Nevada Becomes Fifth State to Enact Groundbreaking Education Savings Accounts

Lindsey Burke / June 02, 2015

The Silver State just struck gold.

Nevada has just become the fifth state to enact groundbreaking education savings accounts (ESAs), which will enable families to harness the funds that would have been spent on their children in their assigned pubic school to craft a customized education plan.

The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice earlier this year voted Nevada most likely to advance substantive new school choice options. And this prediction has come true. As the Friedman Foundation notes, Nevada has “blown away expectations.”

Nevada [has] become the fifth ESA state after Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Notably, the bill, authored by Sen. Scott Hammond, is by far the broadest ESA as it allows every public school student to access an account.

According to the Friedman Foundation, funds in the ESA can cover:

• Tuition and fees at an approved private school;
• Textbooks required for a student at an approved private school;
• Tutoring or other services provided by a tutor or tutoring facility that is a participating entity;
• Tuition and fees for a distance-learning program;
• Fees for any national norm-referenced achievement examination, advanced placement or similar examination, or standardized examination required for admission to college or university;
• Fees for any special instruction or special services if the child is a pupil with a disability;
• Fees and tuition for a college or university in Nevada if that student utilizes those expenses for dual credit;
• Textbooks for a college or university in Nevada, also if that student utilizes those expenses for dual credit;
• Transportation to school up to $750;
• Purchases of curriculum or any supplemental materials; and
• Management fees.

“Thanks to Gov. Brian Sandoval’s leadership and those in the legislature, Nevada has now become the fifth state to enact groundbreaking education savings accounts. ESAs represent the next generation of school choice, and Nevada’s near universal program takes a tremendous step toward ensuring every family can find education options that meet the unique learning needs of their child,” Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint stated.

Congratulations to those working to advance education choice in Nevada and to all those families who will now have the opportunity to craft a completely customized education for their children.

As ESAs sweep the country, so does the promise of increasing educational opportunity and ensuring every family has the chance to access learning options as unique as every child.