Legislators Need to Do Their Homework on AEAs

Iowa's Kids Are Depending on Them to Get It Right

Photo by Gabriel Tovar on Unsplash

My nephew was a smart, energetic little guy. Sure, he often used his "outside voice" inside, and sometimes seemed to ignore his parents' efforts to correct him. But he was their first child, and his enrollment in pre-school didn't set off any alarm bells in our family.

That's why my sister-in-law, Lorna, and her husband, Rob, were taken by surprise when they received a call saying that a routine school screening indicated the need for a follow-up exam.

"AEA found a hearing loss in one ear, and helped us coordinate with audiologists for further testing," Lorna says. "AEA monitored him regularly and set up a 504 plan to meet his needs."

A few years later, after they adopted six siblings from foster care, AEA was there for them again.

"The girls had a limited vocabulary," Lorna says. "AEA did lots of tests, and finally decided that the girls just lacked exposure to the spoken word. AEA helped them catch up on their vocabulary." In fact, three of their children were provided with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Like most students who receive special education services, they remained part of the classroom.

Their small, rural grade school had an excellent teaching staff, but couldn't justify hiring a team of fulltime professionals in special education. But my nieces and nephews benefited from AEA's early intervention, successfully moving out of special education, and going on to graduate from high school and attend college. My oldest nephew was fitted with an implanted bone anchored (BAHA) hearing aid by fifth-grade, and went on to achieve in the classroom, and actively participate in school choral and instrumental music and drama.

I had served on the school board of this same school a few years earlier, and witnessed firsthand the positive impact of AEA services on student education and staff workloads. I also saw how the entire student body benefited. One of AEA's enrichment resources was StarLab, a portable, inflatable planetarium projecting a lighted night sky and the revolutions of the planets. I recall when it was delivered to the school and set up in the gym, where it offered hands-on, engaging learning opportunities during the next week.

Rural Schools Bear the Brunt

I was dismayed when the Iowa legislature cut AEA by $30 million at the very end of the 2023 legislative session, maintaining it was a necessary compromise to accommodate a 3% increase to state supplemental aid. But my dismay was compounded during the Condition of the State address when the Governor announced her plan to narrow the scope of AEA and overhaul its structure.

After all, legislators caved in to the Governor's pressure tactics last year, passing her plan to use taxpayer funds to give vouchers to private school students. This negatively impacts rural Iowa, since only 42 of Iowa's 99 counties have private schools. Private schools aren't required to waive fees for severely disabled or non-English speaking students, so these students are concentrated in public schools. The proposed overhaul could further diminish AEA's capacity to help them.

Most educational experts agree that a wholesale overhaul of AEA's structure also would pose the greatest threat to Iowa's rural students and schools. If passed, it would add insult to injury.

Taking a Second Look

The legislation to overhaul AEAs was based on advice from the same out-of-state consulting company that Iowa paid nearly $1 million to create the Governor's plan to consolidate state government. Thousands of Iowans immediately registered their opposition to the AEA overhaul. In response to the outcry, legislators are writing an amendment, allowing AEAs to continue to offer professional teacher training, media resources, mental health trauma support teams and other services, if schools request them.

That's good news.

The Governor emphatically stated during her Condition of the State that no AEAs would be eliminated, but during an interview with Iowa Press only a few days later, she said, "we don't need nine AEAs, Iowa is such a small state. It's too much."

So, is elimination of some AEAs on the table, or not?

Jo Hutchins was a special education teacher for more than 30 years at rural public schools in Boone County. She doubts that a reduced number of AEAs would be able to partner as effectively with schools. "Our speech and language teachers often were so overloaded it was difficult to do an adequate job," she says.

The nine AEAs currently are accredited by the Dept. of Education, but governed by individual elected boards of directors. Under the proposed legislation, AEAs would be placed under the Iowa Dept. of Education. The funding would directly flow to schools, instead of being funneled through the AEAs. Schools would be allowed to use the funds to contract with private companies or hire more staff to fulfill the current AEA services.

"We were required to take so many credits to renew our certification, and the AEA teacher training was valuable in three ways," Hutchins says.

·      Ease of enrollment

·      Affordable classes

·      Classes with scientifically researched information on the most effective strategies for optimal learning

"I was grateful for the AEA staff," Hutchins says. "I don't know how I could have done my job without them."

