Private school students would be allowed to participate in sports offered by public schools under a bill that passed the Iowa House Wednesday.
Under the bill, public school districts would be required to allow private school students to participate in their sports programs if the student lives within the public school district’s boundaries or that of a contiguous school district and if the private school has not offered that sport for at least the past two school years.
Public schools would not be allowed to charge private school students a fee larger than what is paid by public school students.
Many public school districts currently have such agreements with private schools, but Republicans said some districts have ended their agreements after they passed a law in 2023 providing families with taxpayer-funded education savings accounts to pay private school costs.
“The impetus of this bill is not to show favoritism or to elevate nonpublic schools,” said Rep. Henry Stone, R-Forest City, the bill’s floor manager. “It’s being brought about because school districts started severing longstanding athletic agreements with nonpublic schools once nonpublic schools entered their accreditation process or after we passed ESAs.”
Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, said the bill could create issues for school districts who may need to add staff or find more space for sports if new private school students begin joining their programs.
“With every decision we must weigh the pros and the cons,” she said. “With school choice and yes, with a voucher, a family may choose the private school. Sometimes that may mean you miss out on something the public school offers. You can’t always get everything you want.”
Matson said the bill goes beyond the type of agreements public schools currently have with private schools by requiring districts to have agreements for students to join any public school sport, and by requiring agreements for nonpublic middle school students to join public school sports, not just high school students.
“These agreements and how they are determined should stay with the local school district based on what they can offer and meets the needs of their students first,” she said.
Stone said no one is trying to take anything away from public schools. The bill’s intention, he said, allows private school students “to be able to continue their athletic careers.”
“How many girls have to continue to forego their junior or senior season of soccer because of a severed athletic agreement?” he said. “How many boys won’t be able to continue to play their senior season of football and possibly lose out on a scholarship opportunity because they can no longer play at the high school they were playing at for the past three years?”
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
