Iowa Association of Christian Schools

The Public Policy Voice of Iowa's Protestant, Christ-Centered Schools.

We are the public policy voice of
Iowa's Protestant, Christ-centered schools.

Action Alert! Support ESAs!

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One of the primary roles of parents is to be involved in and direct the formal education of their children.  There are many ways to accomplish this but those without the income to access more than one option lack that basic, fundamental right. The best way we know how to ensure every parent has access to what is best for their child is through Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).  ESAs will allow parents who choose not to enroll their children in a public school to receive a deposit of public funds into a savings account set up by the state. This money could be used by parents for private school tuition and some other education expenses including tutoring, giving parents the ability to customize their child’s education to meet his/her needs.

Iowa has increased public school funding annually, while maintaining school choice programs such as the School Tuition Organization tax credits. IACS supports the state’s commitment to public and non-public education.  We are not advocating that parents wanting to utilize a non-public option be given every financial resource available to the public system.  We are simply asking that the state allow a portion of those resources to follow the student to ensure every Iowa parent has every available quality option at their disposal.

School choice will not lead to money being “siphoned away from public education and given to private education providers.” No state or local funding for public schools would be diverted to this program. ESAs would be funded by a separate appropriation by the legislature.

Senate File 372 was introduced this week and has passed the Senate Education Committee’s subcommittee.  It is now eligible for debate in the full Education Committee.  We encourage you to contact members of the Senate Education Committee and Senate leadership in support of an ESA program which would be accessible to as many parents as possible. Rewrite the sample message in your own words and keep your comments positive.

TAKE ACTION HERE!

Thank you for your willingness to engage on this issue!

IACS January Newsletter – Legislative Session Preview

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Our IACS January 2019 Newsletter is out!  There are a few events to pencil in on your calendar and we have an overview on the legislature and our areas of focus for the year!

Make Your Voice Heard On K-12 Nonpublic Education Cuts!

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Although it is a tough budget year for the State of Iowa and many interest groups are asking for increased resources, we have heard time and again this year that “K-12 education will be held harmless.”  We laid significant groundwork for tax credit and education savings account legislation moving forward.

Despite this, funding of transportation services for nonpublic school students is facing a cut in SSB 1198.  The budget bill is being considered by the Iowa legislature this week. The funding was cut $278,000 in this current fiscal year.  Next year’s budget continues cutting nonpublic school transportation funding for a total cut of $363,000. This is unacceptable.

Please use our action alert to contact your Representative and Senator today and ask them to support nonpublic schools by truly “holding K-12 harmless.”

Action Alert! Email Your Legislators In Support of Our Students!

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Legislators are now in the middle of debating budget bills in order to go home for the year. Iowa’s Christian schools benefit from a number of state programs and initiatives that benefit Iowa’s students that attend our schools.  Line items in the state budget that impact Christian schools:

  1. Textbooks/technology funding
  2. Transportation services
  3. School Tuition Organization (STO) tax credits providing scholarship opportunities for low-income families
  4. Area Education Agency services
  5. Tuition tax credit (25 percent of the first $1,000 spent on education) for public and private school parents

We understand that the state budget is tighter than usual this year.  The House and Senate have agreed to cut the Governor’s proposed increase of $90,000 in nonpublic textbook funding and there seems to be no forward movement on ESA, STO, or transportation this week as they look to wrap up the session.

Would you be willing to email your legislators today and ask them to seize this final opportunity of the year to pass meaningful legislation that would positively impact students in every educational setting?  The Iowa Association of Christian Schools is supporting efforts to:

  1. Repeal the sunset provision in the Independent Accreditation, ensuring Iowa’s private schools can remain accountable to taxpayers in a way that meets their unique needs and pushes them to higher levels of academic excellence.
  2. Restore funding of textbooks and technology for nonpublic school students that was cut back several years ago and hasn’t been restored.
  3. Increase funding for transportation services for nonpublic school students. Currently the state limits this funding to about 80 percent of claims. The original purpose of the funding was to make sure students get to school safely.

Christian school parents and their children save the state millions of dollars as they cover most of the cost of private school education themselves and still contribute to the public school funding through local property, income, and sales tax.

We believe parents have the right to choose the type of education that best fits their child’s needs regardless of their income or address.  Please ask your legislators to create the conditions necessary to exercise this right.

Please send a message to your legislator on these issues. We encourage you to edit the message and put it in your own words. Thanks for being willing to get involved!

Act Now! ESA Pilot Program Action Alert!

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An Education Savings Account (ESA) pilot program (HF 2284) has passed subcommittee and is now eligible for debate in the House Appropriations Committee.

The bill, as written, creates a 190-seat pilot program in the Waterloo and Sioux Center school districts.  The idea is that over a year or two, we’d be able to iron out the details and see that school choice benefits the kids involved and the community as a whole.

The intent of the bill is to include students that are not currently in private schools and would include an educational savings grant equal to the average state aid per pupil for each participant.  Although we’d prefer a statewide program out of the gate, we believe this bill provides a great opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of this type of school choice.

Please email your Representative today.  Our system makes it easy and it only takes a few minutes to make a big impact.  Thank you!