Horizon Science Academy Cedar Rapids seeks one-year delay, moving planned opening to August 2027
Horizon Science Academy Cedar Rapids is seeking to postpone its planned opening by one year, from the 2026-27 school year to August 2027, after losing what its operator described as a viable facility option.
Concept Schools requested the change in an amendment submitted to the Iowa State Board of Education. The available state record describes the delay as a requested amendment, not a finalized board action.
The proposed change affects the timetable for families considering the planned public charter school in the Cedar Rapids area. The school is not currently operating, and the amendment says Concept Schools remains committed to opening it in August 2027.
Planned lease did not proceed
According to the amendment request, Horizon Science Academy Cedar Rapids no longer had a viable facility for the 2026-27 school year.
Radiant Church notified Concept Schools on June 2, 2026, that it would not proceed with a lease agreement and asked to terminate a previously executed letter of intent. The state record does not give a reason that the church decided not to move forward with the lease.
Without that facility, Concept Schools asked the state to move the opening date to August 2027. The request is for a one-year delay.
What the amendment would preserve
The proposed amendment would not change the school’s mission, educational program, governance structure, service area or commitment to families in the Cedar Rapids area, according to the request.
Instead, Concept Schools said the additional time would be used to identify and secure an appropriate facility; complete planning and permitting; continue community engagement and enrollment development; and prepare for what it described as a sustainable opening.
Horizon Science Academy Cedar Rapids had previously been approved by the Iowa State Board of Education. The amendment record identifies the new August 2027 date as a request, however, and does not establish whether the board had formally approved the delay as of Aug. 3, 2026.
What comes next
The record does not identify a replacement site, a revised enrollment target or a date when the State Board will make a final decision on the amendment. Those details remain unresolved in the available documentation.
Separately, the Iowa Department of Education says applications for new charter schools will be linked beginning Aug. 17, 2026. That is a state charter-school timeline, rather than a stated decision date for Horizon Science Academy’s amendment.
For Cedar Rapids-area families interested in the planned school, the immediate change is the requested shift in the anticipated launch from fall 2026 to August 2027.
Sources
- 2026-06-18 SBE Horizon Science Academy Amendment, Iowa Department of Education
- Charter Schools, Iowa Department of Education