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Gov. Kim Reynolds' proposal to legislators laying out plans to overhaul the state's Area Education Agencies (AEA) this year is being met with concerns from local AEA leaders. "Under my proposal, AEAs will focus solely on students with a disability as they should," said Gov. Reynolds during her Condition of the State address last week. Currently, school districts are required to send special education funding to AEAs, which help all Iowa students with disabilities. There are nine agencies across the state, providing resources for dozens of school districts. Reynolds' proposal would require AEAs to only provide special education services, would shift oversight authority of AEAs to the Department of Education and would give school districts control of how to use special education funding."Meaning they no longer will be mandated to send those funds to AEAs," said Gov. Reynolds during her Condition of the State address. "In short, each school will decide how best to meet the needs of their students." School districts have the option to continue using their current AEA, a neighboring AEA, or contract with a private company. However, the bill, which is still in its very early stages, notes that school leaders would have to indicate what choice they're making by April 30. "We are not reducing special education funding by one dime," said Gov. Reynolds during her address. "We are simply giving control of the funding to those who work directly with your child on a daily basis and we're taking special education off autopilot, where it has been stuck for far too long." However, AEA leaders say their agencies are helpful as is now, especially in rural communities. "We feel really strongly that the AEA system that we currently have in Iowa puts the service closest to children," said Cindy Yelick, the chief administrator for the Heartland AEA. In addition to special education services, AEAs also provide media technology services and education services. "These provide things such as professional learning courses for teachers, literacy, math," said Yelick. "Mental health supports are in that education services piece of the funding." Part of the mental health support, Yelick says, includes providing schools with a crisis response team like the Heartland AEA did when responding to the shooting in Perry earlier this month. "The way the bill is currently written, it would do away with education services and media technology services," said Yelick. Yelick says AEAs are open to reform, but they believe it's important for schools, students, parents, teachers, and administrators to be a part of the conversation.