Iowa
Iowa AEAs start new school year with 429 fewer employees than last year, Democrats say
WATCH: Gov. Kim Reynolds addresses the changes to Iowa’s AEAs
Gov. Kim Reynolds talks about the changes made to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Iowa State Capitol.
Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are beginning the new school year with 429 fewer staffers than they had last year because of a new state law, Democrats said at a news conference Thursday.
Democrats shared data provided by the nine AEAs that show their staffing levels at the start of the last school year in August 2023 and again at the start of the current school year as of Aug. 15.
Every AEA is beginning this school year with fewer staffers than last year, and all but one AEA has seen at least a 10% reduction.
“Four hundred and twenty-nine fewer staffers in the AEAs means that there are 429 fewer professionals on the ground providing vital services for kids in our public schools,” state Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, said. “These are kids across the board who will be losing services, as well as our kids with special education needs.”
The law, which Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed last spring, overhauls the funding structure and responsibilities of the AEAs, which traditionally have offered services such as special education, general education and media to school districts and students.
More: About 500 Iowa AEA workers are leaving. How Area Education Agencies are adjusting to new law
The law this year diverts 60% of the money that the AEAs previously received for general education and media services to school districts, while keeping the remaining 40% with the AEAs. Next year, schools will receive all of that money, worth about $68 million.
No special education funding is diverted from the AEAs this year, but next year school districts will receive 10% of the state special education funding that currently goes to the agencies. The Iowa Department of Education also assumes oversight responsibilities over special education services.
In the wake of the changes, the AEAs have reported large numbers of staff departures this year.
As of May, about 500 employees had left the AEAs. Many AEA administrators say they have had difficulty hiring employees to fill their open positions, including jobs focused on special education.
Reynolds previously has said the AEAs would be “right-sized” as a result of the law.
At a news conference last week, the governor said her goal in signing the law was to bring more transparency, accountability and consistency to the AEAs’ budget. She said she isn’t hearing concerns about how the law is working but she’ll continue to evaluate it and look for ways it can be improved.
“We’re going to take care of these kids, and we’re going to get them the services that they need,” she said. “And we’re going to take care of our teachers that are in the classroom delivering these services every single day.”
In a statement Thursday, Reynolds said Democrats were “stoking fear” about the law and said the money hasn’t been cut, simply given to local schools to control.
“Some schools have hired former AEA employees, while others have chosen to continue to work with AEAs,” Reynolds said in the statement. “As schools decide how to best use their resources to serve their students with special needs, resources will naturally shift. That is the intent — to strengthen the education experience for all students, including students receiving special education services.”
Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, said when the AEAs were originally set up in the 1970s they were intended to provide equitable service across all parts of Iowa. That isn’t happening under the new law, she said.
“What the governor and Republicans have done is created a system that is now very unstable, uncertain,” she said. “It has created winners and losers, and we now have a real rural-urban divide in educating our children.”
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart, a former public school teacher, said Reynolds and Republicans have “inserted politics” into decisions around public schools.
“I taught for over two decades in small schools here in Iowa as an English teacher. I worked in these two rural districts, and so I understand just how much these districts rely on AEAs to provide necessary services,” she said. “And so to see this kind of drop in staffing is obviously a concern, particularly for our smaller school districts. For their families, for the students and for the ability of the state of Iowa to provide a strong future of public education in this state.”
The data provided by Democrats shows Prairie Lakes AEA lost the highest percentage of its staff from last year to this year, about 18%, or 44 employees. Keystone AEA saw the lowest percentage loss, totaling 22 employees, or about 9%.
Grant Wood AEA saw the most employees leave, at 84, for about 16% fewer employees this year. Heartland AEA in central Iowa is operating with 81 fewer employees, or about 11% fewer staffers than last year.
Cindy Yelick, Heartland’s chief administrator, said she and her staff have talked to school districts about the services they’re most interested in so they can shift staff to work in those areas.
“Everybody’s lost staff,” Yelick said. “And everybody, all the AEAs, we’ve had to prioritize special education staffing because that is what we’re required to do.”
That might mean moving staff who previously worked to provide general education or media services, she said.
“So if you had somebody who was maybe working in the ed service area but they had special education credentials we’ve shifted them to support special education work,” she said.
The law also created a new Division of Special Education within the Iowa Department of Education, which will oversee compliance with federal education laws governing students with disabilities.
