Education
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Don’t be fooled by ‘increased’ teacher pay: Iowa news and layoffs for May 7, 2026
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, but while public school teachers in Iowa got a bump in pay from the Iowa Legislature, they’re still making less than they were 10 years ago because of inflation.
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Taxpayer money, private schools: How vouchers stripped Des Moines Public of $47M
The Hawkeye State implemented a taxpayer-funded private school scholarship program three years ago. It’s since cost Iowa’s largest public school district nearly $47.5 million in state funding.
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Meet the teacher behind one of Iowa’s most in-demand high school choirs
Roosevelt High School’s Bridges 2 Harmony is Iowa’s oldest ongoing high school gospel choir, and it’s led by 2022 Simpson College graduate Alexander Gray.
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Iowa grandma worries about feeding her grandkids as cuts to SNAP loom
President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will serve up more barriers for families to enroll in school meal programs, like SNAP. Iowa school officials are bracing themselves—hoping they can help make sure their students will have full stomachs so they can learn.
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Why are there so many school bond referendums in Iowa?
There are 55 bond measures on the ballot for Iowa’s Nov. 4 election. Of those, 41 come from school districts that need improvements and renovations beyond what the state education budget can cover. It’s one of the largest bond cycles in state history—but what’s driving it?
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Des Moines schools still focused on $265 million bond vote, despite Ian Roberts arrest
30,000 reasons. That’s what Interim Superintendent Matt Smith said he would point to: the district’s 30,000 students, when asked why Des Moines Public Schools’ upcoming bond referendum still matters in the wake of the recent scandal involving former superintendent Ian Roberts.
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What we know about Ian Roberts, the Des Moines Superintendent arrested by ICE
The former Des Moines Public School superintendent’s arrest by ICE has garnered international attention and prompted a closer look at his background.
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Urbandale now 6th Iowa school district to protect trans and nonbinary students
Urbandale has joined five other Iowa school districts in voting to protect its transgender and nonbinary students.
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Iowa Board of Regents tries banning university courses that teach about social justice
The Iowa Legislature passed a bill this session banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and trainings by “public entities,” including Iowa’s public universities. And they spelled out exactly what they don’t want us to learn about: “unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, anti-racism, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neopronouns, heteronormativity,…
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Critics warn of ‘money laundering’ as Iowa expands school voucher program
Iowans have a right to know how their taxpayer dollars are being used—but when it comes to the state’s private school voucher program, that’s not what’s happening. Iowa’s state auditor and others say the program has no oversight into how public funds are spent—and it was made that way on purpose. Fun summer days in…
