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Iowa private school enrollment climbs again
Also again, enrollment slightly dips in state’s public schools
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DES MOINES — Nearly two years after the Iowa Legislature approved taxpayer-funded financial assistance for students to attend private K-12 schools, about 6.8 percent of students participating in the program came from public schools.
The Iowa Department of Education on Friday released certified K-12 fall enrollment figures for the 2024-2025 school year, which show an increase in private school attendance in the state. The numbers are a snapshot taken at the Oct. 1 deadline used to determine state funding for public schools.
A total of 27,866 students enrolled in Iowa’s accredited non-public schools using taxpayer-funded scholarships, with $7,826 spent per student, this school year. Of those, 14.2 percent were entering kindergarten students.
Here is what Iowa public and private school enrollment looks like for the 2024-2025 school year:
- Public school enrollment in Iowa declined by .63 percent this academic year. It declined .57 percent last school year.
- Private school enrollment in Iowa increased about 8.7 percent from 36,195 the previous school year to this year’s 39,356. Private school enrollment rose 7.4 percent last school year.
- More than 43,000 public school students open-enrolled in a public school outside of their home district, representing about 9 percent of total public school district certified enrollment.
- 1,905 of the education saving account participants had attended an Iowa public K-12 school last year, and 3,960 of the participants were entering kindergarten students.
Iowa's private school tuition program cost the state $127.3 million in its first year. Next year’s program will cost $314 million, according to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ budget proposal.
In her proposal to lawmakers this week, Reynolds asked for a 2 percent per-student funding increase, an additional $214 million with $96 million of that increase for the education savings accounts.
The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency projects the program, which gradually expands eligibility, will cost the state $345 million annually by fiscal 2027.
Iowa State Education Association Legislative and Policy Director Melissa Peterson said she is concerned that as more students enroll in private schools, funding for public schools will continue to drop even though the public schools serve more students.
“My bigger concern is that we are seeing a decrease in the amount of supplemental state aid in comparison to years previous, at a time when the expense of running a school district is increasing and our enrollment numbers are declining,” Peterson said.
As of this school year in Iowa, 480,665 students are enrolled in public schools, compared with the 39,356 students enrolled in accredited non-public schools.
Democratic state Sen. Cindy Winkler of Davenport said she worries about the transparency of how taxpayer dollars are spent as private schools continue to receive more public funding.
“There really isn't any kind of accountability for the hundreds of millions of dollars that are going to our private schools when our public schools have several ways that they show accountability, so it is not in any way a fair system, if we are looking at the quality of education and accountability,” Winckler said.
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