With education savings account applications opening Jan. 1, state seeks input on rules

FROM WYOFILE:

Wyoming’s ESA — a controversial measure that emerged from the 2024 Legislature — will provide $6K annually to income-qualified families with privately educated and homeschooled students.

Applications for Wyoming’s new education savings accounts are slated to open Jan. 1, meaning income-qualified families can receive $6,000 per student as early as the 2025-26 school year for private school or homeschooling expenses.

The state education department is seeking public comment now on proposed rules to guide the process of determining what costs qualify for the state funds and how the program will be administered. Comments are due Dec. 11.

The rules establish how families must apply for the funds, how parents get reimbursed and how an education service such as a private school obtains certification to participate as a qualified provider.

The public can provide comments via this online form.

A controversial measure

The program will provide $6,000 annually to support the educational expenses of students enrolled in private schools and homeschooling. Students ages 4 and older who are in preschool through grade 12, and come from a family with a household income below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines (approximately $46,800 for a family of four), are eligible to apply. Acceptable costs include private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, school uniforms and online courses.

Its origins can be found in a school-choice effort in the state, but the ESA program traveled a rocky path.

The measure was transformed, killed, revived, amended scores of times, passed by the Legislature, and then partially vetoed by Gov. Mark Gordon in March before finally becoming law. The tug-of-war reflected the different outcomes advocates hoped the bill would achieve: early childhood education for some, broad access to non-public-school for others.

Lawmakers supporting the latter advocated for a “universal school-choice” program — open to any family regardless of income.

But many doubt that proposal’s constitutionality. Gordon cited that concern when he vetoed parts of the bill to narrow eligibility before allowing it to become law, pointing explicitly to the Wyoming Constitution’s prohibition on the state giving money to individuals “except for the necessary support of the poor.”

The current iteration may not be the last one. Pro-school-choice lawmakers voiced interest over the summer in tweaking the bill again to broaden eligibility.

Proposed rules

The rules would provide the framework for the program. They do things such as:

• Stipulate that parents submit federal tax documents when applying.
• Establish rules for how parents spend money they submit for reimbursement.
• Develop guidelines for education service providers to meet in order to qualify for expenses.
• Provide protocol for investigating and penalizing the misuse or misappropriation of funds.
• Mandate that school districts allow ESA students to participate in statewide standardized testing alongside public school students.

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.

This story was posted on November 5, 2024.