Iowa’s governor said the approval would result in less time spent on administrative duties, allowing educators to put more resources and time back into the classroom.

Other states have pointed to the of having flexible accountability and assessment systems that reflect local priorities, foster innovation and empower local decision-making, rather than adhering strictly to federal mandates. But some education leaders, such as the , worry that if states ultimately establish 50 distinct accountability and improvement models, students’ access to learning accommodations and opportunities will vary based on where they live and learn. Academic outcomes can depend on the availability of tutoring, advanced coursework and enrichment, special education services, assistive technology and other supports.

As states consider the opportunities that waivers present for greater flexibility in using federal funds, they should consider lessons from the recent past. The pandemic-era Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were a lifeline for schools, but they also exposed critical gaps in states’ approaches to innovation and evaluation. While ESSER funds enabled rapid response and recovery, the program lacked robust provisions for evaluating which strategies worked and why. As a result, there is limited evidence about which interventions — such as summer school, tutoring or targeted supports — were the most effective. 

For the department and states, the lesson is clear: Rigorous evaluation and continuous improvement must be embedded in the waiver and experimentation process from the start. States should clearly show how their plans connect to better student outcomes, and the department should assist them in these efforts. With more flexible financial strategies in place, states could find new ways to combine funds to reach their goals and learn from one another as they develop innovative approaches. Most importantly, however, states should ensure their investments include research and evaluation components, so they know what works and what does not.

Even as it cedes some control, the department has an important role to play in ensuring the following elements are in place: 

1. Purposeful Experimentation: States should be empowered to innovate, but with the expectation that they will rigorously evaluate new approaches and share what they learn. This will help ensure that successful strategies can be replicated and adapted elsewhere. Existing investments can be used toward these goals. For example, the Regional Educational Laboratories, the Comprehensive Center Network and the Educational Innovation and Research program help schools build their data-using skills and provide guidance on evidence-based practices.
2. Capacity Building: Many states will need expert guidance to design and implement effective reforms. Federal investment should focus on making lasting improvements, not just short-term fixes. The comprehensive network, for example, is a government-funded organization of regional centers that help states design, test and strengthen new ideas and strategies, and guide policymakers, state education agencies and educators in building the skills needed to improve teaching and learning.
3. Collaboration Over Isolation: The government should continue to facilitate collaboration among states, ensuring that innovations and lessons learned are shared widely. This may be done by providing insight on how to launch and sustain new programs and develop continuous improvement strategies, or by strengthening ongoing cross-state work through grants, technical assistance, conferences and national networks that help align standards, share data and improve student outcomes.

States have always been constitutionally responsible for providing public education, though federal policy — since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was enacted in 1965 — has incentivized states to serve disadvantaged students and promoted greater consistency in educational quality nationwide. 

Now, the department is signaling a willingness to let states experiment. But to avoid repeating the missed opportunities of ESSER, federal and state leaders must prioritize evaluation, capacity building and collaboration. Only then can the flexibility presented through these waivers lead to lasting improvements in educational excellence. 

The Iowa House passed a measure Monday to make the current pilot program providing free child care for child care workers permanent.

Iowa’s Child Care Assistance (CCA) program is available to parents with a gross monthly income below 250% the federal poverty level, if they are gone during the week days due to their job, schooling, vocational training or state activities. However, Iowans working at least 32 hours a week in the child care field have also been able to access the CCA program outside of the income restrictions through a pilot program implemented in 2023 and extended in subsequent years.

, passed 86-3, would make this program permanent. Rep. Ryan Weldon, R-Ankeny, said since July 2023, 2,105 families have received child care through the CCA pilot program, with the average family receiving support being at 302% of the federal poverty level. The funding for the program has come, and will continue to draw from the state’s Child Care Development Fund, which Weldon said had $112 million in the previous fiscal year, with a projection of carrying forward $107 million in FY 2026 and $91 million in FY 2027, alongside federal funds.

According to the , the bill would have an estimated cost of $11.7 million in FY 2027 — with the state paying $7 million — and $12.1 million in FY 2028, with the state paying $7.3 million.

The bill was amended to require an annual report on state and federal costs, the number of participating families and children and the average household income of those receiving the CCA program support.

Rep. Tracy Ehlert, D-Cedar Rapids, said she was “excited” the bill was introduced, as it was a proposal House Democrats have introduced in previous legislative sessions and Iowans working in child care have called for lawmakers to approve.

“As I have talked to different programs, this is one of the number one things that they said they needed to stay in place to help them,” Ehlert said. “It’s helping communities, it’s helping children, it’s helping our early childhood workforce.”

Another proposal — which survived the first legislative funnel as  and  — also contains language to codify the CCA pilot program. These companion bills are the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services’ larger proposal including a shift in some funding from the Early Childhood Iowa system to HHS.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

Republican candidates vying for the top spot in state government gave their plans to transform education on all levels for Iowa students during a gubernatorial debate Tuesday evening, claiming leftist indoctrination starts with teacher education before making its way into classrooms and parents need more control.

Hosted by conservative organization Moms for Liberty and moderated by the organization’s CEO Tina Descovich and WHO NewsRadio Host Simon Conway, the debate also touched on topics like Iowans’ health, the absence of one of the candidates, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, and more.

Candidates agreed that both education and higher education in Iowa need to be reformed, with eastern Iowa farmer and businessman saying the issue needs to be framed as a “generational fight for the institutions in our society.” He and other candidates pointed at “the left” as targeting education to indoctrinate children, something Lahn said they have been “tremendously successful” at.

Lahn is running on an “Iowa first” agenda, with a focus on education, border security and supporting farms. The Republican candidate has not held political office but worked previously for a Colorado state senator, Republican campaigns in Iowa and conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.

“Public school is to promote civic virtue, to understand the principles of faith in our country and our culture, and that’s what it will be when I am governor,” Lahn said.

Brad Sherman, a Republican state representative from 2023-2025, businessman and faith leader, said the “concept of God” needs to be put back in schools, and putting the Ten Commandments in classrooms is a good place to start. God gave children to their parents and not the state, Sherman said, and parents should have complete control.

Sherman states on his campaign he is committed to “restoring adherence to the Constitution and restoring the foundational principles that made America a great nation and Iowa a great state.”

Parental rights were a focus for both Moms for Liberty and the candidates, with each candidate offering their support of parents deciding where and what their students learn. Rep. Eddie Andrews, R-Johnston, touted his authorship of parental rights legislation, which includes rights he said everyone agreed on until “three seconds ago.” Parents have the “fundamental right to raise their children in education,” he said.

Andrews also suggested doing away with the current common core education rules and restoring state-specific education standards, including adding phonics, where the association between spoken and written sounds is taught, to classrooms.

The five priorities listed on Andrews’s website include eliminating property taxes and combating inflation, parental rights in education, defending landowners and private property, championing mental health and health care freedom and protecting “life, liberty and traditional values.”

Former Iowa Department of Administrative Services director Adam Steen said during the debate funding of public schools isn’t the problem but ideology is, as well as the “downright evil” requirements being pushed on students.

“The line” for Steen was when his son’s teacher asked them to purchase a book titled “Jacob’s New Dress,” about a boy who begins to wear a dress to school. Teachers are sometimes forced to incorporate materials like these into classrooms, he said, adding he believes schools should instead teach real-world skills, vocational studies and industrial arts.

“I believe that this isn’t on the backs of teachers, it’s on the backs of those that are putting these standards upon our teachers and forcing it down our children’s throats,” Steen said.

Steen described himself at the launch for his gubernatorial run as “the faith guy,” as well as a “Make America Great Again guy.” The Republican resigned from his position in August in order to enter the race and states on his campaign he is pro-life, pro-Iowa, pro-property rights and pro-family.

Branching off from school choice for parents, Steen said schools should have a say in how teachers are trained. Universities should offer degree tracks in “classical education” for students, he said, and universities should not promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Sherman suggested that teachers be given some form of test to ensure they can “do the job” while not needing to go through traditional university training.

Lahn said the value proposition of a college education is “decreasing precipitously,” with schools talking to students about postsecondary options other than attending a university.

Universities are “digging their own grave” while getting a lot of money from the state, and Lahn proposed overturning the Iowa Board of Regents and pulling funding from universities that refuse to stop teaching “woke indoctrination.” He said he would give the money instead to veteran support programs he pitched during the debate, such as trade schools and farm programs.

Iowa’s medical needs

Moderators also asked lawmakers about the medical issues facing Iowans, from to vaccine concerns.

Lahn, Sherman and Andrews all stated the need for additional, independent research on the causes of Iowa’s growing cancer rates in order to understand the problem fully and begin to identify solutions. Andrews mentioned $1 million in state funding provided to the University of Iowa for cancer research but said that didn’t include pediatric cancers, and said one suggestion to address that was to put in another $3 million.

Lahn laid the blame on agriculture companies who aren’t truthful about what their chemicals are doing to Iowans, and said he wouldn’t allow them to operate in Iowa unless they can show through research that their products are not harmful.

“It is the generational issue of our time, and we have to confront it head on,” Lahn said.

Steen refused to lay the blame on farmers, citing radon, plane deicer and golf courses as other areas that could be impacting cancer rates. He said this is a years-long issue to solve, and he wants to bring the experts to the table to solve it, no matter their political affiliation.

When asked about mRNA vaccines, Lahn, Sherman and Andrews all committed to banning them in the state, pointing back to issues during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Steen, who said his father got diabetes and cancer after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and later died, said he would consider a ban.

Feenstra criticized for skipping debate

Feenstra was invited to the debate but did not join, indicated by the empty podium Moms for Liberty placed on stage. Each of the candidates criticized his absence.

Billy Fuerst, campaign spokesman for Feenstra, said in an email the candidate flew into and out of  Iowa with President Trump on Air Force One, where they spoke about “how they can work together to take Iowa to new heights and keep Iowa red.”

“Congressman Feenstra is proud of his track record working with President Trump to pass the largest tax cuts for working families in U.S. history, get Sarah’s Law signed into law, and lower gas prices to their lowest levels in years,” Fuerst said in his email.

Steen said if Feenstra is the Republican nominee, Iowa would end up with Democrat Rob Sand as a governor and Iowa would be “toast.” Feenstra was in Iowa Tuesday, Andrews said, and the fact that he didn’t show up felt like he was disregarding Iowans.

“I’m not trying to cuss, but it’s like throwing a middle finger at all of you,” Andrews said. “He doesn’t care.”

Lahn said he doesn’t believe that Feenstra was too intimidated to come to the debate stage Tuesday — he’s instead following a method that says if you get enough establishment money, you get to skip everything else.

“Randy Feenstra has a lot of money, he has a lot of people behind him, but in Iowa, it doesn’t take that much money if you’re willing to work hard,” Sherman said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

State universities would be responsible for portions of students’ defaulted loans under legislation advanced Wednesday by an Iowa House subcommittee.

would require state universities to offset 25% of a borrower’s liability if they default on an educational loan taken out to attend the institution. This means the university would be liable for 25% of what the student owes.

More than 40% of Iowa public college graduates finish their education debt-free, Iowa Board of Regents State Relations Officer Jillian Carlson said, and those who do take out loans receive financial counseling early in their college career “to help them right-size their debt and advise them on not taking out more than they need.”

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“One question or concern that we do have is to clarify whether students who default on their loans are actually defaulting because they’re unable to make the payments, versus defaulting on their loans because they know that we would pick up 25% of the bill when they actually do have the resources to make the payments,” Carlson said.

Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, said there are important, practical questions on the topic of universities potentially being liable for defaulted loans that are not answered in the bill, such as where the money to take on these debts would come from. She also asked whether it should be the responsibility of a university to “be on the hook for” part of a loan in certain situations, like if a graduate finds themself in medical debt and must decide how they’ll use their money to stay safe and healthy.

“I think it’s important to recognize that the majority party talks a lot about personal responsibility, especially when it comes to student loans,” Matson said. “So I’m curious as to why you all are proposing to put a graduate’s financial decisions back onto a university if personal responsibility for student loans is so incredibly important.”

Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Fairfield, said during the subcommittee meeting he believes the idea presented in the bill has “some merit.” He and subcommittee chair Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, approved the legislation to move to the Iowa House Higher Education Committee.

“My general thoughts are, we need to make sure we have some skin in the game when it comes to … the future employment of these individuals, once they graduate,” Collins said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

Lawmakers moved a bill out of an Iowa House subcommittee Wednesday that would have the state’s public higher education system explore a funding model based on workforce-based performance measures.

would have the Iowa Board of Regents study a potential performance-based funding model for the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa and submit a report to the General Assembly by its November 2026 meeting.

According to the bill, this funding model should factor in graduation rates, the number of awarded degrees corresponding to Iowa’s high-demand jobs, post-graduation employment rates and income and how many graduates stay in Iowa.

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While the board of regents is registered as undecided on the legislation, board state relations officer Jillian Carlson said there are some concerns with what would need to be factored into the funding model. Post-graduation income is one she identified as potentially posing an issue, as the universities work to meet workforce needs in rural areas where income is often lower.

“I think we certainly understand your guys’ desire to look at these performance metrics, but we do have some concerns with the metrics in the bill, particularly where they would conflict with state needs,” Carlson said.

As the Iowa House Higher Education Committee is “looking to create efficiencies,” Carlson said the board’s budget, investment and finance committee is “currently working on an efficiency review of all of our revenue” — an effort headed by Regent Kurt Tjaden.

Members of the subcommittee said they were surprised and disappointed to see little public comment during the meeting, with Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, saying he’s noticed a lack of participation in other subcommittees he’s sat on during this legislative session as well.

Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, was the only lawmaker on the subcommittee to not support the legislation, saying so after Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, didn’t answer her questions on what a performance-based funding model would look like from his perspective as the person who filed the bill.

“I think it probably goes without saying that I’m not going to be signing off on the bill today, mostly because of a lack of engagement in a conversation on what this bill actually entails and how it will practically work in the real world,” Matson said.

She also took issue with the potential funding model’s criteria, some which she said are out of universities’ control. If a student decides to move away from Iowa because it is what is best for them and their family, she said a university could be penalized through the funding model even though they couldn’t do anything to change that outcome.

Collins said the bill would not enact a new system for universities to follow but “seeks to align taxpayer investment with taxpayer return,” and to gather additional information for the General Assembly to potentially act upon.

Iowa needs to evolve, Wills said, and the Legislature can’t just keep going with the status quo.

“We need to become more efficient,” Wills said. “We need to look and research other opportunities and other ways of doing business, because sometimes the status quo, the way we’ve always done it, is not the best way.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

An administrative law judge has ruled that an Iowa school teacher committed job-related misconduct when he posted negative Facebook comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Matthew Kargol worked for the Oskaloosa Community School District as an art teacher and coach until he was fired in September 2025. Kargol then filed for unemployment benefits and the district resisted, which led to a recent hearing before Administrative Law Judge David Steen.

In his written factual findings of the case, Steen reported that on Sept. 10, 2025, Kargol had posted a comment to Facebook stating, “1 Nazi down.” That comment was posted within hours of authorities confirming Kirk had been shot and killed that day while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

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When another Facebook user commented, “What a s—-y thing to say,” Kargol allegedly replied, “Yep, he was part of the problem, a Nazi.”

Steen reported that Kargol posted his comments around 5 p.m. and then deleted them within an hour. By 6 p.m., the district began fielding a number of telephone calls and text messages from members of the public, Steen found.

According to Steen’s findings, the district’s leadership team met that evening and included Kargol via telephone conference call. District leaders asked Kargol to resign, and he declined, after which the district officials said they were concerned for his safety due to the public’s reaction to his comments.

The district placed Kargol on administrative leave that evening, Steen found. The next day, district officials fielded roughly 1,500 telephone calls and received 280 voicemail messages regarding Kargol’s posts.

“These calls required the employer to redirect staff and other resources from their normal duties,” Steen stated in his ruling. “The employer also requested additional law enforcement presence at school facilities due to the possibility of physical threats, which some of the messages alluded to. The employer continued to receive numerous communications from the public for days after the post was removed.”

On Sept. 16, 2025, Superintendent Mike Fisher submitted a written recommendation to the school board to fire Kargol, with the two primary reasons cited as a disruption to the learning environment and a violation of the district’s code of ethics. Upon Fisher’s recommendation, the board fired Kargol on Sept. 17, 2025.

According to Steen’s findings, the district calculated the cost of its response to the situation was $14,332.10 – and amount that includes the wages of the regular staff who handled the phone calls and other communications.

As for the ethics-policy violation, Steen noted that the policy states that employees “are representatives of the district at all times and must model appropriate character, both on and off the worksite. This applies to material posted with personal devices and on personal websites and/or social media accounts.”

The policy goes on to say that social media posts “which diminish the professionalism” of the district may result in disciplinary action, including termination, if it is found to be disruptive to the educational environment.

The district, Steen noted, also has a policy on “employee expression” that states “the First Amendment protects a public employee’s speech when the employee is speaking as an individual citizen on a matter of public concern,” but that “even so, employee expression that has an adverse impact on district operations and/or negatively impacts an employee’s ability to perform their job for the district may still result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.”

Based on the policies and Kargol’s conduct, Steen concluded the district fired Kargol for job-related misconduct that disqualified him from collecting unemployment benefits.

The issue before him, Steen observed, wasn’t whether the district made a correct decision in firing Kargol, but whether Kargol is entitled to unemployment insurance benefits under Iowa law.

In ruling against Kargol on that issue, Steen noted Kargol was aware of district policies regarding social media use as well as work rules that specifically state employees are considered representatives of the school district at all times.

Kargol’s posts, Steen ruled, “reflected negatively on the employer and were against the employer’s interests.” The posts also “caused substantial disruption to the learning environment, causing staff at all levels to need to redirect focus and resources on the public’s response for days after the incident,” Steen stated.

Kargol’s federal lawsuit against the school district, alleging retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right to expression, is still working its way through the courts.

In that lawsuit, Kargol argues that in comments made last fall, Fisher made clear that his condemnation of Kargol’s Facebook posts “was rooted in his personal beliefs, not in evidence of disruption. Speaking as ‘a man of faith,’ Fisher expressed disappointment in the state of society and disapproval of Mr. Kargol’s expression. By invoking his personal religious identity in condemning Mr. Kargol’s speech, Fisher confirmed that his reaction was based on his own values and ideology, not on legitimate pedagogical concerns.”

The district has denied any wrongdoing in that case. A trial date has yet to be scheduled.

have been filed against their former employers by Iowa educators, a public defender and a paramedic, all of whom allege they were fired or sanctioned for online comments posted in the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s death.

Earlier this week, and its executive director, alleging they improperly solicited complaints related to anti-Kirk social media posts.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

The Department of Education granted the state to blend the funds from programs that support teacher quality, English learners, student enrichment and afterschool programs, a move that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said will shift “nearly $8 million and thousands of hours of staff time from bureaucracy to actually putting that expertise and those resources in the classroom.”

During an in western Iowa town of Denison, Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the move a “groundbreaking first step that gives state leaders more control over federal education dollars.” 

The waiver, however, is not as expansive as what Reynolds, a Republican, originally floated when she announced the request in March. The funding flexibility only applies to the dollars the state manages, not federal funds going to districts, such as money for low-income students. 

Anne Hyslop, director of policy development at All4Ed, an advocacy group — and a former Education Department official — called the consolidation of funds for state activities “unprecedented,” but noted that the state scaled down after conversations with the department. “This is not the seismic shift in federal funding that perhaps was first contemplated in their original draft.”

The department also granted the state an , which releases districts from some requirements tied to federal programs and gives them more time to spend the money. But , both blue and red, already participate in that program.

The Iowa is one of six before the department. , for example, has asked for a similar block grant, while both Indiana and want to make changes to their accountability systems. Once McMahon grants one, it will be “hard to say no to another state that shows up with the same asks,” said Adam Schott, former acting assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education during the Biden administration.

  with the aim of reducing bureaucracy and giving states and districts more authority over spending has long been a Republican policy goal. Supporters argue that block grants are a more efficient way to address local issues and can reduce staff time spent on paperwork. But skeptics argue that the students whom Congress intended to help through specific programs could be shortchanged as states shift funds to other priorities. 

“I see how this could help to perhaps reduce redundancies, but at what expense?” asked Melissa Peterson, legislative and policy director for the Iowa State Education Association, an affiliate of the National Education Association. “We do have grave concerns that some of the various student populations may, quite frankly, not receive the services as intended.” 

Republicans pushed for education block grants almost as soon as Congress established the Department of Education. In 1981, the Reagan administration in the Chapter 2 block grant. But Congress kept cutting funds for the program, and . 

In 1998, the House passed the Dollars to the Classroom Act, another block grant. Conservatives liked the “political symbolism of getting Washington out of what has traditionally been a state role,” said Vic Klatt, who worked at the department during George H.W. Bush’s administration and then spent several years working on education policy for House Republicans. But no one, he said, ever wanted to get rid of the major programs, like Title I for high-poverty schools and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The bill died in the Senate.

‘The data collection burden’

Some school finance experts stress that the Every Student Succeeds Act, the primary education law, already offers a lot of flexibility to combine funds. But Catherine Pozniak, a consultant based in Louisiana who works with states on waiver requests, said agencies and districts still struggle to manage multiple programs. The “grievances” that Iowa and Indiana have expressed are real, she said.

“Flexibilities exist, but they are actually quite difficult to take advantage of,” she said. 

While the department didn’t waive requirements related to data collection and reporting, McMahon wrote in to the state that “the conversations between our staff have been informative and insightful regarding the data collection burden” on states and districts.

Jim Blew, co-founder of the conservative Defense of Freedom Institute, called the announcement a “remarkable breakthrough” and said he hopes all states would try to follow Iowa’s example. “One of the most burdensome parts of dealing with the Education Department is the reporting,” he said. The agency “just needs time to think through how allowing it in one state will impact others, but I’ll bet they are going to make that a priority.”

Schott challenged the argument that reporting how states are using federal funds is a waste of time.

 “One person’s compliance is another person’s accountability, transparency and general prudent treatment of funds,” he said. ​​”The reason you’ve got these discrete funding streams is not to make someone’s life difficult. It’s to make sure that marginalized student groups don’t have to fight and claw for the resources they’re going to need to access a high-quality education.”

In her comments during the event, McKenzie Snow, Iowa’s education chief, talked about using the flexibility to better train teachers to serve the state’s growing English learner population, which has increased by 40% over the past decade, she said. But Hyslop said the state has yet to “make a compelling case” for how the waiver would improve outcomes for those students.

For Snow, block grants are a familiar strategy. She served as an aide to former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during Trump’s first administration. At the time, DeVos proposed  combining 29 programs into a $19.4 billion fund that would give states and districts more authority over how to spend the money. Democrats, who had control of the House at the time, didn’t support the idea, and e in both houses .

As Iowa’s chief, Snow asked the department to in the Perry Community School District following a 2024 at Perry High School that left two dead and six injured.

Schott said most of the waiver requests he received were due to similar tragedies or natural disasters that forced students to miss school. But he always urged states to work with regional education labs or other outside centers to evaluate how the changes they made affect students.

That will be more difficult, Hyslop said, due to the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize and shut down the Education Department.

“The department has fewer staff to monitor right now,” she said. “Understanding the impact of this is going to be really challenging.” 

The U.S. Department of Education is expected to reopen for business Thursday after the in history. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is likely to pick up where she left off 43 days ago, reshaping the federal role in school policy and trying to phase out the agency.

The staff won’t be as small as the Trump administration had hoped. McMahon gutted the offices overseeing special education, K-12 and civil rights at the start of the shutdown, but a federal judge paused the job cuts and the reopening agreement in Congress . The deal to end the shutdown prohibits any additional terminations through Jan. 30, the next deadline for lawmakers to finalize the 2026 federal budget. 

Two more top officials will also soon join McMahon’s team. In October, the Senate confirmed Kimberly Richey to lead the Office for Civil Rights and Kirsten Baesler as assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education. Neither could be sworn in during the shutdown. 

