Kim Reynolds says over 30,000 students approved for education savings accounts next year

Gov. Kim Reynolds said more than 30,000 Iowa private school students have been approved for state-funded education savings accounts to pay their tuition and fees for the upcoming school year.

"We’re over 30,000 students that will be participating in the school-choice program," Reynolds said Friday afternoon at The Family Leader's annual summit at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines. "It’s another indication that parents want options."

Reynolds and former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos capped off the summit in a chat moderated by Family Leader President and CEO Bob Vander Plaats in front of an audience that organizers estimated at about 1,000 people.

The 2023 law provides taxpayer-funded education savings accounts that families can use to pay private school costs like tuition and fees. Nearly 17,000 students used the accounts to pay for private school expenses last year, when the program was available to families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level.

This year, the cap rises to 400% of the federal poverty level and the state is expected to spend about $180 million on the program. Families can receive about $7,800 per student.

Kollin Crompton, a spokesperson for Reynolds, said the state received 35,417 applications for education savings accounts before the June 30 deadline and more than 30,000 have been approved so far. However, students must separately apply and be approved for a spot at an accredited private school in order to receive the funds.

The following year, the program will be available to all Iowa families, regardless of income.

DeVos said, "I am one of the biggest fans of Gov. Reynolds that exists."

She praised Reynolds for taking on members of her own party in the 2022 Republican primaries after trying unsuccessfully to pass the "school choice" law for two years.

"Her fearlessness with forging ahead with policies that are empowering families and their children to make the right choices for each of them is just so admirable," DeVos said of Reynolds. "And she really did set a new tone when taking on members of her own party who refused to make that step to give families that power."

In 2022, Reynolds endorsed candidates in nine GOP House primaries, won eight races and ousted four incumbent Republican lawmakers. The next year, Republicans returned to the Iowa Capitol with a larger majority and swiftly passed the program into law.

Reynolds said she's always been for "school choice" but said the COVID-19 pandemic was a "game changer."

"I think COVID honestly served it up on a silver platter for us," she said. "It was a defining moment. It really gave parents a front row seat to see what was happening in their classrooms."

Reynolds also pointed to a teacher pay increase that she signed into law this year and another law focused on literacy standards as important policies she's undertaken on education.

"We also have done a lot for our public schools as well," she said. "So I’ve tried to really lift education as a whole."

Reynolds' efforts to remake the education system in Iowa have dominated legislative debate in recent years and drawn some of the fiercest opposition from Democrats and other critics.

This year, she pushed through a law restructuring funding and responsibilities for Iowa's nine Area Education Agencies that help provide special education for students with disabilities, as well as other services for schools and kids.

The law redirects about $68 million in funding for non-special education services from the AEAs to school districts and allows districts to contract with private providers for those services. About 500 AEA employees have left their jobs this year, with many citing uncertainty caused by the new law.

Reynolds has also signed several other education laws as governor, including requiring schools to offer 100% in-person learning during the pandemic, banning transgender girls from participating in girls' sports, expanding charter schools, banning books that depict sex acts from schools and requiring parents to be notified if a student requests to use different pronouns at school.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.