The path for a pair of bills – one in the Senate and one in the House – creating Education Savings Accounts for K-12 students diverged Wednesday, with one perched to move forward and one appearing to be sidetracked after being shifted to a different committee for consideration.
ESAs are akin to vouchers, allowing state education funds to be accessed directly by families but differ from vouchers in that ESAs can be used to pay for more than tuition. ESAs have gained traction in recent years, pushed by conservatives unhappy with COVID-era policies and wanting more say in their child’s education. Critics fear ESAs drain needed funding from under-resourced public schools. Eleven states have some form of ESAs.
