Iowa House lawmakers’ new plan to overhaul Iowa’s Area Education Agencies advanced out of the Iowa House Education Committee on Thursday, barely scraping upcoming legislative deadlines.

House Study Bill 713 makes massive changes to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ original proposal to overhaul the nine AEAs. The changes are to key parts of the governor’s bill.

The bill now requires school districts to use AEA special education services and allows schools to start using outside services for media and education services starting in the 2025-26 school year.

The bill would also create a task force to prepare recommendations for the Iowa legislature and Iowa Department of Education on Special Education services in the state and how to improve them.

The bill passed out of the Iowa House Education Committee on party lines, 15-8, Thursday afternoon.

During a subcommittee on the bill, Democrats and advocates said the bill represented a stark contrast to the governor’s original bill, which is now dead since it didn’t meet legislative deadlines, and a Senate version of the bill.

A large portion of the groups remain opposed to the bill asking for more changes to perfect the bill, Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Orange City, said he remains committed to changing the bill before it sees debate on the House floor.

Advocates for special education services said the bill’s prohibition on operational sharing would hurt rural districts.

Melissa Peterson, a lobbyist with the Iowa State Education Association, the primary union for Iowa’s school teachers, said the bill isn’t perfect but a net improvement from other versions.

“This is our favorite so far of the proposals that we’ve seen this year,” Peterson said. “But we think there’s still an opportunity for improvement.”

Heather Sievers, an advocate with Advocates for Iowa’s Children, said schools can attempt to anticipate what services will be needed, but without the ability to share providers like school psychologists and counselors it makes it hard for AEAs to fill in.

The Democrat on the panel Rep. Sharon Sue Steckman, D-Mason City, said she was concerned with placing so much power in the Iowa Department of Education given the recent turnover in the director role.

But, Steckman said, she was pleased that the bill was a step forward and has, “at least some input from the stakeholders.”

Wheeler said he has remained focused on ensuring the bill improves special education as a whole while drafting the alternative to the governor’s flagship proposal for the session.

“This is the centerpiece of this to me the entire time has been about improving outcomes for our special education students,” Wheeler said during his closing remarks on the bill during the vote in the Iowa House Education Committee Thursday. “I have a daughter with autism. This is very near and dear to me personally. We have watched the incredible things that her teachers have done, preparing us which have a very soft spot in my heart. And so, as we watch this move forward, I keep that in mind the entire time.”