T-R FILE PHOTO Students at Rogers Elementary would be eligible for “Student First Scholarships” if the Iowa legislature passes Senate File 159. Rogers would be one of two Marshalltown Community School District buildings to be eligible for the program. The other school would be Anson Elementary.

An education overhaul passed through the Iowa Senate on Jan. 28, seeking to expand school choice by offering a funded pathway to private schools students in 34 public school districts.

Senate File 159 packages several measures affecting public education including:

• Implementing a tax funded “Student First Scholarship” program for tuition at a private school. The program would be eligible for students in public schools ranking in the bottom 5 percent of performance or have a high school graduation rate less than 67.1 percent.

• Expanding Iowa’s charter school program.

Lawmakers supporting the bill have highlighted increased parental choice as the key factor motivating their support. Opposition has expressed fear over a shift in tax-payer funds from public schools to private schools.

Anson Elementary School and Rogers Elementary School in Marshalltown are among the 34 schools where students would be eligible to apply for the scholarship.

“Why aren’t we putting resources into improving all of the schools within a school district, rather than paying families to leave the district?” Sue Cahill (D-Marshalltown) said.

As a longtime educator in the Marshalltown Community School District, Cahill said improving Iowa education is a top priority during her first legislative session, but sees this bill as defunding public education.

Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour) said he hasn’t made up his mind on each aspect of Senate File 159, but has made parental choice a priority this legislative session.

“The more we can involve a parent in a child’s education the better off we are,” Fisher said.

He said claims Senate File 159 would defund public education are false, explaining Student First Scholarships would be funded through new money from the state’s general fund, and some of the negative reactions to the bill come from those who do not fully understand it.

“The teacher’s unions in particular and the education bureaucracy in general is just reacting very strongly and very negatively to this without fully understanding how incredibly narrowly tailored this bill is,” Fisher said. “It’s not a blanket program. it’s not a voucher program that applies to every student in the state.”

A nonpartisan analysis by the Iowa Legislative Agency found the bill would cost public schools $2.1 million in funding during the bill’s first year, a small fraction of the states $3 billion dollar education budget. The analysis is based on a projection that 3.5 percent of eligible students would take advantage of the scholarship. Since public schools receive funding on a per-student basis, students open-enrolling out of a school would take a portion of the school’s funding with them.

“The bottom line is that the money should follow the student,” Fisher said. “It should be about the student, it should not be about maintaining a big bureaucracy.”

Because private schools have no oversight from the state or Iowa Department of Education, those in opposition to the bill expressed concern over how the Student First Scholarship funds would be monitored.

Fisher said claims funding would not be monitored by the state are also false, explaining receiving parents and private schools would be held accountable for how scholarship money can be spent.

Another concern Cahill raised with Senate File 159 is how accessible the program would be.

“The parents I really worry about are the parents who live in small, rural communities where the closest private school might be 30 miles away, and so they are basically left with no choice,” Cahill said.

Fisher said part of the school choice legislation addressing the charter school program would address this issue, which would make it easier for charter schools to start up in areas lacking in private school options.

Cahill said she also worries about non-English speaking families, those without knowledge on how to navigate the system and students with disabilities or specialized learning plans being able to take advantage. Some private schools may not have buildings equipped for students who use wheelchairs or scooters, or students who receive specialized learning may find their nearest private school does not offer their program.

“It widens the achievement gap by having families who have the ability and a lack of barriers to move out of a district, leaving behind many who struggle and have other barriers that prevent them from doing that,” Cahill said.

Senate File 159 has been referred to the Iowa House of Representatives subcommittee on education where a decision waits to be made.

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Contact Trevor Babcock at 641-753-6611 or

tbabcock@timesrepublican.com.