Breaking – School Choice In Iowa – Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds Signs Bill

Iowa is the third state to pass a school choice measure that expands to every student in the state.

This is the latest example of a significant passing of school choice legislation that happened in Arizona under former Gov. Doug Ducey, who signed the most “monumental” education savings account program in the United States.

In signing H.B. 2853 into law on July 7, Ducey said in a statement the legislation marks Arizona as the top state for school choice and the first to provide a universal school voucher program.

“This is a monumental moment for all of Arizona’s students. Our kids will no longer be locked in underperforming schools. Today, we’re unlocking a whole new world of opportunity for them and their parents,” Ducey said.

A similar bill passed in the Florida House of Representatives. A coalition of school choice proponents signed a letter that urges Florida lawmakers to pass an unprecedented education savings account bill.

From the Florida Depart of Education website: “The mission of the Office of K-12 School Choice is to support quality public and private educational choice programs by providing information and assistance to promote successful outcomes for students, families, institutions, and communities.”

School choice is so popular in the sunshine state that nearly 49% of Florida students are using school choice options.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a school choice bill called the Students First Act on Tuesday, allowing any Iowa student to use public money to pay for private school tuition or other expenses.

“For the first time, we will fund students not systems!” Reynolds said on Twitter.

“Parents, not the government, can now choose the education setting best suited to their child regardless of their income or zip code. Iowa has affirmed that educational freedom belongs to all!”

“This is one of the best vehicles for providing families with more options since parents can use the ESAs (education savings accounts) for private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, curricular materials, special-needs therapy, and more. We’ve already seen success from ESAs in Arizona,” Jason Bedrick, a research fellow in the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital.

“Although Iowa is the third state to pass universal school choice, it is the state with the heaviest foot on the accelerator. Although Arizona was the first state to pass school choice for all families last year, their program had been around for over a decade. Gov. Reynolds just signed into law a program that includes most families in its first year and automatically expands to all families after two years,” American Federation for Children Senior Fellow Corey DeAngelis told Fox News Digital.

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