Baesler, former North Dakota education chief, is likely to take the lead on considering waiver requests from Indiana and Iowa and managing other “administration-wide priorities, like moving away from ‘DEI’ and increasing the use of AI,” said Julia Martin, director of policy and government affairs with The Bruman Group, a Washington law firm. 

and want the department to distribute federal funds as a block grant with fewer requirements on how to spend them. In September, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds pointed to an to make the case that states can be trusted to manage federal funds without the Education Department.

Margaret Buckton, a school finance expert and the executive director of the Urban Education Network in Iowa, generally supports the state’s plan. She explained that funding from one federal grant is often not “significant enough to move the needle on school improvement.”

But say that the Every Student Succeeds Act, which includes funding for high-poverty schools and several other targeted programs, already allows ample flexibility and warn that blending the money could mean districts won’t spend it the way Congress intended. 

Indiana also wants to change the way it grades school performance by highlighting qualities such as developing students’ work ethic and financial literacy. Anne Hyslop, director of policy development at All4Ed, an advocacy group, said the request is premature because the state is still on its new accountability plan. She questioned whether the new design would still include measures like graduation rates and progress for English learners. 

“There are particular accountability requirements that are really important,” she said, “and have always been really important for the last 20-plus years.” 

Here are a six other areas that were affected by the budget impasse.

1. Moving special education to HHS

In trying to fulfill her goal to eliminate the department, McMahon has taken steps to transfer oversight of special education programs to the Department of Health and Human Services despite having no authorization from Congress and strong opposition from advocacy groups. 

“The department is exploring additional partnerships with federal agencies to support special education programs without any interruption or impact on students with disabilities, but no agreement has been signed,” spokeswoman Madi Biedermann said in an Oct. 21 statement. “Secretary McMahon is fully committed to protecting the federal funding streams that support our nation’s students with disabilities.”

Opponents of the move say the department is turning its back on students with disabilities.

“This isn’t about handing power to states,” Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said last week during a call with reporters. “It’s about walking away from our responsibility to children and hoping that no one notices.” 

For families, the past several months have created confusion over whether their children will continue to receive the services they need, and advocates have discovered broken links and missing documents about civil rights investigations and state monitoring reports on the department’s website. 

“Moving [the department’s] digital infrastructure to another agency could mean months — or years — of lost access to critical records,” Callie Oettinger, an advocate in Virginia, wrote this week in her blog, . 

But some parents say states might be more responsive than the federal government when conflicts with districts arise.

“I feel like if you push the oversight closer to the community, then you can get better results,” said Tricia Ambeau, an Arkansas mother of two whose eighth grader Emma has Down Syndrome and autism. A conservative, she previously served on the board of Disability Rights of Arkansas, but stepped down during the pandemic. State officials, she said, “can make a two-hour drive to a school district and knock on the door and say ‘What’s going on here?’ You’re never going to get that at the federal level.” 

2. Food stamps

While the Department of Agriculture, not Education, runs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the shutdown and a court battle over whether the government would distribute full benefits has caused stress and chaos for families with school-age children. 

The end of the shutdown means recipients’ electronic benefit transfer cards should be refilled as normal. 

School districts across the country, like and , increased efforts to distribute food to needy families and served additional meals. encouraged parents to apply for free- and reduced-price lunch if their kids were not already on the program.

“It is important to remember that these families were not given the opportunity to plan and budget for this moment. How do you shop for groceries without knowing how many days or months you need the food to last?” Chastity Lord, president and CEO of the Jeremiah Program, said in a statement. The nonprofit supports 2,000 single mothers across nine cities.

3. Proposed rule change on racial disparities in special education

While the government was closed, the department continued to receive comments on a proposed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The department wants to lift the requirement that states submit data on racial and other disparities in special education services, including whether students with disabilities disproportionately receive harsher discipline.

In the announcement, the department said the change would “reduce the burden on respondents when completing the annual state application.”

Data shows that Black students are for some special education categories, like intellectual disabilities and behavioral disorders, but underidentified for other services like dyslexia and autism. Students with disabilities are also suspended and expelled at higher rates than other students, government . The department’s recommendation would align with Trump’s that discourages schools from focusing on equity in school discipline and using less-punitive practices like conflict resolution. 

The department received over 100 comments on the proposal, with many opposed to the idea of suspending the requirement. The current rule “ensures transparency and promotes fairness in educational opportunity for all students,” EdTrust, an advocacy organization, wrote in .

Michael Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, has for policies that remove disruptive students from the classroom. 

“But the answer is not to kill the data collection,” he said.

4. Charter school grants

One way that McMahon has promoted the administration’s school choice agenda is by highlighting and increasing spending on charter schools. Weeks before the shutdown, the department awarded $500 million in grants to charter schools, which included an additional $60 million over the current $440 million for the Charter Schools Program.

But just as the funds went out to states, charter networks and schools, the shutdown began, cutting off new grantees’ access to start-up support during a “crucial window,” said Brittnee Baker, communications director for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

In , which received $30 million, the disruption has delayed progress toward launching several new schools and expanding others. But some critics argue that the department is boosting funding for the sector at a time of slowing growth and charter closures. 

“Politics, not need, now drives program expansion,” said a from the Network for Public Education. Diane Ravitch, a former Education Department official during the H.W. Bush administration, co-founded the advocacy organization.

5. Prayer guidance

The shutdown also interrupted work on school prayer guidance that President Donald Trump said the department would issue as part of a on “protecting our religious freedoms.”

Officials last following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kennedy vs. Bremerton, which held that a Washington school district could not stop a football coach from praying on the 50-yard line after games. 

The document clarified that school employees have a right to personal prayer or other forms of religious expression, like wearing a cross, during school hours, but they cannot “compel, coerce, persuade or encourage students” to participate.

The 2023 guidance has “served to help schools and community members understand their rights and responsibilities under the First Amendment,” said Maggie Siddiqi, senior fellow at the Interfaith Alliance, a nonprofit counteracting the religious right. She worked on the update when she served as director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the department during the Biden administration. 

As the Trump administration appeals to Christian conservatives, it “does not have authority to do away with the First Amendment” through guidance, she said and warned that parents and educators should watch for any language that allows schools to impose “one specific religious view on their entire student body.” 

As a refresher, AASA, the School Superintendents Association, addressed the topic in its . The issue features a on religion in public schools from the Freedom Forum, a nonprofit focusing on First Amendment rights. With the administration and state leaders often emphasizing Christianity over other faiths and some states passing laws that set aside , the document answers 23 questions about what the law says. 

6. McMahon’s 50-state tour

The secretary still has 40 states to go on her “Returning Education to the States” tour, which kicked off in August. 

While she primarily highlights charters and private schools on her visits, she has hit a few district schools on her route, including in Clinton, Tennessee, and in Bozeman, Montana.

McMahon said she’s gathering examples of promising practices for on issues such as literacy and school discipline, that the department will issue to states. But Cara Jackson, immediate past president of the Association for Education Finance and Policy, said the department wants to “take credit” for some of the work that was in progress when it canceled funding for research. The association was among the groups that to the Institute for Education Sciences and the termination of regional education labs. The cases are ongoing, but of the contracts were later reinstated.

Proponents of eliminating the department don’t see the point.

“The information might be useful, but it is contradictory to shutting down the U.S. Department of Education,” said Neal McCluskey, director of educational freedom at the libertarian Cato Institute. “Why do it if you don’t think the department should exist at all?”

��ǰ����𳦳پ��Dz�:��An earlier version of this article misstated the number of comments made on a proposed rule change to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which was provided by a government website. The correct number of comments was 100.

From cutting social safety net programs and enacting unaccountable voucher programs at the expense of public schools to limiting access to financial aid for higher education, these stormy waters are setting American students adrift, eliminating important protections and creating ever greater barriers to an equitable education that sets young people up for success as adults. 

It’s more than just money; as Congress and the Trump administration have instituted perilous funding cuts that reduced support for nutrition programs, limited undocumented students’ access to important programs and dialed back enforcement of civil rights laws, federal agencies have eliminated and undermined vital data and education research. Without this information, there is no way to know how schools are working to address academic and opportunity disparities — particularly for Black and Latino students, multilingual learners, students with disabilities and those from low-income backgrounds. 

The U.S. Department of Education by inviting states to seek waivers from the that have, for over two decades, required annual student testing and public, disaggregated reporting of those results. Allowing states to alter established assessment systems and hide data on school quality will leave parents, educators and policymakers without important information they need to help students succeed. 

In order for this to work, the federal government will need partners in states to do the dirty work. Unfortunately, history shows they’ll be amenable. 

At least three states have already begun the formal process of asking for waivers from accountability. 

Oklahoma, which already lowered the bar for proficiency on its state assessments, wants to and replace them with a series of as-yet unidentified tests throughout the year to measure student achievement in language arts and math or the Classic Learning Test, which covers a more limited knowledge base — primarily the Western and Christian canons — and has been used primarily for homeschool and private school students. The Oklahoma waiver would also mean the state could stop providing testing accommodations and alternate assessments for students with disabilities and English learners. Together, this would make it impossible to measure the academic progress of all students.

Indiana wants to redirect federal funding away from migrant students, at-risk kids, multilingual learners, children in rural areas and the lowest-performing schools. State leaders also seek to change how they rate schools, in a way that would tell families, advocates, policymakers, and others little because of the proposed methodology.

Like Indiana, Iowa wants the power to redirect federal funds away from underserved student groups. But Iowa goes a step further, asking the department to reinterpret the law to let it stop prioritizing federal funds for schools with the highest poverty levels. Not only would this be overreach by the Department of Education — legally, it can’t allow this type of change without congressional approval — it would change the rules for all states, undermining the objective of Title I to increase financial support for students in high-poverty school districts.

It remains to be seen what other ideas states will cook up under the guise of promoting innovation and reducing administrative burdens, and how those initiatives will endanger students’ educational opportunities. But the leaders of 12 states wrote to Washington earlier this year, requesting not only a robust use of federal waiver authority, but a strong deference to state law and a consolidation of federal education funding. 

To be sure, there is a place for federal flexibility. The Education Department in the first Trump administration wisely gave a year’s reprieve on annual testing when the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools. The Biden administration offered flexibility for Montana to test a new, innovative assessment model, while maintaining civil rights protections. Current federal law already allows states to experiment with innovative assessments and funding, although few states have taken advantage of these initiatives.

This isn’t some wonky technical issue; annual assessments provide important information that helps parents make educational decisions for their children, teachers to adjust classroom practices and policymakers to craft laws and allocate resources. Strong accountability measures force adults to take a hard look at how schools are serving the most vulnerable students and take action. Targeted funding provides additional opportunities for students from backgrounds long marginalized by America’s education system. 

This waiver program is just one in a series of decisions that is putting students and the country’s future at risk. Ending the collection of this data will limit everyone’s ability to see the long-term consequences of other harmful policies.   

The Education Department should reconsider its stance on waivers and instead do what’s right for students: ensure that states remain accountable for improving outcomes. Real students’ futures — and America’s future as a nation — are at stake.

The top campus security story this week is the resignation of Iowa’s largest school district superintendent, who was  on allegations he was living and working in the U.S. without authorization. 

In a “targeted enforcement operation”��, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Ian Roberts, a 54-year-old native of Guyana, who has led Des Moines Public Schools since 2023.

The fast-moving chain of events raises questions about why ICE agents specifically sought the arrest of the public official and the city’s first Black schools superintendent, whom federal officials said had a previously unreported final order of removal issued by an immigration judge on May 29. Yesterday, he was accused of federal firearm charges for��.

The Trump administration has already��. The Justice Department announced Tuesday it would investigate Des Moines Public Schools to determine if it engaged in race-based hiring.��

In 2021, the district’s����said that out of Des Moines Public Schools’ 4,000 staff members, some 400 were Black. His comments were made as the district reflected on hiring��.

The unraveling of Roberts’ career is also��. The school board, whose vetting practices have come under scrutiny, released a letter this week saying it is “also a victim,” after Roberts was accused of falsifying records about his immigration status and academic credentials.

