Des Moines, IA- Governor Reynolds has selected a New York company to administer the new state-funded Education Savings Account.
Radio Iowa reports that the account was created by a law Reynolds signed in January.
“We’re rolling it out. We’ve identified the platform,” Reynolds said Wednesday. “We’re not standing still. We’re going to be ready to go for this next school year.”
Odyssey was one of four companies that applied for the Iowa contract. The governor’s office announced state officials and the company will now begin negotiating contract details.
Reynolds spoke Wednesday at the Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education rally at the state house. The Governor said that Iowa’s new law is spawning a revolution around the country.
“It is a model language that we are seeing states across this country pick up and adopt. I know Arkansas is moving it. I know Oklahoma is moving. Texas is looking at it,” Reynolds said. “I could go on and on.”
This fall, low-income parents enrolling a child in private school will receive $7600 from the state to cover tuition and other expenses.
Odyssey is managing Education Savings Account programs in Arizona and Idaho. The Governor’s Office says the company will be in charge of customer service and fraud detection.
