Iowa
Iowa is now paying for more than 27,000 students to attend private schools. Here’s why:
Iowa students using taxpayer-funded education savings accounts to pay for their private education grew to 27,866 participants, according to the Iowa Department of Education.
That’s up more than 60% from the roughly 17,000 students who used the funds for the 2023-24 school year.
The certified enrollment numbers released Friday come from the October 2024 student count and are used to help determine public school funding for the 2025-26 school year, according to the department’s news release.
Education savings accounts and a law that expanded public charter schools were part of Iowa Republicans’ multi-year campaign to increase school choice options.
The ESA program allowed families making up to 400% of the 2024 Federal Poverty Guidelines to apply for approximately $7,800 in public funds per student to cover private school costs, including tuition, according to the state Department of Education.
In all, the state could end up disbursing about $218 million in funds by the end of the school year.
This is the final year of the program’s income restrictions. Next year, the program will be open to all Iowa families, regardless of wealth.
Here is what you should know about the latest ESA, open enrollment and public school student counts:
Has the number of students attending Iowa’s private schools increased?
Yes. Private school enrollment rose nearly 9%, according to state numbers.
“Certified enrollment at Iowa accredited nonpublic schools was 39,356, up from 36,195 last year,” according to the department’s news release.
The Iowa Catholic Conference announced earlier this month that 25,265 students were enrolled for the 2024-25 school year in Catholic schools. Of those students, 16,714, or roughly two-thirds, used the taxpayer-funded education savings accounts.
Iowa Catholic Conference “is the official public policy voice of the Catholic bishops,” according to its website.
What does public school enrollment look around Iowa?
Public school districts saw certified enrollment fall from 483,699 during the 2023-24 school year to 480,665 for 2024-25 school year, a drop of less than 1% statewide, according to the news release.
“State enrollment projections from May 2022, prior to the passing of the Students First Education Savings Account (ESA) program, show a downward trend in public school enrollment starting in the 2023-24 school year and continuing through at least 2026-27,” the release said.
How many students open enrolled out of their home districts?
More than 43,000 public school students open enrolled to another school district, according to the news release.
How many ESA participants are kindergarten students?
Education savings account participants entering kindergarten totaled 3,960.
Did any ESA participants move from public to private school this year?
In all, 1,905 students are using ESAs to go to a private school who attended a public school last school year.
Which schools are kids attending?
State numbers show that 2,968 students living in the Des Moines Public Schools district chose to attend a private school this school year. That’s up from 2,481 students who attended private school during the 2023-24 school year. During the 2022-23 school year, 2,593 area children attended private schools.
The schools Des Moines area students attend include Joshua Christian Academy, Dowling Catholic High School, St. Anthony School and the Bergman Academy.
More than 13% of public school districts had no students living within their district boundaries using education savings accounts, according to the department’s news release. More than 37% of districts had up to 10 ESA students, almost 29% of districts had 11 to 99 ESA students and another 20% had 100 or more ESA students.
Do districts lose state funding when kids leave?
The funds for the roughly $7,826 education savings accounts comes from money that otherwise would have gone to public schools. School districts do receive approximately $1,205 for each ESA student who leaves the district.
That money is meant to help offset the funding loss for public schools.
Where can I find the enrollment numbers?
Certified enrollment numbers for 2024-25 for public schools and accredited nonpublic schools can be found on the department’s website.
Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @svhernandez, Bluesky at @svhernandez.bsky.social or Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter.