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.
Five people were shot and injured at an Iowa City pedestrian mall near the University of Iowa campus overnight, police said Sunday. Students from the university were among the injured, according to school officials.
The Iowa City Police Department responded to a report of a large fight in the 100 Block of East College Street at 1:46 a.m. early Sunday, the department said in a news release. Arriving officers heard gunfire.
Multiple victims were hospitalized, police said. Police confirmed to CBS News that one person was in critical condition, while the other four victims are stable.
University of Iowa President Barb Wilson said in a statement that three students were among those shot. None of the victims has been publicly identified.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. Police said they are seeking information about five “persons of interest associated with this shooting.” The university also shared the request for information.
The pedestrian mall was closed for several hours and reopened Sunday afternoon.
Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:
Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field
Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.
Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field
Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.
Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field
Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.
Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field
Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.
Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis
Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.
Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf
One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.
Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf
An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.
Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field
Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.
Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field
The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.
About Our Athlete of the Week Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
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The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.
Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.
The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.
After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.
“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”
Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.
A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.
He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.
A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.
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