Des Moines, Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that raises teacher salaries, increases general state spending for schools and overhauls Iowa’s Area Education Agencies.
The new law puts local districts in control of some funding that currently flows directly to the AEAs and gives state officials more authority to oversee special education. Schools will still be required to use the AEA’s special education consultants, but districts will be able to spend 10 percent of their special education allotment elsewhere, plus districts will have the option of redirecting money that currently pays for other AEA services, like teacher training.
Reynolds held a ceremony in her capitol office and was surrounded by Republican legislators and key staff as she signed the bill into law. House Education Committee chairman Skyler Wheeler, a Republican from Hull, helped lead House negotiations with educators, parents, and advocates for both large and small schools that resulted in changes to the governor’s original bill.
Senate Education Committee chairman Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa, says the fee-for-service model in the new law provides accountability and transparency and gives schools a way to judge the value of AEA services.
Democrats like House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst say the new law is universally unpopular and it will be an issue for voters in November.
Other elements of the new law will raise beginning teacher pay to $50,000 within two years — and veteran teachers must be paid at least $62,000 a year if they’ve been teaching for at least 12 years.
