A contentious bill that passed to open the 2023 Legislative Session will take effect soon. State Senator Ken Rozenboom chaired the Senate Education committee and has long been a proponent for expanding public funding to private schools, and the Education Savings Accounts approved this year will start in the upcoming fiscal year.
“This was a major piece of legislation that gives all parents additional options for their child’s K-12 education, improves student achievement in Iowa, and improves the quality of education in both public schools and private schools. That legislation was soon followed by our K-12 public education funding bill, which again provided record funding by allocating an additional $107 million over last year.”
All incoming kindergarteners and all K-12 students currently enrolled in a public school district are eligible for the ESA program. Families whose children currently attend an accredited nonpublic school are also eligible for ESAs based on their annual income during the first two years of the program. For the 2023-2024 school year, income eligibility is 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL); and 400 percent FPL for the 2024-2025 school year. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, all K-12 students in Iowa will be eligible for an ESA regardless of income.
The following rules specify some eligibility requirements for students currently attending an accredited nonpublic school:
– Parents or guardians of students currently enrolled in an accredited nonpublic school will verify their income eligibility using “net income” from their 2022 state tax form.
– Household size will be determined by the number of people who reside together and are related by birth, marriage, adoption, legal guardianship, or by placement in the home through a state agency. “Household” includes parents, student applicants, and other children who share at least one parent by birth, adoption, a parent’s current marriage, or placement in the home through a state agency.
– Students must be enrolled full time at an accredited nonpublic school.