Iowa became the first state in the nation to be approved for a sweeping federal education waiver that allows state leaders to bypass major federal compliance requirements and give the state more flexibility on how federal education money is spent, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) and Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced on Wednesday.
The approval positions Iowa as the national test case for the Trump administration’s effort to return greater control over education policy and funding from Washington to the states. The waiver allows Iowa to consolidate and manage 100% of its federal “state activities” education funding through a single block grant, significantly reducing reporting and paperwork requirements tied to federal dollars.
“I am thrilled to announce that Iowa is leading the nation as the first state approved for the returning education-to-the-states waiver,” McMahon said during a press conference at Broadway Elementary School in Denison. “This is a groundbreaking first step that gives state leaders more control over federal education dollars.”
Under the new framework, Iowa officials estimated the state would redirect nearly $8 million over four years and thousands of staff hours away from compliance work and into classrooms. State leaders said those resources will instead be used to strengthen the teacher pipeline, expand evidence-based reading and math instruction, narrow achievement gaps, and support career and postsecondary readiness.
“Iowa will begin shifting nearly $8 million and thousands of hours of staff time from bureaucracy to actually putting that expertise and those resources in the classroom,” Reynolds said. “That means greater flexibility to strengthen the teacher pipeline, narrow student achievement gaps, and continue our work to expand evidence-based instruction.”
McMahon framed the waiver as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to dismantle what she described as an overly centralized federal education system.
“It’s breaking up the education bureaucracy in Washington, D.C., and returning responsibility for educating children to the states,” McMahon said. “States should lead. Washington should support and get out of the way.”
McMahon also announced that Iowa was approved as an ED-Flex state. The designation allows Iowa to grant school districts waivers from certain federal education requirements without first seeking approval from the Department of Education, further reducing administrative burdens on districts.
Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said the added flexibility will be particularly helpful for smaller and rural districts that often struggle to use relatively modest federal allocations under rigid federal rules.
“These first steps provide targeted local flexibilities and allow us to focus 100% of federal state-level resources on efforts that have the greatest impact on student achievement and growth,” Snow said.
State officials and McMahon cited Iowa’s recent academic gains as a key reason the state was selected to lead the initiative. Reynolds pointed to increases in third-grade literacy and science proficiency, along with a sharp reduction in chronic absenteeism, as evidence that Iowa’s education reforms are producing results.
Pointing to Iowa’s adoption of science-of-reading instruction and its expansion of work-based learning, McMahon framed the state as a model for what can happen when education decisions are made locally.
“You didn’t just envision change,” McMahon said. “You didn’t just talk about it. You did it.”
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McMahon said the administration hopes Iowa’s approval will open the door for similar waivers nationwide.
“Iowa should not be the last,” she said. “This is just the beginning.”