A fact check of Senator Zach Wahls' anti-school choice tirade

Instead of facts and data, all Senator Wahls and Iowa Senate Democrats bring to the table in the school choice debate is fearmongering.

Photo by Austin Goode on Unsplash

Last night, during floor debate, Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, called the school choice bill the Iowa Senate passed "the School Closure Act."

"All it takes is for four or five students in your entire school system to take a voucher, and now your child has lost a teacher. And it is not difficult to understand the death spiral that this bill will create. Once a school district starts losing students, it starts losing teachers. And once a school district starts losing teachers, it starts losing schools. That's why this bill should really be called the School Closure Act. The School Closure Act. And we know what happens to small towns in our state once they start losing their schools," he said.

He later claimed, "schools are struggling to stay open," teachers "are fleeing the state," and that there is "a workforce crisis in our public education system."

He also took a shot at religious private schools.

"If private schools will be given public money, they should admit the public, regardless of disabilities, English speaking ability, their gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or intellectual ability. In fact, of Iowa's private schools, only fifteen percent — 15! — affirmatively list gender identity and sexual orientation as protected characteristics. If private schools are going to receive public money, they should play by the same set of rules as public schools. It's common sense," Wahls said.

He makes a lot of claims here.