Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Norris, who launched her campaign for Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat on Aug. 5, announced her decision in a news release on Thursday.
Norris’s withdrawal came one day after Axios Des Moines reported Norris had confirmed to them she would remain in the race “despite ongoing fallout from the [Des Moines school] superintendent scandal and increasing attacks from Republicans.”
“The recent Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent crisis demanded my full attention as Board Chair and, overnight, put the School Board, our community, and me personally in the crosshairs of vicious and coordinated attacks,” Norris said in her news release on Thursday. “Those realities took time and oxygen away from the work I set out to do: stand up for our kids and families — and the backbone of our communities, their educators and caregivers.”
DMPS Superintendent Ian Roberts was taken into custody by ICE agents on Sept. 26. Roberts, a citizen of Guyana, had presented himself as a U.S. citizen, and reportedly provided false documentation to support that claim, when he was hired by the Des Moines School Board and issued a license by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners in 2023.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court by the Department of Justice, Roberts entered the country on an F-1 student visa in March 1999, which expired in March 2004. After Roberts, who is married to an American citizen, made several unsuccessful attempts to get permanent resident status, an immigration judge issues an order of final removal in May 2024. Roberts appealed the decision, and in April that appeal was rejected.
The DOJ criminal complaint filed in federal court in Des Moines on Oct. 1 charges Roberts with four counts of being in possession of a firearm without having legal status to be in the country. Roberts is currently being held in Polk County Jail.
After it was informed of ICE detaining Roberts, the Des Moines School Board voted to put him on paid administrative leave. Two days later, the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners revoked Roberts’ license to be school administrator. The school board changed his status to unpaid leave, and requested the incarcerated superintendent submit a written explanation regarding his citizenship status and related matters. Instead, Roberts had his attorney submit a letter of resignation.
“The Des Moines School Board is also a victim of deception by Dr. Roberts, one on a growing list that includes our students and teachers, our parents and community, our elected officials and Iowa’s Board of Educational Examiners, and others,” Norris said in the news release on behalf of the school board, after it voted unanimously to accept Roberts’ resignation during a special session. “We are committed to the community we serve and will find ways to improve our entire process as we move forward.”
The board has filed a lawsuit against the consulting firm it hired to conduct its 2023 superintendent search, alleging the firm failed to properly vet Roberts before presenting him as a finalist.
“As Chair of the School Board, we stepped up and are bringing accountability — leading with grace, transparency, and resolve,” Norris said in her news release on Thursday. “To that end, it’s clear I need to focus on the work at hand: leading the board through this transition, working to support the passage of the Reimagining Education bond, and fully participating in ongoing investigations to get the answers our community deserves.”
Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand announced on Tuesday his office would audit DMPS to examine how public money was used during Roberts’ tenure. A report by the Associated Press last week revealed that three months after he was hired by DMPS, Roberts unsuccessfully tried to have the district award $116,000 in contracts to a consulting firm he was a partner in. Roberts did not disclose his stake in the consulting firm.
“After reading those reports, yeah, we have concerns,” Sand said when he announced the audit.
In her news release on Thursday, Norris said, the “most important thing to me is that Iowa elects a Democratic U.S. Senator who will put Iowans, and our state, first. Because in this moment we need a voice in Washington who will serve as a check on this President, and is focused on delivering for our families.”
