In her 2025 Condition of the State address, Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, proposed legislation that aims to improve math and civics education in Iowa schools. This proposed bill will be one of the Governor’s defining acts for this legislative session and will call for a shift in focus to address the state of Iowa student’s math scores, which have recently dropped in national ranking.
One primary function of the bill will be to determine which Iowa schools need additional professional development in math education and have sufficient resources and then provide those educators with more teaching instruction toward creating personalized plans for students struggling with math. Through this bill the Iowa Department of Education will also provide nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools with supplemental mathematic instruction plans and at-home math learning resources to help better teach important topics within mathematics. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Education will provide schools with approved screeners, or student skills assessments, for teachers to utilize as they assess students and implement interventions and support plans for those who have consistently low math test scores.
This bill has gone through several changes as it has progressed through the legislative process, and some in the legislature are unsure how it can hope to implement these changes in the schools that truly need them when they already suffer from a lack of funding and resources. But McKenzie Snow, Iowa Department of Education director, remains confident that the state will be able to “use existing resources to fund the professional development for districts and schools that need it most.”
Gov. Kim Reynolds proposes bill to improve Iowa students' math scores.
