Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — As the legislature moves toward ending its 2026 session, the Iowa House and Senate have approved a bill that outlines $1 billion in state spending for Iowa’s education system in the next academic year.
It includes a 1.4% increase in state funding for community colleges, which had requested a 4% increase.
Representative Dan Gelbach of Urbandale says Iowa’s three state-supported universities are getting a “flat line” budget, which means no increase from the current year.
Representative Elinor Levin, a Democrat from Iowa City, says the plan misses the mark.
Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, says students at the three Regents universities are seeing their tuition rates increase as a result of this plan.
Senator Jesse Green, a Republican from Boone, says the bill provides an overall $121 million increase in state spending on all levels of education — from preschool through college.
The bill sets aside half a million dollars to help Iowa school districts enhance cyber security.
There’s also a 2% increase in state funding for the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs and statewide education services for blind and visually impaired students.
KIWA Staff Photo
