Preschool bill passed by the House

A preschool bill was the subject of much debate in the Iowa House yesterday, but it was eventually approved. Under the bill, Iowa's free preschool program would be repealed and replaced with a sliding scale payment system. Republicans said it's fiscally responsible to require more affluent families to pay. But Democrats said thousands of 4-year-olds will slip through the cracks now. Parents' share of preschool costs under the proposed plan would range from the full $2,290 for affluent families to as little as $23 per student for the poorest families.