rule by removing the AEA from the definition of political subdivision. He added that he believes the bill is unconstitutional because it violates the law.
“It was already in violation last week when Senate Republicans passed a Senate version that included at least two issues. Now it's even worse: AEA, special education, SSA school funding, teacher and[paraeducator]pay. It's a bill with four subjects. We should vote on separate bills and consider them separately.”
Evans, the bill's floor manager, said all aspects of the bill at hand will improve the education of all Iowa students, with additional support and accountability for services provided to families and students with disabilities. He said he believes this is an important factor in improving outcomes.
“This entire bill will not only improve student achievement and special education, but also help improve the AEA system, which is our specialized and general education support system, and will improve student achievement across the state. ''' Evans said.
Senate moves forward with Snow nomination
Early Tuesday morning, a Senate subcommittee moved to continue appointing Iowa Department of Education Secretary Mackenzie Snow as the department's secretary.
Snow first became a director in June 2023, replacing Chad Aldis, who resigned after four months on the job. Prior to becoming Iowa's education director, Snow served as K-12 policy director under former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos under former President Donald Trump, as well as serving as deputy secretary of education for Virginia and New Hampshire. He also served as department head. Department of Education.
Several K-12 school superintendents and community college presidents supported Snow's tenure, saying she was a better communicator and more responsive than her predecessors, but critics argued against her appointment citing her lack of teaching experience and licensure.
Although Snow has extensive experience in education policy, she said during the conference that her primary classroom experience was teaching remedial courses at the University of the Free State in South Africa through the Fulbright program. . She is not licensed to teach in any state in the United States and holds a degree in political science from Kansas State University.
Jessica Roman, a special education consultant with the Grant Wood Area Education Agency, said she was concerned that Snow, who has no direct experience or education in education in Iowa, would be appointed to the position in light of the AEA bill. He was one of the speakers who made this statement.
“She has never written a lesson plan in an Iowa classroom or IEP,” Roman said. “So why does it make sense for her to become director of the Iowa Department of Education and the newly created Division of Special Education?”
The bill would create a special education division within the state department that would oversee the AEA and special education services across the state.
The bill also directs the Department of Education to hire 53 new employees in supervisory positions, including 13 full-time employees based in Des Moines and 40 employees working with AEA and school districts across the state. and work.
This employment scope is significantly smaller than Reynolds' original proposal, which would have been funded by a $20 million transfer from the AEA to the state and would have placed 139 employees in the new department. Job listings in the special education department were posted online in January, even though the law hasn't been passed.
During Senate debate on the AEA bill, Evans defended the bill that would transfer oversight to the Department of Education (a task currently performed within the AEA), saying those tasks originally resided with the state.
“We're simply returning oversight to the department that was designed for compliance and oversight, the Department of Education,” Evans said. “And they wanted to oppose imposing that oversight on actual field workers, even though they took it out of the hands of the AEA when it was introduced in the late 90s and early 2000s. They didn't want that responsibility. So now they're putting it back where it belongs.”