Ask the Right Questions

Why are Iowa's special education students falling behind, compared to other states, as the governor has pointed out? Are there underlying reasons for this declining performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) highlighted by Reynolds? Do other measures more accurately gauge student achievement, including the students' IEPs?

Should schools increase professional development opportunities to provide personalized instruction and more coaching and mentoring of new teachers? According to the 2022 National Center for Educational Statistics survey, 43% of schools identified special education as the teaching position with the most vacancies. Is the special educator shortage in Iowa comparable to other states?

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

My sister-in-law whose kids received AEA services also has worked as a teacher sub and an aide to students receiving AEA services and resources. "I earned my substitute authorization through AEA, and with today's teacher shortages, this is especially important," she says. "AEA provides things beyond the scope of most schools and teacher resources. I can't imagine being a parent or a teacher without the resources and support provided by the AEA staff. As with any government agency, I'm sure fine-tuning is possible."

She adds, "Parents who have kids who don't need AEA services may not think it's important. But if the AEA isn't there to provide as much help, their kids will suffer, too, because teachers are going to be stretched more than they are now."

It's difficult for me to believe that the proposed AEA overhaul isn't part of a deliberate strategy by Gov. Reynolds to create more inroads for the private sector to reap more education dollars from Iowa taxpayers. After all, we now pay a third-party out-of-state vendor to administer the private school voucher program forced on Iowans last year. Will savings from AEA cuts be used to pay for the unexpectedly high costs of private school vouchers? Or, will a possible repeal of the property tax levy for AEA media services be promoted as a source of tax relief?

I can envision a scenario where AEAs are so weakened by the proposed structural changes that private companies would be brought in to replace AEA services. Is it possible for the Iowa Dept. of Education to manage AEAs without Iowa's children and schools ending up on the losing end when it comes to their close professional relationships and proximity to regional resources? If the salaries of top AEA officials are too high, why not put this on the table for discussion without undermining AEA services to Iowa's children?

The Iowa Dept. of Education posted 29 new job openings to staff the new division of special education one day after the Condition of the State address. Doesn't this seem an astonishing display of arrogance when the bill had not even been filed? If it's passed, $20 million in funding would be reallocated from AEAs to this new division, with a total workforce of 139.

First Learn What AEA Is Doing Right

AAEA has a long history in Iowa. My summers during college were spent working at the Woodbury County Educational Resource Center. Located in Sergeant Bluff in a former Sioux City National Guard base building, the Center served public schools across the county, loaning audiovisual equipment (slide projectors, films) as well as books to school libraries.

I spent hours typing book titles and author names on book pockets, and adhering them to the inside covers of new books. Surrounded by stacks of newly-published books, it was a budding journalist's dream job to prepare them for loan to schools.

I left Iowa for seven years after graduating from college, and returned to find the legislature had established 15 Area Educational Agencies in 1974 to create more equitable educational opportunities and services for Iowans from birth through age 21. The Woodbury County Area Educational Resource Center was folded into the new statewide system.

In 1987, the number of AEAs was reduced from 15 to 9. In 1996, AEAs were required by the state to meet new accreditation standards. Over the past five decades, AEAs have built a huge fan base of parents, families, teachers, and administrators.

Sarah Haberl is one. "My mom intuition told me my 21-month-old son needed extra help," she says. "When my own doctor didn't listen to my concerns, the AEA did. AEA came for a home visit, and concluded we would benefit from its services.

"Fast forward four years later, and our son is thriving, but still requires services that AEA provides, as well as speech and occupational therapy. AEA made me feel validated as I pushed for these services, and it's still such an influential part of our lives. I truly hope any legislative efforts will get it right."

Sarah and Tatum Haberl

Haberl, an autism advocate from Carroll, offers just one more illustration why many Iowa educators and administrators are advocating for a comprehensive study over the next few months, based upon input from teachers, AEA staff and parents. Why not take some time, for the sake of our kids, to make sure Iowa is getting it right?

If changes are rammed through without careful thought and study, and if there's a rush to move from a regional system with local ties to a top-down state Dept. of Education management, Iowa legislators should be taken to task for failing to do their homework. And Iowa will run the serious risk of throwing out the baby with the bath water for generations to come.

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