GLENWOOD, Iowa (KMTV) —
- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has introduced a bill to the state legislature that may change the way special education and other services are delivered to students.
- Parents of special education students are concerned that the changes to Area Education Agencies (AEAs) proposed by the governor would hurt their children.
- Right now, school district tax dollars go directly to the AEAs to provide special education and other services. The new bill would give districts a choice about where they spend those dollars. If large districts decide to hire specialists rather than use AEA services, it would reduce the funding pool. The result would be fewer resources for smaller school districts.
- Glenwood mom, Heather Bachman: “...Unless you have a child that is special needs, you just, you don’t get it. And it’s a really hard struggle. And if we didn’t have what the AEA provides for us it just, you know, it would make everything a lot more difficult for us.”
- Video shows ...a mom and dad playing at home with their two dogs and a six-year-old girl and interviews with two mothers of special education students in an office setting.
- READ MORE: Will Gov. Reynolds' AEA bill hurt rural Iowa school districts?
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Katrina Markel and this is my new friend, Abi, and her friend, Kylo, is behind us. I'm the southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter and I am in Glenwood talking about special education in Iowa.
The governor has a new bill that’s been introduced to the legislature and it would reorganize the way the area education agencies in Iowa work with special education students.
Six-year-old Abi goes to school in Glenwood; a medium-sized district 20 minutes from Council Bluffs.
She has autism and a rare condition called ADNP Syndrome. She receives special education services through Greenhills AEA.
Heather Bachman: “...She’s just really flourished … I don't think I would be able to get her those services she would need because I still have to have a living and work to provide for her…”
Her mom, Heather, is speaking out because she wants the public to understand the impact Greenhills AEA has on her family.
The same goes for Jenifer Taylor.
Jenifer: “It's like having a partner, or multiple partners — a team. I'm not alone. Or it’s not just my husband and I and communicating with the teacher, but a whole team that gets together.”
These parents are worried smaller schools will lose out on services if large districts pull their dollars out of the AEA funding pool and hire specialists, such as speech therapists, as district-only employees.
In fact, during testimony at the capitol on Wednesday, the Council Bluffs superintendent indicated she may do that.
For parents is small districts, that’s scary.
Heather: “Without the AEA I would have a whole ‘nother thing thrown at me.”
Jenifer: “We wouldn’t be able to have the family we do … we wouldn’t be able to fulfill our dream of being a small business that hopefully our son can take over...”
Taylor's six-year-old son, Jack, goes to a small, rural district — Fremont-Mills. Greenhills has provided services to Jack since he was two.
Jenifer: “Honestly, to meet him now, I don't think it would be easy to tell that three and half years ago he was non-verbal.”
Heather: “...Unless you have a child that is special needs, you just, you don’t get it. And it’s a really hard struggle. And if we didn’t have what the AEA provides for us it just, you know, it would make everything a lot more difficult for us.”
This bill is in the early phases of deliberation, but parents are watching it closely.
In Glenwood, I'm your Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter, Katrina Markel.
