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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa bans courts from ordering postsecondary education subsidies in divorce decrees
Last action · May 6, 2025: Signed by Governor . S.J. 943 .
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What This Bill Does
Iowa law now prohibits courts from ordering divorced parents to pay postsecondary education subsidies for their adult children aged 18 to 22. The change applies to temporary orders, final judgments, and decrees entered or pending on or after July 1, 2025, but does not allow the modification of existing orders entered before that date.
Divorcing parents in Iowa are no longer legally mandated by a court to fund college or career and technical training expenses for children between 18 and 22 years old under new or pending family law orders.
- Senate File 513 originated as Senate File 241 before being passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds. context
- Under prior Iowa law, courts possessed the authority under Section 598.21F to order divorcing parents to contribute to the college expenses of their children aged 18 to 22. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
divorcing parents
Parents undergoing divorce proceedings on or after July 1, 2025, are no longer subject to court-ordered postsecondary education subsidy obligations for adult children.
children between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two years
Adult children aged 18 to 22 are no longer eligible to receive court-mandated financial support for college or career training from their parents under new divorce decrees.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a judge still order my ex-spouse to pay for our child's college tuition in a new divorce case?
Does this law change existing college subsidy orders entered before July 1, 2025?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
23 actions- May 6, 2025SenateEnrolledSigned by Governor . S.J. 943 .
- May 6, 2025SenateReported correctly enrolled, signed by President and Speaker, and sent to Governor. S.J. 942 .
- Apr 22, 2025HouseMessage from House. S.J. 846 .
- Apr 21, 2025HouseImmediate message. H.J. 1010 .
- Apr 21, 2025HouseFloorPassed House , yeas 85, nays 6. H.J. 1009 .
- Apr 10, 2025HousePlaced on calendar under unfinished business. H.J. 928 .
Show 17 earlier actions
- Apr 2, 2025HousePlaced on calendar. H.J. 886 .
- Apr 1, 2025HouseCommittee vote: Yeas, 21. Nays. 0. H.J. 886 .
- Apr 1, 2025HouseCommittee report, recommending passage. H.J. 886 .
- Apr 1, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Mar 27, 2025HouseSubcommittee Meeting: 04/01/2025 8:00AM House Lounge 2.
- Mar 25, 2025HouseSubcommittee: Holt, Wessel-Kroeschell and Wheeler. H.J. 813 .
- Mar 19, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time, referred to Judiciary. H.J. 750 .
- Mar 19, 2025HouseMessage from Senate. H.J. 723 .
- Mar 19, 2025SenateImmediate message. S.J. 581 .
- Mar 19, 2025SenateFloorPassed Senate , yeas 43, nays 4. S.J. 579 .
- Mar 5, 2025SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 513 . S.J. 424 .
- Mar 5, 2025SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 424 .
- Mar 5, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 417 .
- Feb 25, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Feb 20, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 02/24/2025 3:30PM Room 217 Conference Room.
- Feb 11, 2025SenateSubcommittee: Green, Quirmbach, and Webster. S.J. 244 .
- Feb 10, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Judiciary. S.J. 216 .
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Elimination of Court-Mandated Higher Education Support
Iowa entirely removes judicial authority to mandate parental funding for children's postsecondary education during divorce proceedings, shifting from previous judicial discretion.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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