As of Aug. 23, the state has hired two division administrators and seven regional directors for the division, according to Department of Education spokesperson Heather Doe.
The law also authorizes the hiring of 40 education program consultants who would be based in AEAs around the state. Doe did not say how many of those positions have been filled.
“The individuals in these newly filled leadership roles are now in the process of building their teams,” she said in her Aug. 23 email. “Many of these special education positions that were legislatively established less than two months ago recently closed for applications and are now in the application review and interview processes.”
The new law also requires the appointment of a task force to study various aspects of how the AEAs work and how money is divided for services. That task force must be appointed by the Legislative Council, a group of high-ranking Iowa lawmakers. But the council has yet to meet to appoint the task force’s members.
The task force is required to submit a report to lawmakers by Dec. 31.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.
Iowa State football has picked up a commitment from Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Jan. 3.
Raynor has one season of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot, 202-pounder from Kernersville, North Carolina, passed for 3,361 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He was intercepted 11 times.
Raynor also rushed for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.
He passed for 8,694 yards and 52 touchdowns in three seasons at Arkansas State.
“The (Iowa State) coaching staff is known for winning,” Raynor told Thamel. “The head coach is a known winner and done it on multiple levels.”
Raynor will join Arkansas State offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf in Ames. Heckendorf was named Cyclones quarterbacks coach this week.
Raynor completed 19 of 33 passes for 222 yards in a 24-16 loss to Iowa State on Sept. 13, 2025.
The first month of the Iowa high school wrestling season has been filled with scintillating individual performances. Here’s a look at seven standouts who have been racking up bonus points in December.
Drew Anderson (Riverside)
The Class 1A state runner-up last year at 132 is up to 144 this season and he’s 14-0 with 11 technical falls, a pair of pins and a forfeit win. Anderson, a junior in his second season at the school, already owns the Riverside school record for technical falls with 28. Anderson is on pace to more than double the previous Riverside tech record of 23.
Urijah Courter (West Marshall)
Courter won the 2A title last season at 113 after placing third as a freshman at 106. He’s up to 120 this season. Courter is 14-0 this season with 10 pins and two technical falls. His ledger also includes a 6-5 win against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Simon Bettis in a rematch of last season’s state title bout.
Cooper Hinz (Jesup)
Entering the holiday break, Michigan commit and two-time state medalist Cooper Hinz is 22-0 with 21 wins via pin, technical fall or forfeit. His other victory was a 4-1 overtime decision against returning state placewinner Cain Rodgers of North Fayette Valley. More impressively, all of Hinz’s pins and technical falls have all come in the first period.
Lincoln Jipp (Bettendorf)
Jipp placed fifth at 138, third at 165 and second at 175 in Class 3A during his first three seasons. Now he’s up to 215 — 77 pounds more than where he started his career as a freshman. The North Carolina recruit pinned his way through the prestigious Dan Gable Donnybrook. He’s 16-0 with 10 pins, four technical falls and a forfeit.
Mason Koehler (Glenwood)
The returning 2A champ at 215 is 20-0 with 18 pins and a major decision. His only two matches that went the distance came at the Council Bluffs Classic, where he defeated Nebraska standout Ryan Boehle of Grand Island 14-4 and Minnesota hammer Joe Kruse of Totino-Grace 9-2. The rest of Koehler’s matches this season ended in first-period pins. He has already registered a six-second pin and another in nine seconds this season.
Jaxon Miller (Carlisle)
Miller is a three-time state medalist, a two-time finalist and returning state champ in Class 3A. He placed fourth as a freshman at 145 before making trips to the finals at 157 and 165. He’s 16-0 this season with 13 first-period pins, two technical falls and a forfeit.
Keaton Moeller (Starmont)
Moeller placed third in 1A as a freshman at 145 before winning a state title at 150 as a sophomore. He missed all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in football. Now he’s back as a senior at 190 and Moeller hasn’t missed a beat. He’s 13-0 with five pins, six technical falls and a pair of forfeits. He has yet to wrestle a full period this season.
