Kim Reynolds walks back Area Education Agency changes, allows general education services

Just days after proposing an overhaul of Iowa's Area Education Agencies, Gov. Kim Reynolds has walked back one of the main changes she called for.

In her Condition of the State address last week, Reynolds said the AEAs had grown "beyond their core mission of helping students with disabilities," becoming "top-heavy organizations with high administrative costs."

"Under my proposal, AEAs will focus solely on students with disabilities, as they should," Reynolds said.

Sign up: Get the Register's politics newsletter in your inbox every day

But after meeting with parents, teachers and lawmakers, Reynolds on Thursday released an amended version of the proposal that would allow the AEAs to continue providing general education services and media services, if requested by school districts and approved by the Iowa Department of Education.

School districts will decide whether to use the AEAs for special education and other services. Under the proposed bill, districts could choose to use the state and federal special education funds they currently send to the AEAs to hire employees or a private company instead.

"Schools and parents know their students best, and this bill ensures they are in the driver’s seat in deciding how best to support their students," Reynolds said in a news release. "This model will give schools control over their money and create more transparency in the system, while also ensuring AEAs can provide the education support some schools rely on."

More: Kim Reynolds proposes in annual speech to boost Iowa teacher pay, overhaul AEAs, cut taxes

Reynolds thanked the House and Senate education committees for working on the bill with her, and said she looks forward to subcommittees taking up the proposal "as soon as possible.”

House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, told reporters that the changes to the bill are "the way the process is supposed to work."

"The governor fully engaged with — not only at the leadership level, but members of the committees and the committee chairs — to make sure that we can try to craft a policy that works best to have accountability for our local school districts and have better results," he said. "And I think that's the path that we're on."

Grassley said the bill will give schools significant authority to decide how to provide special education services for students.

"The objective was never to eliminate special ed services. Again, that was never part of the conversation," he said. "But I think one of the big things that we're looking at is making sure we’re giving control to the school districts, which I think the path we're going down now does an even better job of that and giving more control to the school districts to still be able to access those services. And especially in those rural districts."

More: As Kim Reynolds pitches special education changes, Department of Education posts 29 new jobs

Democrats say Reynolds got caught 'over her skis' and urge Iowans to speak out against bill

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, told reporters that Reynolds only spoke with Republican lawmakers about the bill, not Democrats.

Konfrst said Reynolds "has gotten caught out a little bit over her skis" on the issue.

"Iowans are telling us overwhelmingly that this bill is a nonstarter and so now I see the governor’s trying to snip around the edges and change it," Konfrst said. "And I’m not going to believe anything about this being good for Iowa kids until I see a final bill, but I am not hopeful based on the governor’s lack of willingness to engage the AEAs, to engage parents and to engage stakeholders in the process."

Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, said the public speaking out against the bill "made a huge difference."

"Please understand the power of your voice in your government and start using it more," she said. "And this was one of those issues that just sparked that. And I think that what we’re seeing is a reaction from the governor and from Republicans on, ‘Gee, maybe we did this wrong.’ And they did."

Members of the public will be invited to speak with lawmakers on House and Senate subcommittees, then the bill will be brought to the education committees and the House and Senate floor. Amendments are usually drafted and adopted after subcommittee hearings.

Kate Fairfax, a Des Moines mother of two kindergarten-age twins who attend Southeast Polk schools, said her daughters have had AEA support since their premature birth.

Her daughter Audrey is deaf and has cerebral palsy, so she relies heavily on AEA services at school for physical therapy, speech pathology, audiology and coordinating with school staff to make sure she has the support she needs.

"I’m just so grateful for them," Fairfax said of the AEAs. "I honestly don’t know what her day would look like if the AEA wasn’t there, so I just know how important they are and I hope that everyone else can see that, too."

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com or at 515-284-8041. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

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: Gov. Kim Reynolds loosens AEA proposal, would allow additional services