PREVIEW: Iowa MBB vs Minnesota

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.

Iowa Catholic schools see enrollment jump as more students embrace taxpayer-funded tuition

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.

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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.

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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.

Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad believes Iowa will prosper during the second term of President Donald Trump.

The Republican Party of Polk County celebrated Trump’s inauguration by holding a fundraiser at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates.

Trump, the 45th president, was sworn in as the 47th president Monday afternoon in Washington, D.C., after he defeated Kamala Harris in November’s general election.

Branstad and Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann opened the cocktail mixer in Des Moines Monday evening by making remarks.

The fundraiser coincided with other inauguration balls happening in Washington Monday night. Nearby, the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge lit up in red, white and blue to celebrate the new president’s inauguration.

“Donald Trump carried Iowa three times, and we’re proud of that,” Branstad told the crowd of a few dozen people. “And a lot of sweat, not only for that, but for all these other Republicans who’ve been elected.”

Kaufman told the crowd that Polk County is important for the Iowa Republican Party.

“This is Iowa’s largest county,” Kaufman said. “This is important what goes on here.”

What did Trump say during his inauguration?

In a speech after he was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Trump said “America’s decline is over.”

He outlined a series of sweeping executive orders he later signed to curb immigration, boost fossil fuel production and roll back environmental regulations, the first steps in enacting a far-reaching agenda that would reshape the government while testing the limits of presidential authority.

He said he was declaring a national emergency at the southern border with Mexico, dispatching troops there and resuming a policy forcing asylum-seeking migrants to wait in Mexico for their U.S. court hearings — all a prelude to what he described as an unprecedented operation to deport millions of immigrants.

“All illegal entry will be immediately halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Trump said.

Trump is the first president in more than a century to win a second term after losing the White House and the first felon to occupy the Oval Office.

The Iowa Chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation — a democratic-socialist party — planned a protest of Trump’s policies at the Iowa State Capitol Monday evening. But the protest was postponed until 2 p.m. Saturday because of temperatures around 1 degree at 5 p.m.

Republicans are now the working class party, Branstad said

Branstad, 78, served as the U.S. Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2020 during Trump’s first term. Trump expanded party, Branstad said.

Kaufmann became the Iowa GOP Chair in 2014. Kaufmann also worked to diversify the party, Branstad said.

“It used to be the Democrats were the party of the working people, and we were the party of business,” Branstad said. “Today we’re the party of working people and business, and we’re electing Republicans in a lot of areas that you didn’t used to elect Republicans.”

The Iowa Republican party is in its strongest place in the last 50 years with a Republican as governor, supermajorities in the Iowa House and Senate, Kaufmann said. As a result the party is adding people, he said.

“We’ve grown the amount of Republicans we have in this state,” Kaufmann said. “We’ve kept essentially everyone that was in our base, and Donald Trump has added to our blue-collar roots.”

What other Iowa politicians said about Trump’s inauguration

In a statement Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Trump’s inauguration gave Iowans the chance to recommit to freedom, justice, equality and opportunities for all people.

“Inauguration days are a celebration of new beginnings and an opportunity to inspire the country and unify the American people,” Hart said in a statement. “We celebrate the peaceful transfer of power that defines our democracy. Our nation is strong and resilient and our people have the desire and the power to come together to chart the course of our future.”

U.S. Rep Zach Nunn, a Republican, said that he hopes to work with Trump to rebuild the country’s economy, secure the U.S.-Mexico border and cut taxes “for middle class families.”

“The American people look to our leaders to deliver results and solve the many crises affecting our country,” Nunn said in a statement. “Together, we will make meaningful progress toward a stronger, more prosperous future for all Americans.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Philip Joens covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.