Trump officials loosen strings on federal education money for Iowa. More states could follow
Source: ABC News/AP
January 7, 2026, 11:46 AM
WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration is giving Iowa more power to decide how it spends its federal education money, signing off on a proposal that is expected to be the first of many as conservative states seek new latitude from a White House promising to “return education to the states.”
Iowa was the first state to apply for an exemption from certain spending rules after Education Secretary Linda McMahon invited states to request the flexibility last year. Such waivers have been offered for years but are finding new interest as Trump officials leverage all available tools to remove the federal government from local education.
McMahon formally approved Iowa's plan Wednesday at an event in the state. Indiana and Kansas have also applied to be exempted from certain parts of federal education law, and leaders of other states have expressed interest. McMahon told The Associated Press that the new flexibility will free up time and money now devoted to ensuring compliance with federal rules.
With fewer strings attached, states can pool their federal dollars toward priorities of their choosing, including literacy or teacher training, she said. “We are eliminating that sort of, not bottleneck, but that additional compliance for the states, and that's just going to be incredibly helpful to the state,” McMahon said. “It’s not going to have go through the Department of Education, and it’s going to flow directly more to the states," McMahon said.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/trump-officials-loosen-strings-federal-education-money-iowa-128984705
Grover Norquist's wet dream - "block grant" everything.
