Iowa First to Take Federal ‘Education to the States Waiver’
On January 7, Iowa became the first state to be approved for the federal government’s “Education to the States Waiver,” which will redirect more than $8 million from the federal level to state education. WHO News in DesMoines reported that U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon visited the “Broadway Elementary School in Denison” to mark the occasion, joined by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and McKenzie Snow, the director of Iowa’s Department of Education.
The school showed off its new AI reading program from Amira Learning, which it says has led to “a 7% increase in literacy in just one year.” The program’s Science Behind Amira web page states that the program teaches “Phonological & Phonemic Awareness,” “Phonics & Word Recognition,” “Listening & Reading Comprehension,” among other literacy-focused lessons.
Governor Reynolds said in a press conference following the Broadway school visit that her state welcomes the funding, which she explained will support the programs that are improving results in math and reading for Iowa students. “This means greater flexibility to strengthen the teacher pipeline, narrow student achievement gaps, and to continue our work in evidence-based instruction,” Reynolds said.
Secretary McMahon said that at the Broadway school what she saw was kids “enjoying being in the classroom, interacting with each other, and teachers asking probing questions, causing students to think.”
The funding will be available to Iowa’s Department of Education through 2028.
How waivers work
Returning Education to the States is a federal initiative designed to return education authority to each individual state. This push was fueled both by plummeting national test scores in reading, writing, and math, and by the Trump Administration’s promise to send the responsibility for education back where the president has said it belongs: the states.
The project’s website reads:
- [I]n 2024, only 35% of fourth and eighth graders in our nation were proficient in reading, and only 39% of fourth graders and 28% of eighth graders were proficient in mathematics ... Our nation’s failing education system is a direct threat to our economic strength, national security, and civic health. We must restore excellence in education.
On July 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education sent letters to all chief state school officers inviting them to use the waiver process in order to be provided with “more discretion over federal programs so that they can put dollars toward options that best meet the needs of students free from bureaucratic red tape.”
The letters outlined “the existing flexibilities for states to reduce compliance burdens, the steps necessary in developing waiver requests, and the Department of Education’s review process for waivers.”
An article on the Noah Webster Educational Foundation website summarized the waiver program in Iowa and weighed the likelihood of its being replicated in other states.
Calling the Iowa’s waiver approval “a historic move,” the article explained that, in sum, it will allow the state “to combine multiple federal programs into a single flexible funding pool.” Previously, programs covered under the various titles of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), e.g., Title II (teacher training) or Title III (support for English learners), as well as district level programs, e.g., Title I-A, Title I-D, and Title IV-A, all have individual rules and requirements that involve separate reporting and paperwork.
The new waiver program streamlines all this and “lets the state and [school] districts coordinate funding across programs” so priorities like teacher training and improving student outcomes in reading and math can be the focus.
The article summarized how Iowa’s waiver program flexibility will play out on a day-to-day basis:
- The state will be able to manage funds from multiple federal programs (Title II, III, and IV) as a single block grant, allowing the prioritization of initiatives that best meet statewide education needs....
- Local districts will gain flexibility with Title I A, I D, and IV A funds, enabling them to plan multi-year programs tailored to tutoring, enrichment, and additional supports.
- Effective reporting and reduced compliance requirements will free up educators’ time, enabling them to focus their efforts rather than being forced to navigate multiple federal rules.
In short, “the waiver is designed to let funds follow local and student priorities, giving the state and districts the tools to make education decisions that work best for their schools.”
Will other states follow Iowa?
While the Webster Foundation believes the localization of education through the waiver approval system will help ensure “that education decisions reflect the needs of local students and families,” only time will tell how successful it will be. Meanwhile, other states are likely to follow Iowa’s lead.
In fact, the Webster Foundation notes that “other states are watching closely,” and that the Iowa model “could influence how federal education funds are administered nationwide.” If Iowa is successful, it could become the poster child for how public education can be freed from federal bureaucracy and excessive regulation.
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