- Community First Broadcasting Staff Photo
Osage, Iowa (RI) — Republican Zach Lahn says that if he’s elected governor, he’ll push to offer public schools “innovation waivers” from requirements like mandatory testing or certain high school graduation rules, allowing districts to build portfolios of experiences tailored to each student.
Lahn made his comments during a weekend campaign appearance in Osage, after someone in the crowd asked about using public money for private schools.
Lahn says there’s value in moving toward mastery-based learning rather than relying on multiple-choice tests to measure progress.
He says high school should be more customized — for example, geared toward apprenticeships if a student doesn’t plan to attend college. Lahn co-founded a private school in Kansas that opened in 2018, describing it as “learner-driven,” where students progress at their own pace, instructors are called guides and coaches, and doing is more important than memorizing.
Critics of the Kansas school Lahn co-founded say it’s geared toward highly motivated, upward-bound students and doesn’t fit the public-school model of serving all students regardless of abilities or household income.
