Iowa Association of Christian Schools

The Public Policy Voice of Iowa's Protestant, Christ-Centered Schools.

We are the public policy voice of
Iowa's Protestant, Christ-centered schools.

It’s Time For A Social Media Blitz

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It’s time for a social media blitz on school choice in Iowa.  The Iowa Association of Christian Schools partnered with Iowa ACE, the Iowa Catholic Conference, and Americans For Prosperity – Iowa to produce a video that outlines the importance of allowing parents to make choices for their children.  It also highlights the value of Education Savings Accounts and our current tax credit program.

Below is a clip we have posted on social media yesterday and today.  There are more to come.  Will you join us in visiting our pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to share and like our posts?  Let’s get the word out about parental rights in education and force candidates this election cycle to make choice in education a major topic of discussion.  The video points to UnitedForStudents.com and you are able to sign up for the AFP and Iowa ACE lists on that website.  We also encourage you to sign up here on this website for occasional newsletters and legislative action alerts specific to Christian schools and education in the state!

IACS September Newsletter

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Our latest newsletter is out!  You can download it here (PDF)!

Inside are details on next week’s Iowa ACE School Choice Summit, our Annual Meeting coming up next month, and some other updates and miscellany we think you need to know!

IACS Partners With Others To Promote ESAs

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The Iowa Association of Christian Schools has partnered with Americans For Prosperity (AFP), the Iowa Catholic Conference, and the Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education (Iowa ACE) to produce a video on school choice and Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).  We will be promoting this video and other info on ESAs and school Choice on our websites throughout the Summer and Fall of 2016 and up through the early parts of the next legislative session in January.

Going to the website referenced in the video[s] and signing up will add your email to the Iowa ACE and AFP email lists.  If you want to ensure you get the latest on Christian schools and our efforts throughout the state, please sign up here.  Spread the word as you begin to see these videos and posts pop up on our Facebook and Twitter pages over the coming months!  Below is a short version featuring our very own Dean Ridder of Isaac Newton Christian Academy but you can see the full version on the United For Students coalition website.

Please let us know what you think!

2016 End of Session Newsletter

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Our newsletter summarizing the 2016 session can be found here.  It outlines the victory on independent accreditation, funding issues, assessments, the ESA effort, and more.

Be sure to forward the PDF to your school parents, friends, and anyone who may be interested.

Thank you to everyone who emailed your legislators this session.  Although they didn’t pass an ESA pilot program, your emails helped us get the sunset removed on independent accreditation – our top priority for ten sessions!  Thank you!

IACS 2016 End of Session Update

Action Alert! Email Your Legislators In Support of Our Students!

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Legislators are now in the middle of debating budget bills in order to go home for the year. Iowa’s Christian schools benefit from a number of state programs and initiatives that benefit Iowa’s students that attend our schools.  Line items in the state budget that impact Christian schools:

  1. Textbooks/technology funding
  2. Transportation services
  3. School Tuition Organization (STO) tax credits providing scholarship opportunities for low-income families
  4. Area Education Agency services
  5. Tuition tax credit (25 percent of the first $1,000 spent on education) for public and private school parents

We understand that the state budget is tighter than usual this year.  The House and Senate have agreed to cut the Governor’s proposed increase of $90,000 in nonpublic textbook funding and there seems to be no forward movement on ESA, STO, or transportation this week as they look to wrap up the session.

Would you be willing to email your legislators today and ask them to seize this final opportunity of the year to pass meaningful legislation that would positively impact students in every educational setting?  The Iowa Association of Christian Schools is supporting efforts to:

  1. Repeal the sunset provision in the Independent Accreditation, ensuring Iowa’s private schools can remain accountable to taxpayers in a way that meets their unique needs and pushes them to higher levels of academic excellence.
  2. Restore funding of textbooks and technology for nonpublic school students that was cut back several years ago and hasn’t been restored.
  3. Increase funding for transportation services for nonpublic school students. Currently the state limits this funding to about 80 percent of claims. The original purpose of the funding was to make sure students get to school safely.

Christian school parents and their children save the state millions of dollars as they cover most of the cost of private school education themselves and still contribute to the public school funding through local property, income, and sales tax.

We believe parents have the right to choose the type of education that best fits their child’s needs regardless of their income or address.  Please ask your legislators to create the conditions necessary to exercise this right.

Please send a message to your legislator on these issues. We encourage you to edit the message and put it in your own words. Thanks for being willing to get involved!