(July 22, 2025) If you care about what’s happening in Iowa schools, then you should care about who’s advising our school boards—because it’s not just about library books or LGBTQ+ rights.
School board attorneys help decide whether a district follows civil rights laws. Whether it pushes back on ICE requests. Whether school construction complies with clean water regulations. Whether teachers can name racism. Whether records are released. Whether a district plays it safe—or stands up.
Right now, one law firm—Ahlers & Cooney—is shaping nearly all of those decisions.
They represent at least 250 of Iowa’s 333 school districts. That’s 75%. Public education advocates place the number even higher, estimating Ahlers represents over 90% of school districts. It’s a near-monopoly on legal interpretation and influence in our public schools. When legislation passes, when administrators are unsure, when boards look for direction—it’s often Ahlers they turn to. And when hundreds of districts get the same advice from the same place, that advice stops being just legal counsel. It becomes statewide policy—even when it shouldn’t.
Across Iowa, school boards are being urged—again, by their attorneys—to remove gender identity from non-discrimination policies. In Iowa City and College Community, protections were quietly removed earlier this year. In Urbandale and Clear Creek–Amana, board votes are still coming—In nearly every case, Ahlers & Cooney is the legal voice advising the district’s next move.
At a recent Johnston school board meeting, Ahlers attorney Danielle Haindfield didn’t hide her firm’s reach:
“We represent a lot of school districts in the state—absolutely—and I will tell you; we do take great pride in trying to provide consistent advice.”
That advice doesn’t stop with local districts. Ahlers attorneys provide legal guidance and training to statewide education groups like the Iowa Association of School Business Officials (IASBO) and regularly present at Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) conferences. They help shape not just board decisions but the entire operating culture of public education in Iowa.
And then came this stunning admission:
“There’s nothing in the new law that says you must remove [gender identity]—you are 100% right.”
But it was still the advice Ahlers gave. And many school boards followed it.
It’s happened before. After Senate File 496 passed in 2023, Iowa schools scrambled. Thousands of books were pulled. Teachers were told to take down posters and flags. Identities erased in the name of “compliance.”
In Urbandale, books, Pride flags, Black Lives Matter signs—even Thin Blue Line displays—were ordered down. Not because the law required it, but because the district’s attorneys recommended it.
In a July 2023 email to the school board, Superintendent Rosalie Daca put it in writing:
“The team at Ahler’s worked with us to answer our follow-up questions and provide their legal advice on how to proceed… The attorneys have advised we should move to a neutral state in all buildings PreK–12 to avoid promotion.”
Urbandale changed course—but only after fierce community backlash. Many districts haven’t. And the law? It’s still tied up in court. But the damage was done. Legal advice became censorship, and fear became policy.
In Johnston, when board members recently considered removing protections for trans students, they ultimately resisted. Board member Jason Arnold said:
“There is no legal requirement for us to remove gender identity… So far, the only rationale I’ve heard is that we should not commit to doing anything more than we are legally obligated to do. Frankly, that’s not a sufficient reason to remove a protected class.”
Board member Lya Williams added:
“We hide behind policy and law… identity is what makes us who we are. I don’t see how we can remove a protected federal class and then say we support our students.”
Emily Harris, an attorney who serves on the board of directors for Annies Foundation and is the President of Annies Voice for Change told Good Iowa, “School districts are the clients—not the legislature. Legal advice should be tailored to each district’s needs, with student well-being at the forefront. Instead, Ahlers pushes one-size-fits-all guidance that advances a political agenda.”
This isn’t about legal mandates. It’s about risk aversion. About shaping schools not through community dialogue, but through legal uniformity.
And it raises a bigger question: What happens when a single law firm sets the tone for nearly every district in the state?
Ahlers attorneys don’t just advise on LGBTQ+ inclusion. They shape decisions about ICE access, civil rights complaints, environmental compliance, public records, bond spending, and how schools navigate vague laws.
When most of Iowa’s school boards hear the same guidance from the same firm, we don’t have local control. We have quiet conformity. We lose transparency, accountability, and courage.
This is about more than policy. It’s about power—about who really decides what public schools in Iowa stand for, and what they’re willing to stand up to.
We don’t need legal monoculture. We need leadership.
We need school boards that reflect the communities they serve, not just the attorneys they retain.
Sources:
Iowa Department of Education: School District Directory
Ahlers & Cooney, P.C. – Education Law Practice Overview
Johnston Community School District Board Meeting (July 2025) – Legal advice from Ahlers regarding gender identity
Urbandale Community School District communications (July 2023 superintendent email)
Iowa Senate File 496 (2023) – Iowa Legislature
Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) – Conference Agendas and Speaker Lists
Iowa Association of School Business Officials (IASBO) – Legal Training Presenters
Public reporting from The Gazette, Iowa Capital Dispatch, and Des Moines Register on Linn-Mar, Iowa City, College Community, and Clear Creek–Amana board actions
Iowa Public Radio (IPR) and KCCI coverage of book removals and policy changes