��Dz�����ٲ�,��for his native Guyana who came to the U.S. in 1999��previously served in leadership roles at school districts in Pennsylvania and Missouri and at a major charter school network.��

In the news

A TikTok post led to the arrest of a Kennewick, Washington, 14-year-old who officials say had guns, a color-coded map of his high school and a manifesto outlining plans to carry out a campus shooting. |��

In California, authorities say an anonymous tip thwarted a potential school shooting after a student posted “detailed threats” on social media including a “mapped-out plan.” |��
The Education Department announced it would withhold more than $65 million in federal grants to the New York City, Chicago and Fairfax, Virginia, school districts for upholding equity policies designed to support transgender and Black youth. |��

Campus speech at the forefront: More than 350 complaints have been submitted to the Texas education department against public school employees accused of publishing social media posts that praised the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. | 

• The Los Angeles Unified School District faces accusations that its social media policy,��which allows educators to ban parents from campus for making threatening or racist online comments about school officials, violates the First Amendment. |��
  
• ‘Truly scandalous’:��The Trump administration engaged in the “unconstitutional suppression of free speech” when federal immigration enforcement officials arrested and sought to deport international college students for their pro-Palestinian activism. |��
  
• A new PEN America report warns of a “disturbing normalization of censorship” in public schools where book bans have risen sharply in the last few years. The 1962 novel��A Clockwork Orange��by Anthony Burgess topped the list. |����
  
• Lawrence, Kansas, school officials were accused of censoring high school journalists and intimidating their adviser in violation of state law after current and former students filed a federal lawsuit alleging the district’s use of a digital student surveillance tool violated their privacy and press freedom rights. |��
  
  • The student activity monitoring tool Gaggle, which flags keywords like “kill” and “bomb,” “has helped our staff intervene and save lives,” the Lawrence district says. But students say the system subjected them to false allegations. |��
    
  • The 74 throwback:��Meet the gatekeepers of students’ private lives. |��

‘Places of care, not chaos’: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law new rules that require federal immigration enforcement officers to show a warrant or court order before entering a school campus or questioning students. | 

Minnesota’s red flag gun law, which allows authorities to confiscate firearms from people with violent plans, has been used to prevent school shootings but its use is inconsistent, an investigation found. |��

A middle school boy from New York was arrested on allegations of catfishing classmates by impersonating a girl online, convincing male classmates to send him sexually revealing photographs and extorting them for cash or gift cards. | 

The Trump administration plans to overhaul a student loan forgiveness program for employees at nonprofits that officials claim are engaged in “illegal activities” — a justification that could be used to target organizations that serve immigrants and transgender youth. | 

A Michigan school district, where four elementary school girls said they were groped by a classmate on the playground, is accused of waiting eight days to report the incident to the police. | 

ICYMI @The74

Emotional Support

The 74 will meet for a company summit in Minneapolis next week. Matilda wasn’t invited, but she couldn’t care less.

Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Roberts has resigned from his position effective immediately, lawyers representing him said Tuesday.

Roberts, who was , had been by the Des Moines School Board Monday after the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners revoked his license. ICE agents had arrested the superintendent, who was born in Guyana, during a “targeted enforcement operation” Friday, and he allegedly evaded arrest. According to an ICE news release, Roberts’ vehicle contained a handgun, hunting knife and $3,000 in cash.

ICE stated Roberts had been given a “final order of removal by an immigration judge” in May 2024. The federal agency stated Roberts was in the country unlawfully, having first come to the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa.

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Attorney Alfredo Parrish, representing Roberts, confirmed that Roberts was a citizen of Guyana and served in the country’s military, but said his office was trying to work on getting more information on the immigration case proceedings that led to his arrest by ICE. In April 2025, a Texas immigration judge had decided not to reopen Roberts’ case in absentia.

Parrish said Roberts had received a letter from the prior attorney for his immigration case in Texas which said “his case had been closed successfully, and he was under the impression that it had been.” Parrish said his firm is in the process of filing a motion to reopen Roberts’ immigration case.

The attorney said it was a “complex case.”

“There are several jurisdictions that are involved, there are several law enforcement entities that are involved,” Parrish said. “… There (are) so many entities involved that we have touched bases with to try to work through this, through the consulate in New York for Guyana, through all the many other entities we’ve been trying to work through this case with. We want you to know that Dr. Roberts’ greatest concern is about his students who he actually loves, and the students who love him back, and his staff.”

While Roberts is resigning from the superintendent position, Parrish said his law firm has filed a request for stay on behalf of Roberts in the Omaha, Nebraska, federal immigration court. Roberts is currently being held at the Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City. Parrish said two of his staff drove to Omaha to file the motion Monday, and that earlier Tuesday, the law firm was in communication with Roberts.

“He understands that he has the support (of the community), and it really gives him inspiration,” Parrish said. “His spirits are high. He was very well-engaged in all our discussions this morning, for about the last two hours.”

District’s hiring procedures questioned

Some of the questions surrounding the case are focused on the Des Moines school district’s vetting process for hiring Roberts. DMPS officials have said Roberts completed the I-9 employment eligibility verification form and submitted the required documentation showing his employment eligibility when hired.

The National School Board Coalition, a conservative K-12 advocacy organization, claimed in a news release the consultant Baker-Eubanks, one of the entities hired by DMPS to perform third-party background checks during Roberts’ hiring process, “admitted that it did not perform a basic I-9 verification.”

This claim is referring to a statement made by��Baker-Eubanks CEO Kim Cockerham . Cockerham said the criminal background check performed does not confirm a person’s ability to legally work in the U.S., saying “that’s not even a service that we offer.” Cockerham said, according to the Register.

Laura Zorc, chair of the National School Board Coalition, said Roberts’ hiring process “reveals a critical oversight” in schools boards hiring search firms to fill school administration positions.

“If advising the Des Moines school board, NSBC would recommend working with their board attorney to review their contract agreement with consultants JQ Consultants and Baker-Eubanks for potential recourse, including seeking a full refund, legal, staff time, and covering the costs of rehiring a new superintendent if the contract was breached,” Zorc said in the release.

Board President Jackie Norris said Monday that the board asked Roberts’ attorney to provide documentation and verification of his citizenship status by 12 p.m. Tuesday, with plans to meet at 7:30 p.m. that day to discuss ending Roberts’ employment contract. Parrish said the letter of resignation was being sent to school officials Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn said late Monday the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed with the U.S. Department of Justice through a Freedom of Information Act and formal inquiry that Roberts was subject to a final removal order under the Immigration and Nationality Act. He also said in a statement it was “unacceptable that someone under a final order of deportation and without legal work authorization was allowed to lead Iowa’s largest public school system.”

“Every parent should be able to trust that school leaders are fully vetted, legally employed, and held to the highest standards of accountability,” Nunn said. “I want to thank our federal agencies for their timely response and commitment to transparency as we work to protect our communities.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

Submitted March 7, the plan offers a blueprint for Republican governors seeking more control over how federal education funds are spent. The current formulas, according to a brief summary of the plan provided to The 74, result in “1,400 different funding streams across 325 school districts.”  

“Unfortunately, dollars that flow through the Department of Education typically come with all kinds of bureaucratic strings attached that blunt the impact they might otherwise make,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote last week. “Prescriptive requirements prevent states from scaling innovative programs.”

Iowa isn’t the only state interested in winning more control over its federal education dollars. But others say granting Iowa the waiver would bypass Congress’ authority and could shortchange the marginalized students the money was intended to help.

The proposal comes as the Trump administration moves to dismantle the federal department. In , Education Secretary Linda McMahon said growth in states like Alabama and Louisiana, amid the generally dismal showing on last year’s national test scores, proves that leaders don’t need Washington’s help. 

The Every Student Succeeds Act, the main federal law governing K-12 education, already offers spending flexibility, allowing leaders to combine funds from some individual grant programs. But experts say Iowa’s request seems to stretch the limits of the law and would need congressional approval. For instance, the law prohibits changes to how $18 billion in Title I funds for low-income students are allocated to districts.

McMahon might nonetheless approve it, they say, to signal support for a more hands-off approach. 

“I can’t see how there would be a path to making all of these different formula grant programs into one program without Congress,” said Anne Hyslop, director of policy development at All4Ed, a think tank. She worked at the department during the Obama administration and helped draft the ESSA legislation. The largest program, , provides funds for extra staff and services in high-poverty schools. Iowa’s grant last year was $110 million.  

“Title I funds have to be spent in Title I schools,” Hyslop said. “It’s an understatement to say that a lot of things have happened in the past few months that no one would have ever predicted. I would not be surprised to see something outside of the norm.”

Some think Iowa, which has a universal Education Savings Account program, might use the flexibility to allow more families to spend state funds on . 

The state could argue that vouchers would better serve more vulnerable students, said Douglas Harris, a Tulane University economist and school choice expert.

“Certainly, the current administration would approve it,” he said. 

The state did not respond to a question over whether promoting school choice is part of the plan.

Iowa’s waiver request and interest from other states has already drawn concern from Democrats. In a statement Tuesday, Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member of the House education committee, called block granting federal education funds “not only illegal but extremely dangerous.”

“Converting these funds will make it virtually impossible for the federal government to hold states accountable for providing all students with a high-quality education free from discrimination,” his statement said.

The state’s summary says Iowa has a “strong focus on accountability for student outcomes” and would continue to track achievement data for different student groups. On last year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress, Iowa’s results landed in the middle of student performance nationally. Its students saw declines in both fourth grade reading and eighth grade math.

McKenzie Snow, director of the Iowa Department of Education, was one of 12 state chiefs who asked McMahon in January to work with Congress on supporting the idea of consolidating multiple programs into a block grant. But that process could drag out, and even with Republicans in control, might not be successful. A waiver could come as early as summer.

Also on the list was Kirsten Baesler, North Dakota’s longtime superintendent, who is awaiting confirmation to become assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education. 

In a March 14 letter, Hayley Sanon, acting U.S. assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, told staff she looked forward to working with them to “get the federal bureaucracy out of your way so you can give parents more choices, improve academic achievement and ensure students reach their God-given potential.”

Department spokeswoman Madi Biedermann confirmed that officials are considering Iowa’s plan. The department has until early July to make a decision, and other states are watching closely. 

Utah Superintendent Sydnee Dickson, who also signed the chiefs’ letter, told The 74 her state wants more flexibility to pursue “competency-based systems that adhere less to seat time and more about outcomes.”

Oklahoma state Superintendent Ryan Walters, who last year established a , is eyeing a different law for a waiver. He wants to allow families to spend funds from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act on private schools or tutors for students with disabilities, .

‘Lots of federal regulations’

In addition to Title I, Iowa receives $16 million from the federal government to and for programs like  bullying prevention, mental health support and school safety measures. Districts already have the option of combining these grants with Title I or with each other to support their own priorities.

The block grant would add into the mix funds for ($5 million) ($4.5 million), migrant students ($3.4 million), ($403,180), ($7.8 million) and ($5 million). 

Education organizations in the state, including the administrators association and the teachers union, told The 74 that they don’t yet know enough about the plan to comment on  it. States are required to submit comments from the public along with waiver requests, but Iowa education department spokesperson Heather Doe said officials would do that if the federal department approves the waiver and then submit comments along with revisions. 

One policy analyst welcomed the idea and thinks it would help some districts focus more on meeting students’ needs than compliance with reporting requirements.

“Often for smaller, rural districts, any individual funding stream nets a small amount of dollars, but has lots of federal regulations. The funding altogether might actually be able to accomplish some important work,” said Margaret Buckton,  the executive director of the Urban Education Network of Iowa. “A low-income student might also be homeless or migratory. When the funding is consolidated, the district can determine which of the services are most appropriate.”

The state’s summary says it’s “steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the civil rights protections” outlined in federal law and that it would still require school districts to explain how they would “meet the needs of all students.” 

Iowa is also asking to waive some parts of a separate federal law that provides funds for homeless students in an effort to make services “more comprehensive and better coordinated,” Doe said.

But Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, which advocates for homeless students, criticized the idea.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act “does not contain any provision that would allow for a state to distribute funds in any other way, or for any other purpose or population,” she said.

Last year, Iowa received almost $752,000 for homeless students through McKinney-Vento, funds that can pay for extra academic support and transportation so students don’t have to change schools. A shows many districts are failing to identify students who would qualify for the support.

School choice advocacy

Observers noted that Snow, Iowa’s education chief, is well versed in ESSA. She worked at the U.S. Department of Education during Trump’s first term. A private school choice advocate, she helped craft a tax-credit scholarship proposal under former Secretary Betsy DeVos. While the effort failed, the plan could see new life in a major Republicans are finalizing. 

Republicans have wanted to block grant education funds for decades. Most recently, Trump and DeVos pushed the idea during budget negotiations. They proposed to consolidate 29 programs into a $19.4 billion fund that would grant states and districts more say over how to spend the money. They argued the plan would reduce federal overreach and allow the government to cut education department staff. 

But Democrats, who controlled the House at the time, didn’t go for it. in both houses rejected the idea, and the plan fizzled.

DeVos hasn’t given up. In December, : “Take the U.S. Department of Education’s meddling bureaucrats out of the equation.”

She became a park guide at the Fort Scott National Historic Site, a military outpost that was instrumental in the nation’s westward expansion and played a pivotal role in the Civil War. Peitsmeyer had just retired from the Cherry Creek School District southeast of Denver where she worked for 30 years as a science teacher and saw the National Park Service role as the next chapter in her long career teaching children. 

Peitsmeyer, 59, was in the middle of developing new programming around when she got fired — just four months after her first day. 

“With retirement, I turned toward the national parks thinking that an interpretive ranger position would be a nice next step to expand my skill set — and to apply my skill set as well,” she told The 74. Now, she’s out of a job and is considering selling the home she just bought.

 “Trauma has been inflicted on the federal employees,” she said.

Peitsmeyer was one of some employees who were as part of a broader federal shakeup by the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Some 700 other national park workers have and, with a reported , the parks could soon be gutted further.

Bill Wade, the executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, said the rangers most affected by the layoffs “were the people who do the educational and interpretive programs in parks, do school groups, manage the visitor centers and so forth.”

“So to the extent that those kinds of people were fired, the likelihood is that ranger-led programs are going to be reduced,” Wade told The 74. 

While the passionate protests that has sprung up in the wake of the park service cuts — including from the , an independent group of roughly 800 off-duty rangers — have focused more on the threats to public land and the impact on the parks’ of yearly adult visitors and families, the park service has a longstanding partnership with schools, teachers and students. 

Part of the mission of the National Park Foundation, the service’s nonprofit arm chartered by Congress in 1967, is its , which has reached more than 2 million children since 2011. Last year, it into its Open OutDoors for Kids venture that partners with schools and other groups “to provide opportunities for as many students as possible to inspire the next generation of park stewards.”

Other educational opportunities include , which gives fourth graders and their families free access to national parks nationwide, and the , which is designed to help young people learn about history and conservation through self-guided interactive activities. 

‘The highlight of your child’s school day’

During her short stint at the Fort Scott National Historic Site, Peitsmeyer dressed up as a Civil War nurse in January and taught second graders at Winfield Scott Elementary School about 19th-century medicine. 

The fort, which was built in 1842 to keep the peace between white settlers and neighboring indigenous tribes, in the 1850s when abolitionists fought for control of the abandoned complex and named it the Free State Hotel. 

After violent conflicts with pro-slavory forces, the abolitionists prevailed and Kansas entered the union as a free state just three months before the beginning of the Civil War. Fort Scott was transformed into a major Union military outpost and became a key supply depot for soldiers in the West. Among those sworn in at Fort Scott was the First Kansas (Colored) Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the first African-American unit to fight Confederate troops. 

Much of the complex was used as a hospital, Peitsmeyer said, primarily to treat Union soldiers. Most of the fatalities during the war, she taught the students, were from illness, not injury. Peitsmeyer saw the role as an opportunity to improve learning in both the parks and local schools. 

“My role — or the hope — was that I could bring more science into the park and link it to educational programming,” she said. The lessons she was planning on monarch butterflies involved threats to the vibrantly colored, long-distance travelers. She also hoped to build a butterfly house in the visitor center. In April, she said, the fort was planning what would have been an ambitious event about how Civil War encampments shaped America. 

“Prior to my termination, there were really serious questions as to whether or not we could actually host that type of programming because it was too large of an event,” said Peitsmeyer, who noted the fort now employs just one interpretive ranger. “I was just looking on the website to see if there was any advertisement about Civil War encampment, and I don’t see any so my guess is it’s probably been canceled.” 

In a viral Valentine’s Day social media post, wrote about “los[ing] my dream job of an Education Park Ranger” at Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa. He talked about how the cuts could limit learning opportunities for children at his own site and the 432 others nationwide. 

“I am the highlight of your child’s school day,” Gibbs, who couldn’t be reached for comment, . “I am the lesson that showed your children that we live in a world of gifts- not commodities, that gratitude and reciprocity are the doorway to true abundance, not power, money, or fear.”  

Court orders rangers reinstated but …

 The Trump administration hasn’t released a list of Park Service employees whose jobs were eliminated, Wade, of the park rangers association, said, but efforts by advocates and fired workers suggest employees who worked as interpretive guides, managed school field trips and ran visitor centers were most likely to have received termination letters. Because the government announced plans to hire some for the busy summer months, the full force of the staffing cuts could accelerate in the fall. 

Layoffs specifically targeted “probationary employees” who, like Peitsmeyer, had been in their position for less than a year before losing their jobs based on claims of poor performance. 

At parks across the country, the firings mean fewer workers to conserve natural resources and teach visitors — including students — about the nation’s natural and cultural history protected and preserved in the parks’ roughly 85 million acres. 

Staffing woes have already had an impact on educational opportunities at multiple parks, and reduced hours at visitor centers. At Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, the staff was of the caves and implement a shorter schedule for self-guided exploration — a change that affects visitors of all ages, although the park for educational field trips.

Although two federal courts have found Trump’s cuts unlawful and have ordered federal agencies to reinstate purged workers, Peitsmeyer said she can’t wait for a long court battle before seeking work elsewhere. 

“It’s been a month and how long can people wait without health benefits?” she said. “I moved here specifically for the position, and at this point I’m considering — actually, I was ready to put my house on the market this weekend.” 

‘An easy target’

Families should “still go to the parks” to learn and relax this summer, Wade said, but not before visiting a specific national park’s website. He advises against showing up in person “and assuming that everything is going to be normal.” 

Wade noted that recent polls have shown wide bipartisan support for the National Park Service. Last Year, a Pew Research Center poll found that — and 75% of Republicans — had a favorable opinion of the National Park Service, topping the list above the Postal Service, NASA and every other federal agency. 

“Park employees are on pins and needles waiting to see if their job is going to be next,” Wade said. “Unless the public gets angry enough and upset enough that they contact their elected officials and insist that this get turned around.” 

The retired superintendent of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, Wade acknowledged the Trump layoffs aren’t the first the Park Service has endured, including by President Bill Clinton in an effort to balance the federal budget. But this time, he said, is different, with Trump’s cuts being carried out “totally indiscriminately.” 

“They [the rangers] were all sent the same exact memo which implied that it was based on ineffective performance, but you know, many of the people who were terminated shared their performance evaluations, which were fully successful or above,” he said. “It was just a broadsword approach.”

Peitsmeyer got the letter which, she said, was a lie. Her termination, she said, wasn’t truly based on her performance. In fact, she hadn’t yet undergone a formal evaluation. 

“Probationary employees were just an easy target,” she said. “All of the feedback that I had received while in this position with this national park site indicated that I was the polar opposite of what this termination letter was stating.”

Staffing reductions mean Fort Scott could be forced to limit the number of students who can make school visits, but Peitsmeyer fears a more existential threat to America’s smaller national treasures. Located in a town of just 7,500, her fort receives some . 

“My concern is, for a site that is as small as this,” she asked, “will it have the potential to be shut down?” 

Answer these questions without Googling them:

• What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
  
• What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
  
• Who was the first president of the United States?
  
• What ocean is on the West Coast of the U.S.?
  
• Name one branch of government.

Not hard, are they? These are a representative few of the 100 questions on the U.S. Citizenship Test. Immigrants must answer six out of 10 correctly to become citizens. It’s not an esoteric academic exercise — it is a straightforward test of basic knowledge about the country’s government, history, geography and democratic principles.

By now, it has become a bromide (and, in some quarters, a ) that a substantial number of Americans graduate high school without being able to demonstrate the kind of rock-bottom grasp of civics and history that these questions imply, and which would-be citizens handle with ease. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds recently announced a bill that would require high school students to pass the citizenship test to graduate; if it passes, Iowa will become the 14th state to adopt such a measure. 

But if 17-year-olds are cramming basic facts as a last-minute requirement to graduate, we’ve already missed the boat. My recommendation for Iowa and other states that want to raise their students’ civics IQ is to start much earlier. The knowledge demands of the U.S. Citizenship Test should be well within the grasp of children attending an elementary school committed to a knowledge-rich curriculum — with handsome dividends for literacy in addition to civics and citizenship.

To demonstrate how basic the knowledge needed to pass really is, I uploaded the 100 questions on the U.S. citizenship exam and the — a pre-K-8 curriculum designed to build a strong foundation in history, civics, science, literature and the arts — to ChatGPT for a side-by-side comparison. Rooted in the idea that knowledge is essential for literacy, and literacy for engaged citizenship, the Sequence seeks to ensure that schools are prepared to arm students with the background information necessary to comprehend complex texts and participate meaningfully in democratic life.

Comparing the two documents shows that many of the topics needed to pass the test are recommended in the Sequence for first graders, with 75% included by fifth grade:

• I. Principles of American Democracy (questions 1-12 on the test): Core Knowledge introduces concepts such as the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and democratic principles by Grade 2. By Grade 5, students have a firm grasp of self-government, checks and balances, and individual rights, aligning closely with questions on the test.
  
• II. System of Government (questions 13-47): By Grade 3, students learn about the three branches of government, the legislative process and the role of the president. More advanced topics like federal versus state power, Supreme Court justices and election processes appear in Grades 4-6.
  
• III. Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens (questions 48-57): Core Knowledge covers the First Amendment, voting rights and responsibilities of citizenship in Grade 3, reinforcing them throughout middle school. This aligns directly with questions regarding freedoms, voting and civic duties on the test.
  
• IV. American History: Colonial Period and Independence (questions 58-70): Students study early American history starting in Grade 1, with more depth added in Grades 4-5. The Revolutionary War, Declaration of Independence and founding of the U.S. government are covered extensively, preparing students to answer citizenship test questions on these topics.
  
• V. The 1800s and the Civil War (questions 71-80): Core Knowledge introduces the Civil War and Reconstruction in Grade 5, covering key events like the abolition of slavery, the role of Abraham Lincoln and the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation.
  
• VI. Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information (questions 81-100): 20th Century history, including both World Wars, the Cold War and Civil Rights Movement, is introduced in Grades 6-8, aligning well with the later questions on the test.

By the end of elementary school, students in a Core Knowledge school will have encountered nearly all concepts necessary to succeed on the test. Though there are some missing pieces, such as certain government officials, Selective Service registration and various geographic details, elementary school students using the Sequence would likely be able to answer 75% to 85% of the test’s 100 questions correctly. Considering that the actual exam requires answering only six of 10 randomly selected questions correctly, a Core Knowledge student would almost certainly pass with ease.

Academics and scholars who study and advocate for civic education tend to reject making the citizenship test a graduation requirement, viewing it as a meaningless exercise in rote memorization or a distraction from meatier curricular fare. But if a student reaches the end of 12th grade without a command of these basic facts, something has gone awry. The knowledge accumulated over years of systematic instruction should serve as an effective preparation, making the test less an obstacle and more an affirmation of what has already been learned.

This is not the case at present. Naturalized citizens native-born Americans on the test. The disparity underscores a deep failure in civics education in U.S. schools, where fundamental knowledge about democracy, governance and history is clearly neglected.

