Des Moines, IA- New data shows that 19.5% of the applications for new state-funded accounts to cover private school expenses are for students who live in the state’s two largest counties.
Radio Iowa reports that by last Friday, 18,627 Education Savings Account applications had been approved. About a thousand applications are pending, waiting on a parent or guardian to confirm their annual income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty line.
Data released by the Iowa Department of Education shows how many approved applications came from each county. Over 3100 are for residents in Iowa’s largest county, Polk County, and about 500 more were for private school students who live in neighboring Dallas County.
Just over six percent of approved applications came from northwest Iowa’s Sioux County, which is Iowa’s 19th largest county. Linn County, the Cedar Rapids-Marion metro, accounted for about seven percent of the approved ESA applications.
While applications have been approved, parents have to secure enrolment in a private school for their child and the state will announce this fall how many of the state-funded accounts have been activated.
