Work continues in the Iowa Legislature on Area Education Association (AEA) reforms, which could put the separate agencies that assist school districts in special education care and other services under the purview of the state Department of Education, or allow districts to look elsewhere to find those services. State Representative Brooke Boden tells KNIA News both the Senate and House are working on separate versions of the bill, and there is still a lot of discussion and changes to the bill ahead. Boden also said what is motivating her to explore AEA reform is lower test scores from Iowa compared to other states.

“I’m a little disappointed after meeting with everybody that nobody really could pinpoint where we are falling through the cracks. And of course I don’t want to point fingers at anybody, it’s a very complex system, there are a lot of players in this. We have to wrap our minds around what is the best for all of our kids to get our scores up, to be fiscally responsible, and to really make sure that our educational services in the state of Iowa are top notch. That we aren’t just funneling money into a system that is just failing our kids, we have to make sure we aren’t failing our kids.”

To hear the full interview, click below.

https://www.kniakrls.com/2024/02/05/lets-talk-indianola-brooke-boden-4/