U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona took a swipe Thursday at Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ parental rights law.
Cardona took a trip to Iowa to visit the Perry Community School District and the Des Moines Area Community College to learn about the college's teacher apprenticeship and pipeline program.
Before discussing the state of rural education in the Hawkeye State, Cardona had an interview with the Des Moines Register to talk about Reynolds' parental rights law.
"What I'm seeing here in Iowa, what I'm seeing in other places, is an overreach of state government," the Education Secretary told the Des Moines Register.
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Cardona's comments came shortly after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa sued Reynolds over the parental rights bill she passed earlier this year.
In May, Reynolds signed the law to prevent teachers from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students from kindergarten through grade six, and removed all books depicting sex acts from school libraries, with religious texts exempt.
The law also requires school administrators to notify parents if students ask to change their pronouns or names.
In response, the ACLU and Lambda Legal are pushing back with a lawsuit, arguing that the law imposes "ongoing irreparable harm to LGBTQ+ students."
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Cardona explained further to the Des Moines Register that he believes parents should be involved in education. However, although the two agree on parental involvement, he believes that Reynolds' efforts go too far.
"I agree with Gov. Reynolds that parents need to be a bigger part of how we educate our students," Cardona said.
"One of the things I said a couple years ago is as we recover from the pandemic, let's not go back to what it was before the pandemic," he said. "We need to improve education and that means improving access for parents and decision-making."
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Cardona also took issue with a handful of parents making decisions for all children.
Parents and caregivers have a right to say, "I don't want my child being exposed to this book" or lesson, he said.
"What I don't like is having a small group of parents make decisions for everybody else's kids," Cardona said. "And I see that happening more and more."
Per the Des Moines Register, Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow is expected to join Cardona in a roundtable discussion.
The governor’s office told Fox News Digital they were notified by email on Tuesday of the Secretary’s visit, but not invited to meet. They added that, regardless, the governor was unavailable due to prior commitments.
Reynolds told Fox News Digital that she is "proud that Iowa’s first-in-the-nation Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Program is gaining even more national attention with Sec. Cardona’s visit today."
"With 19 programs across 136 partnering school districts, 726 apprentices are on their way to teaching in an Iowa school," she said.
"A strong education system is critical to the success of our state. In Iowa, that includes public, public charter, and private schools, and by allowing funds to follow students to the school of the choice, we create opportunities for all families regardless of income or zip code and elevate the entire system."
"Parent engagement also supports student success, which is why we recognize parents as the primary decision-makers regarding their children’s education and ensure that schools are transparent about what’s being taught in their classrooms. I stand by Iowa’s legislation that protects children from sexually explicit materials in school," Reynolds added.
The DOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
