K‑12 Education Governance

Former Des Moines schools superintendent Ian Roberts has signed a plea agreement and is expected to plead guilty to falsely attesting to U.S. citizenship on an I‑9 and to unlawful possession of firearms as a non‑citizen, with the deal acknowledging he could be deported and exposing him to maximum penalties of five years and $250,000 on the false‑statement count and 15 years and $250,000 on the firearms count. Court filings and ICE say he fled a Sept. 26, 2025 traffic stop after which agents found a loaded handgun wrapped in a towel and $3,000 in a school‑issued Jeep Cherokee and later seized three more guns from his home; filings also outline a long immigration history ending in a 2024 final removal order that district officials say they were unaware of.

Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds says his office will ask a New Jersey judge to dismiss all charges against Atlantic City superintendent La’Quetta Small and high school principal Constance Days‑Chapman, weeks after Mayor Marty Small Sr. was acquitted on similar child‑abuse counts involving their teenage daughter. Reynolds said the now‑18‑year‑old daughter has told prosecutors she does not want the case to go forward, and he cited both her wishes and the prior not‑guilty verdict for the mayor in deciding not to proceed. La’Quetta Small had been set for an April trial on endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault, while Days‑Chapman was accused of failing to report the teen’s abuse allegation to state child‑welfare officials; both had pleaded not guilty. The dismissal request, which still requires a judge’s approval, effectively ends a high‑profile case that raised questions about alleged abuse inside a prominent political family and about whether a school principal met mandatory‑reporting obligations. Her attorney argued the matter should have been handled through counseling or family court rather than criminal prosecution, underscoring ongoing debates over how aggressively authorities should pursue intra‑family abuse allegations when the alleged victim no longer wants to cooperate.