Iowa has made history by becoming the third state in the nation to approve a universal school choice program for students. On Tuesday, Governor Kim Reynolds signed the legislation into law, touting it as “educational freedom” for every child, regardless of zip code.

For the first time, we will fund students not systems!

Parents, not the government, can now choose the education setting best suited to their child regardless of their income or zip code.

Iowa has affirmed that educational freedom belongs to all! pic.twitter.com/eQPx7C5BH0

— Gov. Kim Reynolds (@IAGovernor) January 24, 2023

This is the third attempt Iowa has made at universal school choice. Educational freedom can often be a tricky subject in legislative sessions, as there are multiple options for how such a program works, and how much government money will be devoted to it, given the often complicated funding formula of local government schools. Some choice programs work on vouchers, which are basically virtual coupons worth a set dollar amount that a family can use at any school of their choice. They often don’t come close to the amount government schools receive. Other choice programs provide “scholarships” to schools of choice. In most cases, the programs are limited to students in certain income levels or districts.

Iowa will use ‘educational savings accounts’ (ESA) which act as suggested. The government dollars reserved for each child’s education will be put into monitored ‘savings accounts.’ Parents are free to use the money in those accounts to put toward any school they wish, and even to other educational endeavors that qualify, like certain supplies, educational field trips, etc. Some parents may choose to put those dollars toward the government school their children already attend, some may choose private or charter options, some homeschool. Outside of direct funding (money following the child), ESAs are the most flexible form of choice funding to date.

Iowa students are set to enjoy a whole new world of educational options…at last.

To be sure, Democrats and their union allies will not give up control easily. Government education is a billion dollar industry for teachers unions, and they will not be keen to loosen their grip without a battle. New Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has vowed to do her best to reverse school choice in that state, and unions will be pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into anti-choice candidates in the next election.

As RedState’s Jeff Charles points out, school choice advocates should remain active and vigilant, but momentum seems to be on the side of freedom…for now.

Multiple studies have shown that the majority of parents support school choice, much to the chagrin of progressives who believe your children belong to government schools and not to you. While these developments are a positive sign, it would be important to remember that the statist crowd will fight tooth and nail to ensure only the government is able to decide where and how children are educated. But we can take encouragement from the fact that public opinion is on our side. It’s time to make the most of it.