Iowa ends contract with AEA-run program that helps families navigate disability services

The Iowa Department of Education has ended a contract with the state's Area Education Agencies for a program that helps families of students with disabilities navigate the services those children need.

The Family and Educator Partnership program will end July 1. The Department of Education informed officials with Iowa's nine AEAs on Jan. 22 that it was discontinuing the grants to fund the program.

The $1.3 million grant pays for 18 employees statewide, including 16 fulltime workers and two part-time workers.

The program's employees work with the families of students with disabilities to make sure they understand the services that they can receive under state and federal law and serve as liaisons between families and school districts.

The decision comes as Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed sweeping legislation to overhaul how the state's nine Area Education Agencies offer special education services to students and other supports to school districts.

Reynolds' initial bill received widespread pushback. Republicans in the House and Senate have each proposed their own rewritten versions of the legislation but have yet to reach an agreement.

More: Iowa lawmakers unveil AEA changes. Here's how they affect special education, teacher pay:

Kollin Crompton, a spokesperson for Reynolds, said the state will seek to contract with an independent organization in place of the Family and Educator Partnership program.

"The Department of Education will no longer contract with the AEAs for Family Educator Partnership services and are exploring a partnership with an independent, third-party entity due to conflicts of interest presented by the AEAs," Crompton said in a statement. "The AEAs’ current grant cycle will not end until June 30, 2024, allowing for an orderly transition. If any employees were terminated, this action was taken by the AEAs, not by the Department of Education."

Crompton's statement did not provide details about what provider the state would contract with to replace the service.

Cindy Yelick, chief administrator of the Heartland AEA in central Iowa, said parents are disappointed the program won't continue.

"We’re hearing a pretty significant outcry from parents about this is a service support that was highly valued to them that now is just gone," she said. "And they have not heard what the plan is for if there’s going to be another program."

Crompton said the fact that the Family and Educator Partnership coordinators are employed by the AEAs creates a conflict of interest as they help families access resources.

"This creates a conflict of interest as the family's advocate is an employee of the same AEA providing the student's services and supporting the school district to meet federal requirements.," he said.

What do the Family and Educator Partnership coordinators do?

Johnna Davis was a Family and Educator Partnership coordinator at the Heartland AEA who resigned her position effective March 1 to take another job because of the decision not to renew the contract.

Davis said she and the other coordinators in the program don't view themselves as advocates. Instead, she said their role is to help parents understand the process and facilitate difficult conversations between families and school districts.

"We’re not going in saying, 'This is what these parents want and you need to give it to them,'" she said. "That’s an advocate. We’re that liaison piece."

A big part of her job was helping parents understand the complex system of disability services that their students receive so the parents can be more involved, Davis said.

"When they’re not informed and empowered they can’t be meaningful participants," she said.

Yelick said the coordinators helped parents navigate the special education system and understand their due process rights.

"They could attend the (individualized education plan) meetings with parents if parents either were new to the system and felt like they wanted support," she said of the coordinators. "Or even if they had a disagreement with how services were playing out, the person could go and help support the family in navigating that."

Why is Iowa ending the Family and Educator Partnership program?

A Jan. 22 email from Director of Special Education Barbara Guy to the nine AEA directors simply said the state would not be renewing its contract agreements for the program.

"I truly appreciate the work your staff have accomplished to improve statewide special education services and supports for students and their families," Guy said in the email. "I look forward to future collaborations for the benefit of those we serve."

Yelick said she wasn't told explicitly if the state's decision not to renew the program was part of the governor's push to restructure the AEAs.

"It seems timing wise that this is just part of how they’re moving forward," she said. "But we’ve never been explicitly told that this is the result of a bill."

Crompton said the move "has no connection to the governor's proposal." He cited "unacceptable variances in support provided to families of students with disabilities."

"Effective partnerships between families, educators and community providers are critical in supporting the success of all students with disabilities across Iowa," Crompton said in the statement. "All families, no matter what AEA region they reside in, deserve to receive consistent services and high levels of advocacy support. While some families have received meaningful and impartial support, unfortunately, that has not been the experience of all families across Iowa."

Yelick said a majority of the Family and Educator Partnership program's employees will lose their jobs on July 1 if they haven't already found other employment, like Davis. Heartland employs three coordinators in its program, she said.

The coordinators are generally parents of students with disabilities themselves and don't typically have the licenses as teachers or speech language pathologists that are required for most AEA jobs, Yelick said.

"They’re not necessarily licensed teachers, so they don’t have other positions to slide into," she said.

Davis, who has three children, including two with autism, said she's been through the process with her own family, which gives her a unique perspective to help other parents.

"It’s a really cool role to walk with another person, just to have somebody to kind of hold your hand and say, 'You can do it and we can get through hard things,'" she said.

Davis said she's sad to leave the job, but needs to think of her family.

"I’m very, very sad," Davis said. "I’m heartbroken to leave a job that is impactful and that I love and it’s very, very sad."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa ends AEA program helping families navigate disability services