While a host of proposals are heading to committees at the Iowa Capitol in the first two weeks of the 2023 session, a priority of Governor Kim Reynolds and the majority of Iowa Republicans has been the center of attention.
In their newsletters this week, Senator Ken Rozenboom and Representative Barb Kniff-McCulla of Pella both remained strong in their support of a bill that by Fiscal Year 2026 would expand $7,600 scholarships for any Iowa student to attend a private K-12 school.
After passing in committees in both the Iowa House and Iowa Senate, the measure is open for debate among the entire chambers this coming week. Rozenboom is chair of the Senate Education Committee, and says while this version of a “school choice” bill is new, the discussion around the topic isn’t and has been ongoing for several years.
“Many years ago, Iowa established what I call a ‘social contract’ with the families of school age children,” Rozenboom syas. “We, the state, will direct taxpayer money to an exclusive public-school system whose job is to provide a basic education for all Iowa students. Inherent in that contract was a trust that schools would provide education to our students to set them up for success in adulthood. Most of our public schools continue to respect that trust. Some schools in Iowa, however, have broken the public trust.”
Rozenboom referred to the Des Moines Public Schools and their response to COVID-19 and the Linn-Mar School District expressing support for LGTBQ+ and gender identity rights as signs that public K-12 schools don’t align with the vision of many Iowans. The senator in his 11th year in Des Moines also challenges claims of opponents that passing Education Savings Accounts will destroy public education by redirecting funds from those institutions to private schools not held to the same standards.
“The governor’s bill also includes over $1,200 per student in new funding for public schools with resident students attending a non-public school,” he says. “Public schools will keep their property tax revenue and they will receive an estimated $1,200 in state aid for each resident student opting for private education with an ESA.”
By the time it is fully implemented, the current version of the Student First Act would cost approximately $340 million annually, which would include the $7,600 scholarships for all eligible private school students and an additional $1,205 in per pupil funding for the public school systems’ boundaries those families live in. The first two years include a phase in for families making less than 300% of the federal poverty line in 2023-24 and 400% in 2024-25, before it opens to all regardless of income.
Critics of the bill — from Democrats to public school lobbyists and dozens of comments made at public hearings at the Iowa Statehouse, remain concerned about the impact the proposal could have, especially on rural public districts that may have students leave for private options not available locally, as well as potential future strain on Iowa budgets if revenue falls short, and where those cuts could ultimately come from between public K-12 schools or preserving the private school scholarships, or what those challengers continue to call a voucher program. There is also worry that private schools can continue to accept or deny any student for any reason — and that by receiving public dollars, those institutions should need to revise their admission policies for special education or at-risk students, according to the proposal’s opponents.