Iowa

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Iowa
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School & District Management Opinion Lessons From a 'Vetted' Superintendent's Fall From Grace
The temptation to chase the "new new thing" has big costs for schooling.
Rick Hess, November 4, 2025
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5 min read
Illustration of a businessman standing on a very large hand and shining a flashlight down on a group of diverse professionals.
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Recruitment & Retention Inside the Superintendent Hiring Process, and Where It Can Go Wrong
A superintendent’s arrest in Iowa exposed weaknesses in a district's vetting of its top leader.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens & Ileana Najarro, October 10, 2025
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12 min read
Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts visits the McKee Education Center on the first day of school, Sept. 4, 2025.
Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts visits the McKee Education Center on the first day of school, Sept. 4, 2025. Roberts resigned from his position as superintendent on Sept. 30 after immigration officers arrested him on Sept. 26.
Courtesy of Des Moines Public Schools
School & District Management Iowa Superintendent Ian Roberts Arrested by ICE: What We Know So Far
Ian Roberts resigned as superintendent of the Des Moines district on Sept. 30, after he was arrested by ICE.
Ileana Najarro, September 30, 2025
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7 min read
Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts visits with preschoolers at the Taylor Education Center on Sept. 23, 2025, in Des Moines.
Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts visits with preschoolers at the Taylor Education Center on Sept. 23, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. He is currently being held by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Courtesy of Des Moines Public Schools
School & District Management ICE Detains Superintendent of Iowa’s Largest School District
Immigration officers detained the Des Moines, Iowa public schools superintendent, officials said.
Ileana Najarro & Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, September 26, 2025
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3 min read
Tightly cropped photo of an African American woman's hands around a paper cutout of different colored paper people.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management A Superintendent's Balancing Act Amid Trump's DEI Crackdown
Districts are trying to navigate a dizzying pace of new federal orders and continue working with as little fanfare as possible.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 23, 2025
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6 min read
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025.
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025.
Ben Curtis/AP
Standards & Accountability States Are Testing How Much Leeway They Can Get From Trump's Ed. Dept.
A provision in the Every Student Succeeds Act allows the secretary of education to waive certain state requirements.
Alyson Klein & Brooke Schultz, March 24, 2025
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7 min read
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filo/DigitalVision Vectors
School Choice & Charters States Are Spending Billions on Private School Choice. But Is It Truly Universal?
More than half a million students in eight states last school year took advantage of private school choice open to all students.
Mark Lieberman, October 8, 2024
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7 min read
Nolden Grohe, 16, feeds exotic fish during Marine Biology class at Central Campus in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 27, 2024.
Nolden Grohe, 16, feeds exotic fish during Marine Biology class at Central Campus in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 27, 2024. The Iowa school system has had a hands-on program for three decades that has introduced students to career possibilities in aquarium science, marine biology, and related fields.
Rachel Mummey for Education Week
Science A Marine Science Program in a Surprising Place Shows Students New Career Options
It's hard to find teachers for STEM subjects, but a school system in a landlocked state has found a way to make it work with marine science.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, September 30, 2024
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5 min read
Illustration of a person holding a bag of money with a hole in it, where coins are falling out, with a chart behind showing loss.
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School Choice & Charters How Private School Choice Complicates Public School Budgets
Districts are seeing higher costs and fuzzier enrollment projections as more states give parents public funds for private education.
Mark Lieberman, September 16, 2024
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12 min read
Conceptual image of business growth goals and success goals showing scattered wooden blocks with arrow icons and red target icons.
Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Public Schools Launch Marketing Campaigns to Compete With School Choice
“It signals that public schools want to be the schools of choice in a choice environment," says one researcher.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, August 19, 2024
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6 min read
An LGBTQ+ related book is seen on shelf at Fabulosa Books a store in the Castro District of San Francisco on Thursday, June 27, 2024. "Books Not Bans" is a program initiated and sponsored by the store that sends boxes of LGBTQ+ books to LGBTQ+ organizations in conservative parts of America, places where politicians are demonizing and banning books with LGBTQ+ affirming content.
An LGBTQ+ book section is seen at Fabulosa Books, a store in San Francisco, on June 27, 2024. A federal appeals court has reinstated an Iowa law that prohibits books depicting sex from public school libraries. Challengers claim the law has led school districts to remove scores of books out of fear of violating the law.
Haven Daley/AP
Law & Courts Iowa's Book Ban Is Reinstated by Appeals Court But Case Against It Will Continue
The Iowa law bars books depicting sex in school libraries and discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in preK-6.
Mark Walsh, August 9, 2024
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4 min read
cellphone distraction policy bans in schools static
Laura Baker/Education Week via canva
Ed-Tech Policy Tracker Which States Ban or Restrict Cellphones in Schools?
See which states are requiring cellphone restrictions or bans in schools.
Arianna Prothero, Lauraine Langreo & Alyson Klein, June 28, 2024
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1 min read
Hourglass and Benjamin Franklin portrait on one hundred dollar bill.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Budget & Finance Spending ESSER Funds Will Come Down to the Wire for Some Districts. Here's Why
Schools have until September to commit federal relief dollars. In some cases, spending every last penny could be tricky.
Mark Lieberman, April 5, 2024
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7 min read
Pencil Eraser Erasing Drawn Figure
AndreyPopov/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Teacher Layoffs Are Mounting. How Districts Can Soften the Blow
Layoffs are coming in districts large and small. Here's how district leaders can handle them.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens & Mark Lieberman, March 13, 2024
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8 min read
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