A Strong ESA Policy Includes:

Eligibility Requirements

Just as every child can attend a local public school, so should every child be eligible for an ESA. The accounts should be a way for all students to satisfy the state’s truancy requirement just like attending a traditional school, charter school, private school, or homeschool

Allowable Expense

Lawmakers should include the widest range of possible account uses because every child is unique—different students benefit from different instructional practices. ESAs should cover learning options like private school tuition, online classes, personal tutors, and college expenses because these opportunities help students to find challenging resources inside and outside the classroom. Computer hardware with assistive technologies is valuable for children with special needs. Families should also be allowed to pay for educational summer camps and school uniforms, as such additional fees are common in a child’s educational career.

Achievement Metrics

Student results should not be used to determine a child or school’s continued eligibility in an education savings account system, and lawmakers should not require account holders to complete a single uniform state test each year in order to remain eligible for an account. Standardized tests are a limited measure of a child’s achievement, which makes these assessments an ineffective indicator of a child’s progress or a school’s success. However, state policymakers should equip parents to be responsible for their child’s academic accountability and to monitor their progress. For example, lawmakers could require families to choose a nationally norm referenced standardized test, college entrance exam, or Advanced Placement test in math and reading each year. For students attending a private school, account holders should be allowed to satisfy this requirement by taking the annual assessment of the school’s choice or by choosing a different test outside of school.

Measures of Success

Student test scores should not be used to determine a child or school’s continued eligibility for an ESA, and lawmakers should not require account holders to complete a single uniform state test each year in order to remain eligible for an account. However, state policymakers should equip parents to be responsible for their child’s academic performance and to monitor his progress with a wide range of academic options. These results should be aggregated to protect student privacy and made publicly available to assess student performance.

Fraud Prevention Measures

To prevent misuse of the accounts, lawmakers should create a 1-800 number for individuals and businesses to report suspected fraud, along with an online fraud-reporting form. In programs that provide reimbursement of expenses, parents may be required to gain approval for expenses in advance. Programs that provide a debit card may restrict their use to certain vendors or review expenses on a regular basis before depositing additional funds in the account.

Homeschooling Protections

Policymakers should allow families to use an account to educate their child at home, using an account to purchase textbooks, curricular materials, and other learning resources. But state or federal laws should treat families homeschooling without an account separately from ESA students who school at home or craft an à la carte educational experience.

Solutions as Unique as a Each Child

Some families are satisfied with a student’s assigned school, and there is no requirement that anyone use an education savings account if they do not want to. But for students struggling with their coursework or bullied in class or any number of other situations in which parents want to choose how and where a child learns, the accounts can help parents access an educational environment as unique as their child. Every child should have such an opportunity.