DES MOINES – Senator Amanda Ragan said last week that more must be done to help students from low-income families.
One idea that Sen. Ragan pointed to is to provide schools with an extra $250 for each student who qualifies for free or reduced-price lunches. A bill under consideration in the Iowa legislature would do just that. If approved, funding would be allocated to school districts to be used to develop or maintain programs for low-income pupils, including but not limited to before and after school educational programs, summer education programs, individual instructional assistance programs, tutoring and mentoring programs, programs to reduce or waive student fees required as part of the school district’s educational program, or other programs or assistance approved by the department.
Senator Ragan noted that the number of Iowa kids growing up in poverty is at a 50-year high, and “our state’s childhood poverty rate is climbing faster than the national average. In fact, 41 percent of students in Iowa schools live in poverty and are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.”
She also said that schools “with a large number of students from low-income families send fewer graduates to college than schools with high-income families, according to a new study by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Schools with more than half of their students in poverty also saw more of their students drop out of college than did higher-income schools.”
The bill, is passed by the Senate would likely fail in the Republican-controlled House and face a stiff test from Governor Branstad, who opposes most new funding for education.