State Sen. Lynn Evans speaks in the Iowa State Senate on March 18.
David Tilley is a former deputy director of the Iowa Department of Education. He emailed this message on his March 20th to all 150 members of the Iowa House of Representatives. Previous messages to MPs regarding the proposed changes to local education authorities can be found here., And here.
Open letter to Iowa legislators:
I'm David Tilley. I was the deputy director of the Iowa Department of Education from 2012 until 2020. He oversaw the PK-12 department, which encompasses special education responsibilities and oversight in Iowa. I am writing this letter today to address rumors that seem to be circulating regarding the AEA bill. Specifically, the Iowa Department of Education must be given more authority and compliance resources when it comes to special education, or the “federal government” could step in and “take us over.” . This statement is clearly false. That's not how federal special education oversight works for states. The Iowa Department of Education now has all the funding and authority it needs to effectively oversee special education in Iowa.
Sorry for the long and detailed email, but it's important to set the record straight.
I am a special educator by training and have spent nearly my entire career (over 35 years) consulting on these issues at the state and national level. The “federal government” referred to herein refers to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and its parent office, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS). I have worked directly with both firms frequently throughout my career, and many of their former directors are close colleagues and personal friends. I know how these offices operate.
Here is a brief explanation of how the federal government currently evaluates state special education systems. They have a system called Results Driven Accountability (RDA). The system is a continuous improvement process and has been revised in recent years to emphasize results rather than just adherence to procedures. This system is intended to help states improve and is not designed as a punitive rewards and sanctions system. Each state submits a state performance plan and annual performance report to OSEP, which runs these data on a series of scoring matrices. From that analysis, states fall into one of four categories (called decisions).
From best decision to worst:
- Meets IDEA requirements and objectives.
- I need help implementing IDEA requirements.
- Interventions are required to implement IDEA requirements.or
- Implementing IDEA's requirements requires significant intervention.
According to the latest OSEP decision (June 2023), for both IDEA Part B (children ages 3 to 21) and IDEA Part C (children under 3 years): Iowa is classified as “Needing Assistance in Implementing IDEA Requirements” (Level 2 above). In addition to Iowa, 35 other states received this determination under Part B. In addition to Iowa, 28 other states received this determination level in Part C.
What does this mean for Iowa? It means there are areas where we can improve. Iowa State did well in some performance areas, but not so much in others. This has been his situation since 1975. There are always things that can be improved, but as you can see, we are at the second highest decision level, “Needs assistance,'' rather than “Needs intervention.''
What can OSEP do about these results? Excerpted directly from Iowa's 2023 decision letter from OSEP:
“The national decision in 2021 was also “support needed.'' Pursuant to IDEA section 616(e)(1) and 34 CFR §300.604(a), if a country is determined to be in need of assistance for two consecutive years, the Secretary may take one of the following actions: You must take more than one step.
(1) Advise States of available sources of technical assistance that may help States address areas in need of assistance and require States to cooperate with appropriate entities;
(2) Direct the use of national funds in areas where the nation requires assistance.or
(3) identify a State as a high-risk grant recipient and impose certain conditions on the award of a State's IDEA Part B grants;
This means that OSEP can choose (from most likely to least likely).
(1) Advise the State of Iowa on areas in need of improvement and require the State to work with certain technical assistance providers to improve the situation;
(2) require states to spend specific state-level administrative funds on specific problems to improve conditions;
(3) Or, if a State intentionally fails to comply with federal law or does not work sufficiently vigorously or effectively to remediate the problem, OSEP may classify the State as a high-risk grant recipient. You can identify (the grants they're talking about here are the Iowa grants that the state of Iowa receives approximately $150 million in federal special education funds each year). If so, you may do one or more of the following (quoting directly from 29 C.F.R. 97.12):
(b) Special conditions or restrictions may include:
(1) Reimbursement-based payments.
(2) We reserve the right to proceed to the next stage until we receive evidence of acceptable performance within the prescribed funding period.
(3) request additional and more detailed financial reporting;
(4) Additional project monitoring.
(5) seek technical or administrative assistance from the assignee or transferee;or
(6) Establish additional prior approvals.
None of this means that the “federal government” can or will step in and take over us. Here are four reasons why they don't do it. 1. They don't have the legal authority to do so 2. OSEP doesn't have the resources to do so 3. It goes against the RDA's primary purpose of helping states improve 4. Iowa has no active He has a long history of working with OSEP to improve This positive relationship influences what decisions OSEP makes regarding monitoring.
Sorry for the long and detailed email, but it's important to set the record straight.
With respect,
dave tilly
By Laura Belin Editor's note: Republican state Sen. Lynne Evans promoted the prospect of a federal takeover during her floor steering of House File 2612 (AEA bill) on March 18th. This clip shows the first part of his closing remarks.
Mr. Evans warned his colleagues. “Since 2018, the U.S. Department of Education has identified Iowans as ‘in need of assistance’ implementing the Individuals with Educational Disabilities Act (IDEA).” could determine our course of action.''For the second year in a row, states in need of assistance. ”
He later argued that the federal government could impose conditions on Iowa's federal funds for special education. “In-person monitoring is scheduled for this fall. So the federal government will be in place this fall.” He said the U.S. Department of Education is “trying to step in. The AEA is playing a role in this.” .
Click here for the complete official video of the Iowa Senate debate.