A few years ago, recognizing this gap, Arizona’s pushed more than a dozen states to make passing the U.S. Citizenship Test a high school graduation requirement. In some states, students are supposed to achieve a minimum score; in others, simply taking the test is enough. Either way, making high school students scramble to learn what they should have been taught in elementary school is a remediation effort, not an indicator of educational success.

If states see value in students taking and passing the U.S. Citizenship Test, it should be administered in fifth grade, or eighth at the very latest — when there’s still time to send a powerful signal that every student-citizen should know, share and value the basic principles of our system of government and every school show a minimal commitment to civic education. Moving the test to elementary school would also demonstrate a renewed commitment to what should have been there all along — a coherent, content-rich K-5 curriculum.

Let’s give kids the knowledge they need when they need it — early, often and unapologetically. The dividends will be measured not just in civics scores, but in literacy, citizenship and the long-term health of the republic.

For a closer look at how the U.S. Citizenship Test’s 100 questions and the Core Knowledge Sequence sync up at various grade levels, click .

A dozen state leaders, all from Republican-led states, wrote to Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s education secretary nominee, last week asking her to push for greater state control over federal education funds and to avoid issuing guidance they say is “not anchored in law.”

In the Jan. 28 letter, shared exclusively with The 74, they also want McMahon, former head of World Wrestling Entertainment, to send large buckets of funding for schools, like Title I money for low-income students, as a block grant. But they stopped short of stating support for abolishing the U.S. Department of Education — President Donald Trump’s top education policy goal. 

“By prioritizing state leadership and flexibility, the Trump administration can unleash the full potential of America’s schools and students,” they wrote. “Please defer to state and local decision-making as much as possible.”

The letter outlines conservative chiefs’ priorities as Trump takes aggressive steps to reshape the federal role in education. He frequently to “send education back to the states” and is expected to issue an executive order before the end of the month that would call on Congress to close the department.

The memo offers specifics that have been lacking in many discussions over how the relationship between the federal government and the states might change. But some experts wonder if the freedom GOP leaders seek will leave high-need students without services currently provided under law. Madi Biedermann, a department spokeswoman, confirmed they’d received the letter, but said officials wouldn’t share it with McMahon until she’s confirmed. 

The 12 leaders who penned the letter, both elected and appointed, are from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming. 

Oklahoma state Superintendent Ryan Walters was not among them, despite the fact that he has been the most vocal about and at one point, threatened to . 

The proposals should provide additional talking points for committee members during McMahon’s confirmation hearing Feb. 13. While it would require congressional approval, the chiefs want to see the of funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act — like Title I and Title III for English learners — consolidated into a single block grant for “maximum flexibility.” 

They want to design their own formulas for distributing the money to districts so they can address the needs of rural areas, for example, and state-specific learning initiatives. In the meantime, they want the new secretary to grant as many waivers as possible from the accountability requirements of the law so they can “present new ideas” for how to spend the money.

‘Dilute the protections’

Rebecca Sibilia, executive director of EdFund, a research and policy organization, said she wasn’t surprised that the chiefs didn’t advocate eliminating the education department outright. Many of their states on federal funds and spend less state money on schools. The department, she said, is doing those states “a great service.”

While some state leaders might view the federal requirements as “overly burdensome,” she said their push for more control could come at the expense of students who require extra help, like those in poverty, English learners and homeless students. 

“Once you start blending all of those titles together you start to really dilute the protections that are going to individual students,” she said. 

The letter doesn’t mention the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which under , would move to the Department of Health and Human Services.

“IDEA oversight is giving some people pause,” she said. “That piece of legislation is very specific to education.”

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, say they have “serious concerns” about any attempts to shutter the department. On Thursday, they to Acting Education Secretary Denise Carter asking for more transparency on how the department plans to continue running programs it oversees, like financial aid and afterschool programs.

“We will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation’s students, parents, borrowers, educators and communities,” they wrote.

In their letter, the state chiefs pushed back on the department’s practice of using “dear colleague” letters to enforce its priorities, which they said have often been “treated as legally binding policy.” Guidance from the department, they said, should merely be a suggestion “so as not to force behavior change.”  

During the Obama administration, for example, Republicans fought guidance that said students should be able to use bathrooms that match their and another that said districts could risk civil rights investigations if Black and Hispanic students were . 

On Wednesday, the Education Department issued stating that it would no longer enforce the Biden administration’s Title IX rule, which extended protections to LGBTQ students, and that any investigations based on the 2024 rule would be “reevaluated.” 

Nat Malkus, deputy director of education policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he hopes Trump honors the chiefs’ request, but noted the “chaos” that has marked Trump’s first few weeks in office. Trump’s efforts to freeze federal funding have been . And even some have questioned Elon Musk’s authority to gain access to government payment systems and disable an agency that provides foreign aid.

“The ‘pen and phone’ approach, to quote Obama, whipsaws state leaders across administrations and is lousy federal governance,” he said. “My worry is less about the secretary nominee and more about the ‘move fast and break things’ approach we’ve seen so far in many other dimensions of this young administration.”

Some Iowa representatives want to ban margarine and certain food dyes from schools with a bill modeled closely after a law passed last year in California.

was discussed in an education subcommittee Wednesday. Representatives decided to amend the bill, which as introduced included margarine, Red Dye 40 and Yellow Dye 7, to be “more closely conforming” to the .

Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Fairfield, who chaired the subcommittee, to ban margarine and hydrogenated vegetable oils from schools. The 2023 proposal passed its subcommittee, but did not advance.

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Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, opposed the margarine element of the bill, and argued research supports margarine is “just as healthy as butter.”

“If you’re arguing that corn oil and soybean oil is fundamentally unhealthy for our kids, that’s also an important part of the conversation to have, because that is kind of what we’re saying in here,” Matson said.

Matson said after further research into California’s law and the years of research from the state into associated health effects, she is “open to a conversation” about restricting the color additives.

Matson also questioned why the Iowa bill specified just Red Dye 40 and Yellow Dye 7, the latter of which, according to comment submitted by the International Association of Color Manufacturers, is not used in food or beverages.

The California law outlaws the dyes Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. The law also regulated the percentage of fats, sugars and saturated fats that could comprise a school meal, though these elements were not part of the Iowa representatives’ discussion.

Matson pointed out the California law passed years after the state funded an in which the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment found synthetic food dyes can be linked to hyperactivity and neurobehavioral problems in children.

Matson said she was unwilling to sign off on the bill as is, but would be “willing to have a conversation on a bill that would be more thoughtfully put together.”

Rep. Brooke Boden, R-Indianola, said she was “extremely glad” the issue of food dye additives was before her and that she’d be the first to vote in favor of removing the synthetic dyes.

“I have a child who sees a neurologist, who asked us to remove food dye, and it significantly changed my child’s life,” Boden said.

Boden noted there has been movement on this effort at a federal level as well with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent ban of .

Representatives for Rural School Advocates of Iowa, Urban Education Network of Iowa, and Iowa State Education Association, who registered as undecided on the bill, said they felt positively about the direction of the bill, but wanted to know more information about how it would be implemented in Iowa schools and if there would be additional costs.

Shipley moved to amend the bill to more closely resemble the California law, and to keep margarine in the bill “for now,” noting it might be reasonable to split the issues into separate bills later.

“I think these are conversations that people of Iowa are wanting to have, and so I think it is incumbent on us to reflect that and make sure we are having as wide ranging a dialog as possible,” Shipley said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

A science class for middle school students at Panorama Middle School commonly involves a trek out to the prairie behind the school, a sketch of native seeds under the microscope or a homework assignment to track the progress of a backyard bluebird from its birdhouse.

Teacher Mark Dorhout created an outdoor education program at the middle school in Panora to “connect (students) to the natural world,” foster environmental stewardship, and give students a real-world application to the science they learn in the classroom.

Dorhout, who has a degree in wildlife and fisheries sciences, spent the majority of his career teaching or administering at middle schools and has been teaching sixth through eighth grade science at Panorama Middle School for four years.

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He started the outdoor education program by taking students out to a recently restored prairie behind the school, and using the school’s backyard in his lessons as much as possible.

“This has been a long-standing passion of mine that has become more and more apparent as we move along in this society,” Dorhout said. “And really the main thrust to that is that kids are out less and less into this environment.”

Now the class and its non-traditional classroom has a reputation among the middle schoolers — all of whom will go through the project, make a birdhouse, and get to meet Dorhout’s Labrador retriever, which never misses a field day.

Dorhout said he’s thankful the school district has been very supportive of the program and works with him to supply materials and promote the course in newsletters to parents.

“They get it,” Dorhout said of his district. “They understand the value of a program like this.”

Dorhout said the 11-acre prairie behind the school has been there for over 20 years but really fell out of use until seven or so years ago when the local members of the Izaak Walton League worked to “grub out” some of the trees that had overtaken the area, and replant it to prairie.

Each grade has a different project. Seventh graders build either a bluebird or a wren box that they take home, hang on a tree, and monitor through the rest of their time in middle school.

“They never knew that there was the whole other thing going on … and then all of a sudden they’ve started paying attention to the birds in the neighborhood,” Dorhout said.

Eighth grade students get to work in the greenhouse as part of their curriculum on genetics and climate change. Last year he added sixth graders to his docket and uses the prairie for their lessons in water quality and chemistry.

Dorhout said going out and conducting water quality tests gives the students a real life application of the chemistry they learn in the classroom.

And all of the students get about 50 field days over the course of their time in middle school. Throughout the program, Dorhout has his students gather seeds, add plants into the prairie and analyze what makes one section of the prairie better than another. All of it leads to pretty “rich conversations” around soil quality and biodiversity.

“Kids that you wouldn’t think would like doing prairie work, just totally get into it,” Dorhout said.

Brody Steenblock, a ninth grade student at Panorama High School who went through Dorhout’s program, grew up hunting and farming and said he considered himself outdoorsy, but that Dorohout’s class was “a next level of outdoors.”

Steenblock said he persuaded his parents to plant multiple acres of the prairie grasses he learned about in the class, as part of the Conservation Reserve Program on their farm.

“I don’t think we probably would have planted it, if it wasn’t for the outdoor ed,” Steenblock said.

Steenblock said the class “sparked” a lot of interest in him and he recalls that it was the favorite class for many of his peers as well.

“There was just a whole bunch of kids that either just were not doing the best in school, and couldn’t pay attention in school, and then, you get to Mr. Dorhout’s class, and … kids were just like a whole different person,” Steenblock said.

Cross curricular

Dorhout spoke about his class during a Watershed Talk with the Dec. 17.

Mike Delaney, a member of the league and a prairie advocate who lives near Dorhout, called the outdoor education program “phenomenal.”

“I’ve been thinking about prairie as a teaching tool, and I’m not sure there’s any limits to what you can get into,” Delaney said. “Anything you want to do you can use prairie as an example, and that’s what you’re doing.”

Dorhout doesn’t teach just science in his classroom, but engages students across disciplines.

The middle schoolers each keep a journal where they take down field observations and are encouraged to draw diagrams and doodles of what they study.

Dorhout has also posted the cardinal directions on each of the four walls of his classroom with a corresponding theme. The north wall, for example, faces the prairie and is labeled with “environment”, the east wall faces town and says “community,” South is recreation and West is legacy. He has students write notes about each of these elements and post them up on the wall.

“I always try to get them to understand where we’re at in this world,” Dorhout said.

Students also get about 25 minutes of moderate exercise every time they walk to the prairie, and on days where the school has an unusual schedule, he’ll take his classes to do longer hikes at Lake Panorama, which is walking distance from the school.

Dorhout has also been known to turn a blind eye to some of the fun – like perhaps a friendly snowball fight – that inevitably takes place between 20-30 middle schoolers in the open air.

“Just enough organization so we can have a meaningful lesson, and just enough goof around time that the kids think that it’s awesome,” he said.

Lasting impact

Dorhout said one of the coolest things about the prairie is its visibility from the school and to the community. This means as the students get older, they can still see it and remember the work they did to improve that land.

