Iowa leads nation with education waiver approval

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Education has introduced the Returning Education to the States Waiver, granting states greater flexibility in using federal funding.

Iowa is the first state to receive approval for the waiver.

The department claims that the waiver is flexible and will reduce compliance costs, allowing almost $8 million to be redirected from bureaucratic red tape to the classroom over four years.

Iowa is the first state in the nation to receive federal approval to redirect federal resources from compliance to the classroom in its innovative Unified Allocation Plan.

State funds from several Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs are combined into a single block grant of about $3.8 million for 2024 and 2025, allowing the state to support statewide professional learning, including literacy and instruction for English learners, at no cost to schools.

State education leaders plan to use the redirected funds to expand support for literacy training, strengthen their teacher...