New bill opening transfers could re-segregate Iowa schools, opponents say

Iowa lawmakers may strike income restrictions that prevent some students from transferring districts, but public school advocates warn the change could lead to the re-segregation of Iowa schools.

The proposal would eliminate "voluntary diversity" plans used by five districts, including Des Moines, making it illegal for districts to deny transfers based on a student's family income.

Supporters say it's a necessary change for families who want public school options.

"I don’t take this issue lightly," said Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton who chairs an Iowa Senate education subcommittee. "I don't take lightly the fact that parents of children are being denied a choice available to kids in the rest of the state."

Kasey Vogel tried to open enroll her elementary-age daughter out of Des Moines Public Schools after she says her daughter went from an above-average reader to one needing special assistance.

But because Vogel, a partnership director at a credit union, earns too much money, Des Moines schools denied the application, she said.

"It's ridiculous," said Vogel, a single mother.

She took out a loan so her daughter, Quincey, could attend private school. She has since purchased a home in a nearby suburban district and will move this spring.

"Having access to quality education that works for our family is the most important thing I can provide her," Vogel said.

School desegregation

If Senate File 270 passes, more families could start open enrolling out of the five high-poverty districts that use diversity plans to regulate student transfers: Davenport, Des Moines, Postville, Waterloo and West Liberty.

The plans are a product of decades-old desegregation efforts and were intended to prevent white students from leaving districts with large minority populations.

They once restricted which students could transfer based on race, but a United States Supreme Court ruling in 2007 forced districts to modify plans so they are not based solely on race.

Most replaced race with family income, allowing districts reject transfer requests if a student's family earns enough money that the student does not qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Currently, a family of four earning $45,510 per year or less qualifies for the lunch program.

Still, the intentions are the same — balance the diversity of students in schools, and emphasize diversity as a strength that can benefit all students, superintendents told the Register.

Some worry the bill could create higher concentrations of poor students that could pull down the student achievement of those left behind.

"All students need to see really great role models of what success looks like," said Margaret Buckton, a lobbyist for both rural and urban school groups that oppose the bill.

So far, 30 lobbyists, including educational and faith groups, have registered their opposition. The only one registered in favor is Americans For Prosperity, the Koch brothers' main political advocacy group, which has recently become more prominent in Iowa politics.

The change would allow families to send children to the public school "that they believe will better meet their students' needs," said Drew Klein, a lobbyist for Americans for Prosperity.

"We want every student to maximize their potential in the classroom," Klein said. "What I don't think is fair is that certain students are going to be held hostage for a greater societal good and they need to wait and trust the system is going to get better."

A 'school choice' effort

The transfers bill is part of a so-called "school choice" effort to open educational options to families, whether through redirected state resources or legislation that changes policies and practices.

An Iowa Senate subcommittee met to discuss the proposal to broaden open enrollment this month. Sinclair said she's seeking more information and will "weigh the facts" that she's requested from urban districts.

"There's concerns over creating pockets of poverty, but the reality is that pockets of poverty already exist," Sinclair said. "We may be preventing students who are not getting the education their parents desire for them from going somewhere else."

Sinclair added: "Kids in these districts are not being allowed to make that choice, like the choice in every other district in Iowa, and that's concerning."

Some say eliminating diversity plans for open enrollment could be detrimental to schools, as state funding would follow the students.

Although a fraction of total enrollment, hundreds of students sought to leave Davenport, Des Moines and Waterloo schools during the 2016-17 school year but were denied because of family income, a Register review of data shows.

Postville and West Liberty had only a handful of requests to transfer.

A Register analysis found that during the 2016-17 school year:

More than 90 percent of open enrollment denials in Davenport (116) and Waterloo (62) were based on diversity

About 75 percent of denials in Des Moines (223) were based on diversity

All open enrollment requests were granted in West Liberty and Postville

"It would be absolutely devastating from an economic standpoint, as well as diversity," said Davenport Superintendent Art Tate. "Diversity is our strength."

Changing public schools

If such a law passes, opponents are warning that the change could accelerate so-called "white flight" in urban areas.

In Waterloo, for example, the vast majority of students who wanted to transfer — 85 percent — were Caucasian.

"That's a concern for us," Waterloo Superintendent Jane Lindaman said. "We feel that the diversity plan has been effective in allowing us to help maintain a reasonable balance."

In addition, some voiced concern that open enrollment would only help affluent families, such as those with the means to provide transportation to neighboring districts.

But a bill introduced this week, House File 2087, could change that by allowing school buses to cross borders to transport open-enrollment students. Currently, that's allowed only if both districts agree.

Still, some worry that families won't give their neighborhood schools a chance; many requests are for kindergartners to leave the district, superintendents told the Register.

"When parents look just at the reported test scores and say this is a 'good school' or a 'bad school,' they're making the decision on bad information," said Louisa Dykstra, a director for Parents for Great Iowa Schools.

But some families are discontent with the education their children receive and want a different public school option. The change could potentially help some of the most vulnerable students, said Klein, the lobbyist for Americans for Prosperity.

"It's not really a choice," Klein said. "The only real sense of hope is that, 'We're trying; we're hoping to get better.' Yet year after year, that kid is going to spend time in that system. How long are we going to make that parent wait for the system to get better?"

For Vogel, who said she worked with the Des Moines principal and district leaders to better her daughter's situation, she realized her options were limited.

Her daughter's outlook had shifted from enjoying to dreading school, and Vogel said she needed a change.

"I pulled her from that school six weeks into the school year," she said.

Vogel, who was adopted into a biracial family, takes issue with the notion of diversity based on income. She thought about filing a lawsuit, but realized sending her daughter to St. Pius X Catholic School was a more affordable route.

Still, she worries about her daughter's former classmates whose families can't take out loans to pay for tuition, as she did, or who can't relocate to a nearby school district as she will this spring.

"Every family has their own unique situation," Vogel said. "If the space is available at another school, then who are a bunch of strangers to say what is best for you and your child?"