The Education Department made its first move of the new year to “return education to the states” by issuing a waiver to give more flexible federal dollars to Iowa, with other states hoping to follow suit.
Iowa can now avoid some reporting requirements while receiving $9 million in federal money that it can spend on any educational aspect it chooses. The move, intended to cut red tape, worries critics, as it could hurt English language learners and those who lost dedicated federal dollars, while others are skeptical the Department of Education has the manpower to track how the waivers are used due to agency layoffs under President Trump.
The department has signaled more states will receive such waivers in the future…