dustin-hite-2021

A bill that passed the Iowa Senate that has generated opposition from public school advocates will get a longer look in the Iowa House.

District 79 Representative Dustin Hite says the Iowa House is breaking down the controversial Senate File 159 into different components for further examination after it passed the Senate last week; the full bill creates scholarships for students to attend private schools and expands open enrollment rules at districts with voluntary diversity plans.

Hite says House File 228 passed from that original legislation. The bill removes the ability of school districts to deny requests for open enrollment due to voluntary diversity plans adopted by the school districts.

“There are currently five districts in the state with voluntary diversity plans—Des Moines, Waterloo, Postville, West Liberty, and Davenport—and this bill now gives students in those districts the same option as students in all other districts to open enroll out,” he says.

Hear more about that bill and the 2021 Legislative Session on Let’s Talk Pella.