Iowa High School Premium Rankings
Check out the Iowa High School Wrestling Premium Rankings, which are generated by using an athlete’s complete match history to predict a wrestler’s performance against others in their weight class by considering factors such as win-loss records, the quality of their victories (pins, technical falls, major decisions), the strength of their opponents and overall historical performance patterns. The data is updated every Monday, sourced from the Trackwrestling season results. Since each team is responsible for maintaining their season results, any data discrepancies for a wrestler should be addressed by contacting their coach to manage the information within the season. This includes the weight class assigned. Wrestlers are eligible to be ranked after competing in five matches at a single weight.
is
As No. 14-ranked Iowa women’s basketball (10-2, 1-0 Big Ten) returns from the Christmas break, the Hawkeyes will begin the bulk of their Big Ten slate today as they welcome Penn State (7-5, 0-1 Big Ten) to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa looks to rebound from its 90-64 loss against No. 1 UConn on Dec. 20, where its sloppy play (26 turnovers leading to 41 UConn points) ultimately proved to be its undoing against the Huskies.
Entering today’s game, sophomore center Ava Heiden leads the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game on 64.4% shooting from the floor, with senior forward Hannah Stuelke (13.4) and sophomore guard Chit-Chat Wright (11.7) also averaging double-figure scoring.
Defensively, Wright leads the team in steals per game with 1.6, while Heiden tops the squad in blocks with 1.2 denials per contest.
As tipoff nears between the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions, follow along for live updates, the latest score, and highlights of the action:
Hawkeyes are on fire offensively through the first quarter of play (shooting 10-for-16 from the floor), while also dominating the defensive glass (leading 7-2 in defensive rebounds) and keeping Penn State off-synch.
Chit-Chat Wright leads everyone with 12 points on 4-for-4 from the floor, 2-for-2 from 3-point territory, and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
Timeout Penn State.
Hawkeyes are on a roll offensively since the Nittany Lions’ appeal, with a 14-0 scoring run that forces a Penn State timeout.
Penn State’s appeal was successful on the foul call, but the shot clock violation on the Nittany Lions still stands.
Nittany Lions retain their timeout.
Timeout Penn State.
The Nittany Lions are appealing the foul call on Gracie Merkle and the ensuing shot clock violation.
Both teams are shooting well to start the game.
On its game day availability report, sophomore Emely Rodriguez remains out. Graduate starting guard Kylie Feuerbach is also “questionable.”
Watch Iowa vs. Penn State
TV: Big Ten Network
Tip-off Time: 3 p.m. CT
Iowa women’s basketball schedule
All times CT
- Nov. 3 vs. Southern: Iowa 86, Southern 51
- Nov. 9 vs. Evansville: Iowa 119, Evansville 43
- Nov. 13 vs. Drake: Iowa 100, Drake 58
- Nov. 16 at Northern Iowa: Iowa 74, UNI 41
- Nov. 20 vs. Baylor (WBCA Showcase in Orlando): Iowa 57, Baylor 52
- Nov. 22 vs. Miami (WBCA Showcase in Orlando): Iowa 64, Miami 61
- Nov. 26 vs. Western Illinois: Iowa 86, Western Illinois 69
- Nov. 30 vs. Fairfield: Iowa 86, Fairfield 72
- Dec. 6 at Rutgers: Iowa 79, Rutgers 36
- Dec. 10 at Iowa State: Iowa State 74, Iowa 69
- Dec. 13 vs. Lindenwood: Iowa 102, Lindenwood 68
- Dec. 20 vs. UConn (Champions Classic): UConn 90, Iowa 64
- Dec. 28 vs. Penn State: Big Ten Network, 3 p.m.
- Jan. 1 vs. Nebraska: Big Ten Network, 1 p.m.
- Jan. 5 at Northwestern: Big Ten Network, 7:30 p.m.
- Jan. 11 at Indiana: Big Ten Network, 4 p.m.
- Jan. 15 vs. Oregon: FS1, 8 p.m.
- Jan. 18 vs. Michigan State: Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
- Jan. 22 at Maryland: NBC, 5 p.m.
- Jan. 25 vs. Ohio State: Peacock, 1 p.m.
- Jan. 29 at USC: Peacock, 8 p.m.
- Feb. 1 at UCLA: Fox, 3 p.m.
- Feb. 5 vs. Minnesota: Big Ten Network, 6 p.m.
- Feb. 11 vs. Washington: BTN+, 6:30 p.m.
- Feb. 16 at Nebraska: Fox, 11 a.m.
- Feb. 19 at Purdue: BTN+, 6 p.m.
- Feb. 22 vs. Michigan: Fox or FS1, 11 a.m. or 1 p.m.
- Feb. 26 vs. Illinois: Big Ten Network, 8 p.m.
- March 1 at Wisconsin: BTN+, 2 p.m.
- March 4-8 Big Ten Tournament
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
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