ESAs Impact on LaSalle Catholic Families

By now, many people have heard about the opportunity for Iowa students to benefit from the Student First Act which will create education savings accounts (ESAs) for students moving from public schools and homeschools to enroll with state funding in state accredited nonpublic schools, like LaSalle Catholic. Following the passage of the law, I have called every LaSalle Catholic family to discuss the implications for us and to answer their questions. From these conversations, I’ve learned the things that are on many people’s minds. I’ll share here the things that readers of this periodical might be most interested to know.

First, all LaSalle Catholic students will receive tuition support, not only from the parishes, but also from the school. You read that correctly. The school will provide a flat rate (by grade) of automatic support funds for each student. Further, just as every student receives parish support without qualification nor application, so too will every student receive this school tuition support without application nor qualification. This is not the ESA funding that some families will qualify for, but an effort from the school to keep tuition financially accessible to all families.

Second, all families whose adjusted gross income in 2022 does not surpass 300% of the federal poverty level for 2023 will qualify for an education savings account in 2023 and every year thereafter. (The following year, the financial requirement changed to anyone earning at or below 400% of the poverty guideline. Further, any new family (any grade K-12) will also qualify, so long as they have spent the previous year in public education or homeschool. These students, too, will receive annual ESA funding according to the state funding allotment per pupil. Starting in the fall of 2025, all Iowa students will be provided an ESA!

There is immediate good news for current families that do not yet qualify for an ESA. Because so many students will qualify for an ESA (approximately 101 in the fall of 2023, for example) that will allow families that do not qualify for an ESA to receive more local tuition assistance.  

Finally, the question that LaSalle supporters all seem excited to ask relates to our enrollment situation. As you read from me back in March, we are taking a measured approach to our growth rather than simply enroll as many students as possible as quickly as possible. Even with that careful approach, as of May 8 as I type this, we already have 309 students fully enrolled for the  fall of ‘23. That figure is 24 students more than the fall of ‘22. It also includes waitlists in K, 2nd, and 3rd grades.

As exciting as this all is, we nonetheless approach it with a great deal of thought, discussion, and certainly prayer. We are so excited to be able to advance our mission of forming even more young people, and we intend to do so with the same faithfulness, joy, professionalism, and pursuit of academic excellence as always.