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WATCH: Why Iowa public schools are required to let private school kids play sports

By Amie Rivers

June 30, 2025

“Survival mode.”

That’s what Rep. Heather Matson says Iowa’s public school districts are operating in these days.

And in just a couple of short months, there will be another issue added to the growing list of Republican moves that are hurting the state’s more than 300 public school districts.

Besides being underfunded, not having teacher candidates to hire, and a voucher system that diverts public funds from public schools to private, the new trouble will be a requirement for public schools to let private school students play in their sports programs.

Matson says she worries about “the possible fiscal and logistical implications.”

  • Amie Rivers

    Amie Rivers is Iowa Starting Line's newsletter editor. She writes the weekly Worker’s Almanac edition of Iowa Starting Line, featuring a roundup of the worker news you need to know. Previously, she was an award-winning journalist at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier; now, she very much enjoys making TikToks and memes and getting pet photos in her inbox.

    Have a story tip? Reach Amie at [email protected]. For local reporting in Iowa that connects the dots, from policy to people, sign up for Amie's newsletter.

    View all posts

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