Hearing on private school vouchers draws huge crowd
Hunter
01/13/23
A legislative hearing on Governor Kim Reynolds’ school voucher plan drew several dozen Iowans to express their opinions supporting and opposing the measure.
The Gazette reports the 90-minute hearing was filled by individuals who, at the request of the legislators running the meeting, alternated between those for and against the proposal. One speaker near the end of the meeting said she was roughly the halfway point of the line of speakers opposed to the bill.
The vouchers would allow the students a $7598 scholarship to be placed in an “education savings account” for them to use for tuition and other educational expenses. The amount is the same per-pupil amount earmarked per public school student. That money would be taken away from school district funding, although the state would rebate $1205 to the district.
The governor’s proposal is more ambitious than the one she introduced two sessions ago. It provided scholarships of $5270 only for students whose public schools were designated as underperforming and needing improvement. That applied to just 34 schools at the time. Last year’s proposal raised the scholarship to $5360, expanded eligibility to 10,000 students and had income restrictions. If her new education package is approved, private school scholarships would be available to every student regardless of family income by year three, and would cost the state over $340 million annually.
The new proposal places no oversight on private school curriculum or admission policies.
Supporters say the proposal will give more families the chance to send their children to private school, while detractors say the state should instead focus on supporting public education. Mike Beranek, president of the Iowa State Education Association, said this week said the bill sends public dollars to private schools that most Iowa families will never benefit from.
