Over 1,600 QC students get state help for private school

A total of 1,682 students in the Iowa Quad Cities are among 18,627 students statewide to take advantage of new Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for private schools, approved by the Iowa Department of Education, as of Aug. 4.

Less than 1,000 applications remain in review while parents or guardians provide additional information or documentation to confirm eligibility, according to a state release Tuesday.

All incoming kindergarteners and all K-12 students currently enrolled in a public school district are eligible for the ESA program. Families whose children currently attend an accredited non-public school are also eligible for ESAs based on their annual income during the first two years of the program, the Education Department said.

For the 2023-2024 school year, income eligibility is 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL); and 400 percent FPL for the 2024-2025 school year. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, all K-12 students in Iowa will be eligible for an ESA regardless of income.

In addition to applying and being approved for an ESA, families must separately apply to the accredited private school of their choice and, if accepted, their ESA account will be funded.

Students have been approved for ESAs in 96 of Iowa’s 99 counties, and the state plans to spend $918 million in public funds for the program over the next four years. The state Legislature approved a $107-million increase in public education funding for the 2023-24 fiscal year, totaling $3.7 billion.

Iowa’s most populous counties primarily account for the highest number of approved ESA student applications. There are 1,306 students approved from Scott County (the third-highest total).

The top 10 counties include Polk, 3,144; Linn, 1,318; Scott, 1,306; Sioux, 1,183; and Black Hawk, 942. In Clinton County, 217 ESAs have been approved, and 159 in Muscatine County, the state said.

Parents and guardians of students who have been approved for an ESA and accepted at an accredited non-public school will receive an invoice from their child’s school through their ESA account. When parents or guardians approve the payment, funds are transferred from the ESA account to the school to pay tuition and fees. ESA funds remain in the state’s possession until approved for payment to the school.

If an approved ESA student does not attend an accredited non-public school by Sept. 30, the ESA account will be closed for the school year. The funds remain with the state and are returned to the general fund.

Additional information regarding the final number of approved applicants will be available after Sept. 30. Details about ESA program participants will be available when certified school enrollment numbers are finalized later this fall.
 

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