WTH is Going On with Iowa's Revolutionary School Choice Plan? Governor Kim Reynolds on Education Reforms in the Hawkeye State

Parents are increasingly losing ownership of the right to their
child’s education. Americans saw the effects from widespread
school closures over Covid (nearly two decades of educational
progress wiped out), and continue to see educational systems that
promote partisan agendas, all leaving parents little recourse to
choose where and how their child is educated. Not to mention, the
Nation’s Report Card statistics released for 2022, which showed
record low reading and math scores, with minority and
lower-economic students faring the worst. What are parents to do,
especially those who cannot afford to send their children to
private, parochial, or otherwise quality places for education?
Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa recently passed one of the most
sweeping school choice laws in the country to answer this very
question. Her school choice bill gives every student in the state
of Iowa an educational savings account of approximately $7,600 in
per-pupil funding to facilitate placement in private schools. And
no, it does not take resources away from public schools – it
actually saves them money. No, this does not degrade the public
school education quality, but rather fosters the competition we
know to be necessary to help any establishment realize potential.
And most importantly, it gives educational choice back to the
parents of these students.


Governor Kim Reynolds is the 43rd governor of Iowa, with the
distinction of being the first woman elected to the state's
highest office. Previously, she was a Clark County treasurer
before she was elected to the Iowa Senate. She was the running
mate and lieutenant governor to Terry Branstad.


Download the transcript here.