蜜桃影视

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

In a small taste of what the Trump administration would like to see nationwide, Iowa can now consolidate $9 million in federal education funds into a single block grant.

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 鈥渘early $8 million and thousands of hours of staff time from bureaucracy to actually putting that expertise and those resources in the classroom.鈥�

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

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 鈥� and a former Education Department official 鈥� called the consolidation of funds for state activities 鈥渦nprecedented,鈥� but noted that the state scaled down after conversations with the department. 鈥淭his is not the seismic shift in federal funding that perhaps was first contemplated in their original draft.鈥�

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 鈥渉ard to say no to another state that shows up with the same asks,鈥� 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. 

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

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 鈥減olitical symbolism of getting Washington out of what has traditionally been a state role,鈥� said Vic Klatt, who worked at the department during George H.W. Bush鈥檚 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.

鈥楾he data collection burden鈥�

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 鈥済rievances鈥� that Iowa and Indiana have expressed are real, she said.

鈥淔lexibilities exist, but they are actually quite difficult to take advantage of,鈥� she said. 

While the department didn鈥檛 waive requirements related to data collection and reporting, McMahon wrote in to the state that 鈥渢he conversations between our staff have been informative and insightful regarding the data collection burden鈥� 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鈥檒l 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.

 鈥淥ne person鈥檚 compliance is another person鈥檚 accountability, transparency and general prudent treatment of funds,鈥� he said. 鈥嬧�嬧�漈he 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.鈥�

In her comments during the event, McKenzie Snow, Iowa鈥檚 education chief, talked about using the flexibility to better train teachers to serve the state鈥檚 growing English learner population, which has increased by 40% over the past decade, she said. But Hyslop said the state has yet to 鈥渕ake a compelling case鈥� 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鈥檚 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鈥檛 support the idea, and e in both houses .

As Iowa鈥檚 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鈥檚 efforts to downsize and shut down the Education Department.

鈥淭he department has fewer staff to monitor right now,鈥� she said. 鈥淯nderstanding the impact of this is going to be really challenging.鈥� 

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.