(Des Moines) The Iowa House has sent a bill to Gov. Kim Reynolds’s desk that would do away with divorce court orders to pay a subsidy for higher education.
Senate File 513 would bar courts from ordering either party involved in the dissolution of a marriage to pay a postsecondary education subsidy, through a temporary order or final judgment made on or after July 1.
The legislation passed out of the House with a vote of 85-6.
Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, said she’s seen this bill many times during her tenure as a lawmaker, and current law allowing courts to order payment for postsecondary education is not equitable. Married parents and parents who never married get to have the choice of how their child’s college will be paid for, but right now those going through a divorce have no choice.
“I am concerned about the rising cost of an education for our young people and taking away one option for them to get paid, but it needs to be done equitably, and therefore I support the bill and recommend a yes vote,” Wessel-Kroeschell said.
Floor manager Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, agreed with Wessel-Kroeschell in his closing comments, saying it is “not acceptable” that a judge gets to decide if a parent will help pay for college instead of the parents themselves if they’re going through a divorce.
“I would also mention that different parents have different philosophies regarding what should be paid for once their children become young adults, and how that is handled,” Holt said. “So I don’t think it’s appropriate that a court put that upon parents going through a divorce.”
