Zaun Defends His Bill to Kill Iowa Education Department

I recently filed a bill, SF 2241, to eliminate the Iowa Department of Education. Many individuals and entities have called my proposal extreme or unrealistic.

While eliminating the Iowa Department of Education may be a radical change from the status quo, is it necessarily a bad thing? Some would still argue that it is while others would argue the merits that the legislation highlights. 

One of the major success factors in Iowa’s history has been its educational strength. From one-room school houses in every township to modern-day school districts that can span entire cities and across county lines, one important factor remained in place: local control.

Over the last 20 years, there have been several attempts to reduce or eliminate local control from school districts. These efforts have included the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the adoption of Iowa’s Core Curriculum. Both these pieces of legislation took power from local school districts when it comes to setting educational standards. These are the same local districts that, for decades, set effective standards and generated the best educated students in the nation. 

The governor’s education reform bill included provisions for an Innovation Fund and for granting the Director of the Department of Education waiver authority from many state educational standards. Both of these initiatives were aimed at providing more local control to school districts in an effort to encourage more rigor.

What is often overlooked is the fact that without the Department of Education, all local districts would have the power to make changes and innovate on their own, without the bureaucratic headache.

My bill isn’t an “ideological overreaction,” as Department of Education Director Jason Glass called it. The bill is a starting point in the conversation on restoring local control to Iowa’s school districts and true education reform. 

It is no coincidence that student performance started its downward trend when the Department of Education was formed. I have the utmost confidence in our local school boards’ leadership to make decisions for what is best for their individual school districts. 

While many provisions of education reform are aimed at providing more local control, there is only one piece of legislation that would have provided complete local control. SF 2241 gives all school districts complete local control. It holds local schools accountable for their actions without providing a bureaucratic scapegoat and provides a means for parents to choose the school that best suits their students’ needs.

Before summarily dismissing this bill based on media portrayal, it deserves discussion on the merits of the local control it offers. 

There are two public forums set in Urbandale with my friend, Rep. Scott Raecker. The forums are sponsored by the great Urbandale Chamber and will take place at 2900 Justin Drive, Suite L. on the following dates: 

Saturday, March 31 - 10:30 am to noon

Saturday, April 28 - 10:30 am to noon 

Please join me when you can. If you cannot attend please email me at brad.zaun@legis.iowa.gov or call 515-281-3371. I am always interested in your opinion and it is truly an honor to serve you!