Mt. Olive Lutheran School (Des Moines): Iowa ESA Eligibility & Funding

Where this comes from. Accreditation and ESA eligibility: Iowa Department of Education 2025-26 Nonpublic School Building Directory (address file March 16, 2026), retrieved October 30, 2026; the ESA can only be used at schools on that list. Enrollment and religious affiliation: NCES Private School Survey 2023-24 (2021-22 for schools that did not respond). Tuition is not reported to either agency, so confirm it with the school.

Can the Iowa ESA be used at Mt. Olive Lutheran School?

Yes. Mt. Olive Lutheran School is on the Iowa Department of Education's 2025-26 list of accredited nonpublic schools (accredited by National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA)), so a K-12 student who attends full time can use the $8,148 Students First ESA here for 2026-27. Tuition and fees are paid from the account first, each semester, through Odyssey.

$8,148

Full-year 2026-27 Students First ESA per K-12 student ($4,074 for a half-year start)

STO

Need-based tuition grant through the school's STO, for incomes up to 400% of poverty

$500

Top Iowa tuition and textbook credit per child, on costs not paid by the ESA

Pre-K

Ask if the four-year-old class is a Statewide Voluntary Preschool partner

Families with household income at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines can ask which school tuition organization the school belongs to; STO grants can sit alongside the ESA.

Whatever the family pays itself, beyond the ESA, can count toward the Iowa tuition and textbook credit: 25 percent of the first $2,000 per child. The federal survey shows a pre-K class here; the ESA starts at kindergarten, so ask whether the four-year-old room is a Statewide Voluntary Preschool partner classroom and whether it accepts Child Care Assistance.

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Questions to ask Mt. Olive Lutheran School

What will we owe for our child's grade after the $8,148 ESA is applied, and which fees do you bill through Odyssey?
Which school tuition organization do you use, and when is its grant application due?
Do you offer church-member, parish or sibling rates, or your own need-based aid?
If we apply in the half-year window, by what date do you need our enrollment confirmed?
Is your pre-K a Statewide Voluntary Preschool partner classroom, and what do extra hours cost?

Dates that apply now

Oct 15 – Nov 15, 2026Half-year Students First ESA application window for 2026-27 (closes 11:59 p.m. Nov 15); worth $4,074 for the spring semester
Dec 1, 2026Spring-semester ESA deposits, including first half-year awards, become available in Odyssey
Jan 1, 2027Federal scholarship tax credit starts; Iowa opted in on January 5, 2026
Jan 14, 2027Half-year ESA enrollment and tuition-payment deadline in the Odyssey portal (11:59 p.m.); eligibility is finalized January 15