Sioux Center, Iowa — One of the men representing this area in Des Moines says the signing of the governor’s new “School Choice” bill will actually HELP many public schools in his district.
The new law is expected to give $345 million to parents to send their students to private schools. It will provide state-funded accounts for the parents of private school students. In the first year, low-income parents who enroll a child in a private school could apply for nearly $7600 in state funding to cover tuition, computers, textbooks, and tutoring. In 2026, all private school parents could apply for the state money. According to school officials, the $7600 represents the entire amount that the district gets from the state per pupil, per year. However, the districts will get $1200 per year per pupil for pupils whose parents have elected to send them to private schools instead.
And that’s how District 2 State Senator Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center says a number of public schools in his district will actually GAIN funding from this bill.
He tells us how that can be.
But he says the clincher is that the private school student does NOT have to be a NEW private school student.
He says it was a contentious bill, and he listened to everyone who spoke to him and read every comment people sent about it before making a decision.
At what was assumed to be Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ request, the bill was on a fast track. It passed early in the morning of January 24th and was signed into law later that same day.
