Iowa ranks fifth overall in education freedom according to a new report from Heritage. Florida finished in the top spot of the rankings while Arizona was second and Utah finished third. Louisiana occupied the fourth spot — one spot ahead of the Hawkeye State.
The fifth-place spot represents a four-spot swing from ninth.
The Education Savings Accounts policy that allows families to use a portion of the state funding for their children’s education at a private school helps Iowa rank fourth in overall education choice.
“Iowa does exceptionally well in empowering families to choose among private and district schools, as well as other learning environments,” the report states. “Additionally, Iowa respects the autonomy of homeschooling families.”
Heritage suggests Iowa improve on its education choice by allowing families to use ESAs without being enrolled in private schools.
Iowa is 13th in transparency, mostly due to the Parents Bill of Rights that was signed in 2023.
In terms of return on investment, Iowa is just 21st. Iowa spends $16,937 per pupil, which is 23rd-most. Iowa also employs 2.08 teachers for every non-teacher in its public schools. Iowa can improve the return-on-investment ranking by lowering per-pupil spending and stopping growth in non-teaching staff.
Iowa is just 28th in terms of teacher freedom. Only 2 percent of teachers are alternatively certified and the state lacks full reciprocity of teacher licensure. Seventy-five percent of its districts with more than 15,000 students employ a “chief diversity officer.”
