Supporters from Kuemper Catholic School, who favor creating Education Savings Accounts (ESA) for students, travel to the State Capitol in Des Moines on Wednesday to lobby lawmakers to approve the legislation. ESAs would direct a portion of Iowa’s cost-per-student tax money to students’ families to be used for educations expenses such as textbooks, online learning or private school tuition. Many of the private schools in Iowa are parochial schools, and tax money directly supporting those raises concerns on separation of church and state. Representative Brian Best, of Glidden, says as long as those students are getting a good education, some leeway should be allowed.
Best says he does not want to cut public school funding, but he is an advocate for school choice for families.
The bill is still in the drafting stages, and it is not clear if lawmakers plan to make ESAs available statewide or attempt a trial run first. Parents would control their children’s ESAs in a similar manner to Health Savings Accounts. Many of the state’s private schools and the Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education have put their support behind the effort.
