Des Moines, IA (Radio Iowa)–Governor Kim Reynolds says it is time for state officials to complete a full review of the state’s nine Area Education Agencies.

Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says the AEAs are a bureaucratic invention that have been in place for five decades.

Whitver says the per pupil cost of A-E-A services is above the national average.

About 70 percent of the work at A-E-As supports children with disabilities, but the A-E-As provide other services like speech therapy for students and curriculum advice for teachers. Governor Reynolds is asking for the review after standardized testing found students with disabilities scored up to 50 points lower on math when compared to the statewide average.