The Iowa Legislature approved Area Education Agency reform, which was signed into law by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds last week, which includes placing the regional AEAs under the oversight of the Iowa Department of Education, up to 40 new employees spread across the state, and the implementation of advisory boards that will report on student progress.

State Senator Julian Garrett tells KNIA News he was in favor of the legislation from the start, and he is hoping some of the mandatory reporting to the state will help identify some of the reasons why Iowa students were behind compared to other states.

“I don’t know that we have a solution to that question or an answer to that question yet. That’s one of the things that we will be looking at, and some of these reports should be addressing that issue. What we’ll have to do is see how things go in that area and others. If we don’t see improvement then we’ll have to look into that more. I wouldn’t say we have a real answer to that question, but that’s part of what these reforms are aiming at is to create some accountability.”

To listen to the full interview, click below.

https://www.kniakrls.com/2024/04/01/lets-talk-indianola-state-senator-julian-garrett-56/