“I just see that as a really powerful thing, when you look at the life of a prairie and what it looks like now compared to what it did six years ago when you guys first started this reconstruction,” Dorhout said.

This was also Steenblock’s favorite part of the class.

He started seeds in sixth grade and throughout his time in middle school he got to watch them develop through the prairie.

“We can still go back to this day and then see what we had done because we were part of that,” Steenblock said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

The Iowa Department of Education has identified 377 schools that are in need of targeted support and improvement because of performance and achievement gaps among some student groups.

The schools were identified as part of the  for the 2023-2024 school year posted Tuesday. The profile system, first set up in 2018, is the state system for reviewing schools’ performance and federal designations.

According to the department, the system was revamped to include a “streamlined set of core indicators” for assessing schools performance and identifying areas where assistance and improvement is needed — metrics measured by the profiles include proficiency results for English language arts, mathematics and science, as well as issues like chronic absenteeism, graduation rates and student academic growth.

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“The updates to the approved accountability system provide consistently rigorous, reliable and fair school ratings that are easily understood by families, educators, communities and taxpayers,” a department news release stated. “The school performance ratings also inform the department’s investment of over 6,000 hours of school improvement assistance each year to schools in need of comprehensive support and improvement.”

Of the 377 schools identified as needing assistance, 93%, or 351 schools, were put in the category because students with disabilities at the school performed in the lowest 5% of all schools, according to the release. Within that group, 110 schools were also identified as needing assistance to make up for performance gaps with other specified student groups, the largest subset being 78 schools that saw achievement gaps between English language learners and the larger student population.

The department also found that fewer achievement gaps were found in Iowa schools for students from low-income backgrounds, as well as Black, Hispanic and multiracial students.

From the 377 total schools listed as in need of targeted or comprehensive support, a majority — 271 — were schools that also were identified as needing assistance last year. There are 106 schools that were newly identified this year, according to the department.

In addition to the state’s assessment on achievement gaps for specific groups of students, the profiles also show that 35 schools are “in need of comprehensive support and improvement” to meet federal Every Student Succeeds Act requirements. The 35 schools in this category represent the lowest performing 5% of Title 1 public schools, and schools with graduation rates lower than 66%, according to the department.

While 20 schools were added to this category this year, the state education department also noted that 16 schools graduated from that designation.

Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said in a Tuesday statement that the performance profiles will help inform the department, educators and communities on areas that need improvement and how to best designate resources.

“Built with the feedback of thousands of Iowans, our new, world-class accountability system celebrates school success and supports continuous improvement, focusing resources on the classroom and what has the greatest impact on student achievement and growth,” Snow said. “The department will continue to partner with schools in need of support to accelerate student learning through high-quality instructional materials and practices, evidence- based professional learning, leadership coaching, and learner engagement.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on and .

The Iowa Department of Education announced Wednesday that some elementary schools will use an AI reading assistant to help with literacy tutoring programs.

The department made a $3 million investment into for the use of a program called EPS Reading Assistant, an online literacy tutor that uses artificial intelligence technology. Iowa public and non-public elementary schools will be able to use the service at no cost through the summer of 2025, according to the department news release.

“Reading unlocks a lifetime of potential, and the Department’s new investment in statewide personalized reading tutoring further advances our shared commitment to strengthening early literacy instruction,” McKenzie Snow, the education department director said in a statement. “This work builds upon our comprehensive advancements in early literacy, spanning world-class state content standards, statewide educator professional learning, evidence-based summer reading programs, and Personalized Reading Plans for students in need of support.”

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The program uses voice recognition technology to follow along as a child reads out loud, providing corrective feedback and assessments when the student struggles through a digital avatar named Amira. According to the service’s website, the program is designed around the “Science of Reading” approach to literary education — a method that emphasizes the teaching of phonics and word comprehension when students are learning to read.

Gov. Kim Reynolds and state education experts, including have said that this teaching strategy will help improve the state’s child literacy rates, pointing to reading scores increasing in following the implementation of “science of reading” methods.

In May, Reynolds that set new early literacy standards for teachers, as well as adding requirements for how schools and families address when a student does not meet reading proficiency standards. These requirements include creating a personalized assistance plan for the child until they are able to reach grade-level reading proficiency and notifying parents and guardians of students in kindergarten through sixth grade that they can request their child repeats a grade if they are not meeting the literacy benchmarks.

Reynolds said the law was a “to make literacy a priority in every Iowa classroom and for every Iowa student.”

The AI-backed tutor program is being funded through the state education department’s portion from the federal , part of a COVID-era measure providing states with additional funding for pandemic recovery efforts. The federal fund allocated more than $774 million to Iowa in 2021.

In addition to the new AI-backed programming available, the fund money is also going toward Summer Reading Grants, for efforts to address summer learning loss and close achievement gaps. The elementary schools that won grants have all “affirmed their commitment to including the personalized reading tutor as part of their evidence-based programming,” according to the news release.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on and .

The Iowa law prohibiting school libraries from having books containing sexually explicit material can go into effect, federal appeals court judges ruled Friday.

The three-person panel moved to lift the injunction blocking the law from enforcement Friday. Portions of the were previously blocked in January by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that Locher’s decision was based on a “flawed analysis of the law.”

The law prohibits school libraries from including books with written and visual depictions of sex acts from, in addition to banning instruction and materials involving issues of “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. These regulations will now be allowed to take effect as legal challenges continue.

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The law is being challenged by multiple parties, including the, Iowa Safe Schools, as well as the publisher Penguin Random House and due to the law.

Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown said in a statement that the organization was “disappointed” by the appeals court decision.

“Banning essential books in our schools is a burden for our educators, who will face punishment for not guessing which book fits into a supposed offensive category, and for our students, who are deprived of reading from great authors with valuable stories,” Brown said in a statement. “If Iowa’s elected leaders truly valued education professionals, they would leave important classroom decisions to the local school districts and the experts who work in them – not make what we teach our students a game of political football.”

Critics of the measure say that the law will keep classic literature — like the books “Brave New World” and “Ulysses” — from being available in school libraries, but that a majority of the books removed from school shelves are those focused on stories about race and LGBTQ+ issues, like “Gender Queer,” “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” and “The Color Purple.”

Educators have criticized the state for not clarifying the rules surrounding the law, as the Iowa Department of Education to provide more information on what materials are considered “age-appropriate” under the law. The state department has said they plan to address allegations of noncompliance on a case-by-case basis.

But Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said the appeals court decision was a win for Iowa parents.

Gov. Kim Reynolds also released a statement supporting the court opinion.

“Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit confirmed what we already knew – it should be parents who decide when and if sexually-explicit books are appropriate for their children,” Reynolds said. “Here in Iowa, we will continue to focus on excellence in education and partnerships with parents and educators.”

The lawsuit found that the district court decision did not properly evaluate the law under existing precedent — referring specially to the 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision in , a lawsuit involving speech on social media platforms. However, the judges also rejected the state’s argument that school library materials constitute “government speech.” They also found that a transgender student whose school district banned gender-sexuality alliance clubs due to concerns about the law has standing to sue.

The ACLU of Iowa, alongside Lambda Legal and the Jenner & Block law firm, plaintiffs in the lawsuit, issued a join statement saying that Iowa families and LGBTQ+ students were “deeply frustrated and disappointed” by the court’s decision, especially as the 2024-2025 school year approaches.

“Denying LGBTQ+ youth the chance to see themselves represented in classrooms and books sends a harmful message of shame and stigma that should not exist in schools,” the legal organizations said in the statement. “We are, however, encouraged by the Eighth Circuit’s complete rejection of the State’s most dangerous arguments, and we look forward to renewing our request for relief from this law’s damaging and unconstitutional effects on LGBTQ+ students. … We will ask the district court to block the law again at the earliest opportunity.”

The decision returns the case to district court for further action.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on and .

The Iowa law prohibiting school libraries from having books containing sexually explicit material can go into effect, federal appeals court judges ruled Friday.

The three-person panel moved to lift the injunction blocking the law from enforcement Friday. Portions of the were previously blocked in January by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that Locher’s decision was based on a “flawed analysis of the law.”

The law prohibits school libraries from including books with written and visual depictions of sex acts from, in addition to banning instruction and materials involving issues of “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. These regulations will now be allowed to take effect as legal challenges continue.

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The law is being challenged by multiple parties, including the, Iowa Safe Schools, as well as the publisher Penguin Random House and due to the law.

Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown said in a statement that the organization was “disappointed” by the appeals court decision.

“Banning essential books in our schools is a burden for our educators, who will face punishment for not guessing which book fits into a supposed offensive category, and for our students, who are deprived of reading from great authors with valuable stories,” Brown said in a statement. “If Iowa’s elected leaders truly valued education professionals, they would leave important classroom decisions to the local school districts and the experts who work in them – not make what we teach our students a game of political football.”

Critics of the measure say that the law will keep classic literature — like the books “Brave New World” and “Ulysses” — from being available in school libraries, but that a majority of the books removed from school shelves are those focused on stories about race and LGBTQ+ issues, like “Gender Queer,” “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” and “The Color Purple.”

Educators have criticized the state for not clarifying the rules surrounding the law, as the Iowa Department of Education to provide more information on what materials are considered “age-appropriate” under the law. The state department has said they plan to address allegations of noncompliance on a case-by-case basis.

But Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said the appeals court decision was a win for Iowa parents.

“Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit confirmed what we already knew – it should be parents who decide when and if sexually-explicit books are appropriate for their children,” Reynolds said. “Here in Iowa, we will continue to focus on excellence in education and partnerships with parents and educators.”

The lawsuit found that the district court decision did not properly evaluate the law under existing precedent — referring specially to the 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision in , a lawsuit involving speech on social media platforms. However, the judges also rejected the state’s argument that school library materials constitute “government speech.” They also found that a transgender student whose school district banned gender-sexuality alliance clubs due to concerns about the law has standing to sue.

The ACLU of Iowa, alongside Lambda Legal and the Jenner & Block law firm, plaintiffs in the lawsuit, issued a join statement saying that Iowa families and LGBTQ+ students were “deeply frustrated and disappointed” by the court’s decision, especially as the 2024-2025 school year approaches.

“Denying LGBTQ+ youth the chance to see themselves represented in classrooms and books sends a harmful message of shame and stigma that should not exist in schools,” the legal organizations said in the statement. “We are, however, encouraged by the Eighth Circuit’s complete rejection of the State’s most dangerous arguments, and we look forward to renewing our request for relief from this law’s damaging and unconstitutional effects on LGBTQ+ students. … We will ask the district court to block the law again at the earliest opportunity.”

The decision returns the case to district court for further action.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on and .

Mark Swartz: There’s so much to say about climate change and children. Moms Clean Air Force is about more than just air quality, right?

Karin Stein: As an organization, we fight for clean air, because air is water and nature writ large; it means fighting for healthy ecosystems and healthy people.��We focus on air because it touches all the rest. When people talk about mercury in water, it’s coming from air pollution emitted from coal plants that settles into our creeks and lakes. It then gets deposited in the fatty tissue of fish, which then gets eaten, and if a pregnant person eats the fish, that mercury keeps concentrating further in their fatty tissue. The next thing you know, it’s in the fatty brain tissue of an unborn child at much higher concentrations than when it first left the smokestack of the coal plant. Mercury in children’s brains can lead to serious developmental issues, including impaired motor function, learning impairments and behavioral problems.

Swartz: What is the relationship between Moms Clean Air Force and ?

Stein: EcoMadres is Moms Clean Air Force. It’s a branch that connects culturally and linguistically with a diversity of Latino communities.

Swartz: Have you always lived in Iowa?

Stein: I think of myself as a South American child, a Central American teenager and a North American adult. I was born in Colombia. I grew up in the remote eastern savannas��of Colombia with no electricity and lots of��wild animals. I had a pet anteater and monkey. As a teenager I��lived in Costa Rica and continue to be involved with a rainforest conservation foundation there.

In 1980, I got a scholarship to come to Grinnell College and thought, “Okay, I’ll jump on a plane, get a four-year degree and go back.” But then life happens, and before you know it, 40 years have gone by. I live on the edge of a state park, Rock Creek State Park, and everything else around us is farmland. I have spent most of my life in rural areas around the Americas. This gives me a very strong sense of how various environments have changed as a result of the climate crisis.

