Iowa GOP primary frontrunner for governor faces backlash over private school access comments

The front-runner in Iowa’s Republican gubernatorial primary is facing criticism for comments suggesting private schools participating in the state’s school choice program would need to accept all students, including those with special needs.

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, is leading a crowded field of five Republicans seeking the party’s nomination June 2 to replace Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican who championed the state’s education savings account program, which passed in 2023.

The program provides families with $8,000 they can designate toward their child’s education, including at private and religious schools. Participation has grown to more than 41,000 students, or 7% of the state’s K-12 population, since income limits were lifted for the current school year.

Feenstra, who represents Iowa’s 4th District in Congress, said last week that if elected he would “consider” changes to the program to “level (the) playing field.”

“When we start looking at raising all boats, we have to make sure that all schools can take all kids,” Feenstra said. “If you have a child that has an IEP and you’re a parent, the parent should decide, ‘Hey, I want my child to go to that school.’”

That brought swift pushback from Republicans, including rival Adam Steen, who accused Feenstra of “betraying” school choice.

“Commanding every school to take every child would include requiring Christian schools to take students with fundamentally different belief systems,” Steen said in a release. “A core belief of the Christian faith, as well as a belief held by many Republicans, is that boys cannot be girls and vice versa. Under a Feenstra administration, this raises serious concerns about whether faith-based institutions would be forced to compromise the very principles on which they were founded.

“Iowans want true school choice, which means freedom of conscience and association,” Steen continued. “Potentially forcing Christian schools to import beliefs and behaviors contrary to their deeply held convictions is the exact opposite of that.”

But Reynolds, who has said she won’t endorse a candidate before the primary, told reporters last week that Feenstra had called her Thursday to say his comments were misunderstood and that he wants private schools to receive the same funding increase as public schools to serve special needs students.

“He called yesterday and said, ‘Hey, I think some of my comments got taken out of context,’” Reynolds said. “So he’s very, very, very supportive of families having freedom of choice in education. He’s 100% supportive. And so he just wants to make sure that it’s fair in how we allocate the funds.”

Feenstra on Friday reiterated that he is “so supportive of educational savings accounts” and that he wants to “make sure” the state does more to help students with disabilities.

But House Minority Leader Brian Meyer, a Democrat, said Feenstra was “correct” that private schools should accept all students, adding, “I think he should probably look at income limits as well” for the school choice program.

If Feenstra prevails in the primary, he may have a bigger challenge on his hands. Polling released Monday shows him trailing state Auditor Joe Sands, the Democrat front-runner, 50% to 42%. But Republicans hold a large electoral advantage in the Hawkeye State, meaning those numbers could change once the nominees are decided.

Feenstra’s campaign did not respond Monday to a request for comment from The Lion.

Photo credit: Rep. Randy Feenstra (Facebook)