Hunter
01/18/23
A public hearing on School Voucher legislation was held at the State Capitol Tuesday night.
KCRG TV reports that so many people wanted to weigh in on the controversial bill that they couldn’t all fit in the hearing room. Hundreds more submitted online comments.
The new program, pushed by Governor Kim Reynolds, would use more than 340 million dollars of public funds so that parents can send their children to private schools. Using those dollars for private education is proving to be contentious .
Both sides of the issue were given equal opportunities to speak, but because each were given two minutes to speak over the 90 minute meeting period, relatively few Iowans got to say their peace.
Those in support of the bill, including parents and leaders with private schools, say this gives parents more education options. Children who spoke supporting the bill expressed appreciation in having private schools that educate them through a Christian perspective.
Detractors pointed out that private schools are not subject to the same policies and oversight as public schools, and if they receive public tax dollars they should be held to the same standards. Currently, many private schools reject those with disabilities because they don’t have the staff to accommodate them.
The bill Governor Reynolds has been pushing has been killed the previous two years. It failed to get enough support from Republican House representatives concerned that rural public schools would suffer if more tax dollars went to private education.
TV9 says the Governor campaigned against those representatives in 2022 and many of them were defeated.