Swartz: What did you study?

Stein: I have an undergraduate degree in biology and a master’s degree in horticulture.

Swartz: And you’re also a professional musician. How does that fit into the picture?

Stein: After grad school I was a researcher, but once my first child was born, I turned my musical hobby into my profession.��Moms Clean Air Force recognizes that humans are multifaceted and that there are various ways in which we connect. They’ve encouraged��me to use music in my community engagement work for Moms, because, as a Latin American, I understand how centrally important music is to our cultural identity. Music is a trust-building language, especially among Latinos. So it’s a tool. It’s not the main tool I use in my work for Moms, but it’s a tool, and we need to use all the tools we can.

Swartz: So, you come to rural Iowa with a different perspective on the natural world from your neighbors, but you’ve probably learned a lot from Iowans about how they view the soil and the planet and the natural world. What kind of conversations do you have?

Stein: Iowa has��a really interesting mix of people. My husband and I talk a lot to the family farmers who are still there, but they are an endangered lifestyle, encroached upon by big corporate farming operations. Family farmers tend to be interested in doing what’s right for the soil, the water, even the climate.�� You don’t hear those concerns expressed by farming corporations.

Swartz: Some people might be surprised that Iowa has air quality issues.

Stein: All it takes is one source of pollution and you have a problem. In northwest Iowa, we have some of the highest asthma and cancer rates in the country. Iowa also has��six of the most polluting coal plants in the whole country. I’m involved in a coalition that’s asking MidAmerican Energy, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, to close its remaining coal plants by 2030, because their plants are hurting Iowans, especially people of color. Another thing I’d like to mention is that in rural areas, proper air quality monitoring is often overlooked.

Swartz: I’d love to hear about a family that you’ve worked with.

Stein: I’ll tell you about two on diagonally opposite ends of Iowa. There is a woman in southeast Iowa, in the region near Muscatine. She has two boys. One of them, and this is where I start really choking up, the younger one, who is now eight, was born asthmatic. Because of bad air quality in his neighborhood and his school, he’s never played outdoors in the winter. Ever. There are a lot of children who cannot play outside during a good portion of the year because of poor air quality.

And then let’s travel to northwest Iowa, where I just recently met Indigenous leaders. There’s a big Winnebago settlement near one of the two coal plants owned by MidAmerican Energy. And it was simply heart wrenching to hear their testimony about the extremely high cancer and asthma rates in that community. And it boils down to insufficient safeguards on emissions and insisting on continuing to use technologies that we don’t have to use anymore, because we have better options now.

Swartz: It must be gratifying to help them tell their stories to policymakers.��

Stein: Some of my proudest moments have been getting very shy immigrants to understand that legislators are not the police, and that the stories of their children are important, because legislators cannot know everything.

Swartz: When you’re talking about small lungs and brains, they’re resilient, but they’re very vulnerable.

Stein:��Children are developing organisms with fast metabolisms, breathing faster than adults and inhaling dirty air closer to the ground, at the level of exhaust pipes. We know that particulate matter inhaled by mothers enters the bloodstream, enters the child’s, the fetus’s organism, and can create heart, brain and lung damage before the child is born.

Extreme heat can do that too: it can lead to premature births and many other complications. And those most affected are��always the people who can least afford it, the people who least contribute to our climate crisis, who can least afford to protect themselves from the climate crisis.

Anything we can do for our children while they’re developing — in terms of keeping them healthy now and in terms of slowing down the climate crisis — I can’t think of a more important job, frankly, as a mom and as a world citizen.

Always make sure you have an escape route. Stay on paved roads when you can. Don’t get too close.

Iowa State University students and instructors chasing storms this spring knew those rules well, remembering their own experiences and having lessons on storm chasing drilled in over the past eight weeks. Looking back at their observation of the EF-3 tornado that tore through Carbon, Iowa, on May 21, some acknowledged that they got too close.

Debris was falling around the three-car caravan from about one mile away from the tornado, recent ISU graduate and storm chaser Hunter Fowkes said, twigs and tree limbs drifting around in a “surreal” scene as the students realized they were in its path. When Fowkes gave the signal to go, ISU “Field Observations of Thunderstorms” co-instructor Bill Gallus said he didn’t really want to leave, it was so mesmerizing.

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“I don’t think you’ll realize the power of the systems and of the tornadoes until you’re in that situation and witnessing it,” said co-instructor Dave Flory. “We were too close to the Carbon tornado, and it was incredible.”

A team of three Iowa State University instructors and 13 students traversed the Midwest for eight days in late May, chasing storms and visiting weather centers and landmarks as part of a course on storm observation.

Gallus and Flory had spoken about teaching a class with a storm chasing component for a long time, Flory said, but figuring out logistics, matching schedules and finding a time to take a class storm chasing trip when it wouldn’t interfere with the semester was a difficult task.

However, Gallus said students have been asking about a storm chasing course almost every year of his 29-year career at ISU. The pair knew that many of the students in Fowkes’ class had chased storms before, so they “bit the bullet” and planned the course with co-instructor Lindsay Maudlin.

Fowkes has been chasing storms since he was 12 years old and has been fascinated by severe weather most of his life. He grew up in Arizona, seeing dust devils and desert thunderstorms, then moved to Colorado, where he got to see all four seasons.

He saw his first tornado after his family moved to Cedar Falls. They heard on the news about nearby tornado warnings and his father suggested the family go check it out.

“We all piled in the van, drove out, sat for 45 minutes and got lucky,” Fowkes said. “A storm produced a tornado right in front of us, and from that point, I’ve been hooked.”

While any student could enroll in the class, the instructors had all seniors signed up when the course began in early March. During the semester, students were taught about storm formation, storm safety, instrumentation and more, and heard from a National Weather Service guest lecturer. They also participated in a simulated storm chase, where students would use information given every hour to determine where they should go to observe storms.

Most, if not all, of the students had chasing experience before signing up for the class, Maudlin said, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t see anything new on the trip. The group took three cars filled with supplies and equipment for launching weather balloons and set out, not knowing exactly where storm activity would take them.

There’s a saying in the meteorology field, Gallus said, that when you’re planning a field study to observe a certain kind of weather, Mother Nature laughs and decides to do the opposite.

“I think Mother Nature was rolling as we went through the prep stuff and talking about safety, because we had such an insanely active eight-day period that there were some learning experiences thrown at us that I don’t think we would have ever imagined what would actually happen,” Gallus said.

Chasing storms far away and close to home

Day one started off strong, with the caravan driving to Kansas and catching a line of thunderstorms that produced two tornadoes. Gallus said the day started off without a particularly high chance of tornadoes, but changes in the weather within a few hours of the event created the situation for a “textbook” storm.

“On day one, we’re like, ‘Great, we got some storm structure, we got a tornado,’ you know, the pressure is off of us,” Fowkes said. “Because when you’re going to see tornadoes on a trip, it’s nice to get it out of the way so you’re not stressed about trying to get one the whole trip.”

The group then voted to keep driving out to Colorado despite needing to be back in Iowa the next day, and launched weather balloons ahead of storms that didn’t turn out as they hoped before driving part of the way home. However, after they left Yuma, where they launched the balloons, the town was hit with 70 miles-per-hour wind and baseball-sized hail, damaging most buildings.

Storms raged across Iowa on day three, and the caravan witnessed both the Greenfield and Carbon tornadoes. They were able to launch two weather balloons before the storms hit southwest Iowa, providing the National Weather Service with data they wouldn’t have had otherwise, as the Omaha station wasn’t able to launch its balloons due to the weather.

Gallus said they had a view of the Carbon tornado that very few others had, as they were so close and visibility was so bad that people farther away couldn’t get a visual. The crew traversed wrecked scenery and roads blocked by trees and other debris while trying to find their way through the damage.

“It’s kind of fun to see a wind turbine taken down by a tornado because I’ve never personally seen that before, or seen one on fire,” Fowkes said.

One student had family in Greenfield whose home was damaged and a tornado that traveled by Ames passed close to where Gallus’ son was, so the group decided to take the rest of the day to recoup at home or in Ames.

The next two days didn’t include chasing. The first was spent driving and the second was filled with visits to the national Storm Prediction Center and Twistex Memorial, both in Oklahoma. The memorial is dedicated to storm chasers who died during a tornado in El Reno in 2013.

While they were down south, the group couldn’t resist a stop to the town made famous by the movie “Twister,” Wakita. They visited the movie museum and launched two weather balloons at the behest of the storm prediction center, one of which Gallus said made it almost to the stratosphere.

When chasing storms later in the day proved unsuccessful for tornado spotting, the crew decided to start making for Joplin, where they would end up spending their last day. Though the group had a rule to not chase storms at night, they witnessed plenty on their embattled drive to Missouri. Supercell storms and tornadoes cut the cars off from their planned routes and even each other for a while. They weren’t able to reach their hotel until nearly 4 a.m.

Remembering the aftermath

With a physically and mentally exhausting week behind them, the students and instructors decided to spend their last day visiting a memorial in Joplin built in memory of the more than 150 people lost in an EF-5 tornado that went through the town in 2011. For Gallus, who had visited the town just a few days after the tornado hit, this visit provided closure.

Maudlin said it was also a very emotional experience for the students, one the instructors helped them work through.

Maudlin had taken a decade-long hiatus from chasing after the El Reno tornado and another tornado resulted in destruction and death. She said she was struggling with the dichotomy of how beautiful and fascinating the phenomena is while still being so destructive. She began chasing again a couple of years ago.

“Our best chasing days are someone else’s worst days, and really trying to facilitate and talk through like big emotions around what they saw and what they experienced is something new for me as an educator,” Maudlin said.

When the class is held again, like the instructors hope to do, the memorials will hold a permanent stop on the group’s travel itinerary.

This trip provided both the students and instructors with new experiences, from weather balloon launches to multi-car chasing to even finding beds to sleep in on the fly. While he’d seen many tornadoes before this trip and will continue to chase in the future, Fowkes said every tornado he witnesses makes him realize just how small we are, and how much farther we need to go to understand this phenomenon.

“Everybody I think has a different experience next to a tornado and every tornado I see now it just reinforces the fact (that) we’ve got to spend the time, we’ve got to put forward the effort and figure out what’s going on with these things,” Fowkes said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on and .

Each of the Cornell College instructors injured in a stabbing during their teaching trip to Jilin City, China are back with family or moving forward from the incident, the college said in a statement Tuesday.

Cornell College President Jonathan Brand said in the update to campus that all four of the instructors have either been reunited with family members or are continuing with their summer travel plans after being injured in a “serious incident” in a public park in the city last week.

People and organizations both in the U.S. and China aided in getting the instructors the care they needed, Brand said. He said he has been reminded through this time about how the “extended Cornell College community” cares for each other.

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“We appreciate the support from our colleagues at Beihua University, and we have thanked our state and federal legislators as well as the Department of State for their efforts to assist our instructors and their families,” Brand said in the statement.

The instructors were teaching at as part of a partnership with Cornell College. The June 10 incident occurred while the instructors were visiting a park near the university, accompanied by a colleague from Beihua. A man bumped into one of them, according to Jilin City police. The suspect, who police apprehended and identified as a 55-year-old with the surname Ciu, then allegedly stabbed that individual and the three other instructors.

One of the instructors involved in the incident was David Zabner, state Rep. Adam Zabner’s brother. A Ph.D. candidate at Tufts University, David Zabner was in Jilin City as part of the partnership between Beihua University and Cornell College when he was wounded in the arm during the incident. The names of the other instructors have not been released.

According to Adam Zabner’s , his brother returned to Iowa late last week. The representative said in a statement that the U.S. State Department and U.S. Consulate in Shenyang were helpful during David Zabner’s treatment and in efforts to bring him home, as well as the offices of Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Chuck Grassley and U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

Cornell College has partnered with Beihua University since 2018 to bring instructors from Mount Vernon to Jilin City to teach at the university for two-week periods.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on and .