Since 1980, the U.S. Department of Education has provided public school students with fair and equal access to a quality education, regardless of their neighborhood, ability, or differences. The vast majority of our student population attends neighborhood public schools.
The U.S. Department of Education assists Iowa’s public school students through grants to local education agencies, programs helping low-income and homeless students, support for enrichment programs, small and rural school achievement programs, special education grants, Head Start, and childcare programs. These programs have increased graduation rates and provided crucial support to students in need.
Statewide, more than 800 million dollars annually are awarded to 325 school districts for programs helping students achieve, impacting our state’s economy and our ability to grow the next generation of leaders. The abolition of programs in the U.S. Department of Education will directly impact families in every community in Iowa, threatening our children's educational opportunities and the stability of our local economies.
The U.S. Department of Education is a critical advocate for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination and ensuring every student has access to an education that will help them succeed. It was created for this purpose. The potential dismantling of programs would put our most vulnerable students and all students at risk, and we must act urgently to prevent this.
Like ISEA’s mission to advocate for policies and practices that elevate our profession and public education while placing students at the center of everything we do, Iowa’s students and families need our elected leaders to advocate for them. We are calling on our elected officials to support and protect the Iowa students and families they are elected to serve.
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The ISEA represents preK-12 educators, education support professionals, community college faculty, Area Education Agency professionals, retired educators, and aspiring educators with contracts covering more than 50,000 employees. We advocate for policies and practices that elevate the profession and public education while placing students at the center of everything we do.
