DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa’s accredited nonpublic schools saw a 7.4 percent increase in enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year compared to the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.
The state’s new Education Savings Account program, signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds over one year ago, played a large part in that growth,with 16,757 Iowans participating during the program’s first year enrolling into an accredited nonpublic school.
Approximately 33.7 percent of the students using ESAs at an accredited nonpublic school did not previously attend a nonpublic school. According to the Iowa Department of Education, almost 12.7 percent of the participating students (2,135) previously attended a public school, and close to 21 percent of the student ESA participants (3,513) were entering kindergarten students.
The remaining 11,109 students currently attended an accredited nonpublic school and whose families met the income criteria for the first year of the program, having a household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. The threshold will rise to 400 percent for the 2024-2025 school year. In 2025-2026, all students will be eligible regardless of income).
The number of participants using their ESA account differs from the total number of applications that were approved by the September 30 program close date. Some participants withdrew prior to the October 1 certified enrollment date and others had an approved ESA but did not use it. Over 29,000 students originally applied for the first year of the program.
Those participating receive $7,635—the same amount appropriated by the state to support the education of each public-school student during the 2023-2024 academic year. The funds must first be used to pay tuition and fees; remaining balances can then be used to cover other approved educational expenses or held for subsequent school years.
There were 64 of Iowa’s 325 public school districts with no ESA participants living within their school district. There are 132 school districts with only 1-10 ESA students living within their district boundaries, 91 school districts had 11-99 ESA students living within their district boundaries, and 38 school districts had 100 or more ESA students living within their district boundaries.
Des Moines Independent Community School District, the state’s largest with a certified enrollment of 30,801 students, has the most resident students, 1,381, using an ESA. Des Moines Public Schools was followed by Davenport Community School District with 945 ESA students. Sioux City Community School District was third with 888 ESA students. Cedar Rapids Community School District was fourth with 843 ESA students. Waterloo Community School District with 684 ESA students had the fifth most ESA students.
The state’s public school district enrollment was 483,699, down approximately one-half (0.57 percent) from last school year. The certified total is approximately 3,200 students less than originally projected by the Iowa Department of Education before the ESA program was passed. The department said projections showed a downward trend starting in the 2023-2024 school year continuing through at least the 2026-2027 school year.
