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Governor Reynolds is trying again with a school choice plan which will give around $5,300 to up to 10,000 students a year.
The "Student First Scholarship" (Senate Study Bill 3080) is aimed at helping lower income families. Eligible kids would have to come from a family with a household income no higher than 400% of the federal poverty level which means $106,000. The students must also be currently enrolled in a public school or have an IEP (individualized educational plan).
The Governor's plan would also increase transparency with Districts required to publish all book titles and education materials as well as having to adopt a State protocol for removing books from school shelves.
The Bill of course has supporters and opponents. Supporters first: "We're excited that this can give some options to lower-income families and families that have students on an IEP. It'll give some options to them that they might not have at the current time," said Trish Wilger, executive director of Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education.
And then on the negative side: "We would like to take the partisanship out of public education and get back to a place where we respect our education professionals, and we respect our public schools," said Melissa Peterson, Government Relations specialist for the Iowa State Education Association.
Now it's your choice. Are you for it or against it?
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