Tuition at five of Iowa’s largest private high schools has increased well past the rate of inflation since the Students First Education Savings Accounts (ESA) program—which provides taxpayer dollars to support private school tuition—was implemented before the 2023-24 school year.
ESAs were billed by Republican lawmakers as a way to make private school education affordable for all Iowa families; however, even with millions of dollars in taxpayer funds going toward them, the cost to attend a private institution continues to rise substantially.
To be clear, private schools have always reevaluated tuition rates, but the rate increases since Iowa’s voucher program took effect have outpaced national averages, and there are no guardrails in the law to limit tuition hikes.
Critics of the voucher program argued that without regulation, private school tuition would remain unaffordable and inaccessible for most Iowa families, while also drawing funds away from public schools. Research now shows that’s exactly what’s happened.
Nationally, the cost of education has been steady and has not gone up by more than 1.6% each month since June 2023, according to the Consumer Price Index’s (CPI) education and communication tracking, which includes high school tuition.
In Iowa, the cost of private school education has seen tuition rates grow by as much as 50% since the voucher program took effect.
Starting Line was able to determine this by examining publicly available materials for the private schools in question and reviewing those schools’ tuition rates from the 2022-23 school year—the last year before vouchers became available—and rates for the upcoming 2026-27 school year.
Here’s what we found:
- Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City: 2022-23 school year maximum tuition rate, $8,900; 2026-27 school year tuition rate, $10,500. A 17.5% increase from the school’s maximum tuition rate.
- Des Moines Christian School in Urbandale: 2022-23 school year tuition rate, $11,236; 2026-27 school year tuition rate, $14,759. A 31% increase.
- Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines: 2022-23 school year tuition rate, $9,132 for parish members and $12,776 for non-parish members; 2026-27 school year tuition rate, $11,630 for parish members and $16,272 for non-parish members. Both rates increased by 27%.
- Regina Catholic School in Iowa City: 2022-23 school year tuition rate, $7,190 for parish members and $18,495 for non-parish members; 2026-27 school year tuition rate, $10,815 for all students.* A 50% increase. (* Regina switched to a “one-tuition model.)
Xavier Catholic School in Cedar Rapids: 2022-23 school year tuition rate, $7,000 for parish members and $11,200 for non-parish members; 2026-27 tuition rate, $9,975 for parish members and $12,025 for non-parish members. An increase of 42.5% for parish members and a 7% increase for non-parish members.
