Nevada Senate Passes Universal Education Savings Accounts

May 27, 2015

Excel National Commends Nevada Senate for Passing Universal Education Savings Accounts
This legislation is the first in the nation to give power of school choice universally to all students and parents in the state

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Patricia Levesque, Executive Director for Excellence in Education National (@Excel_National), issued the following statement regarding passage of Universal Education Savings Accounts (ESA) by the Nevada Senate. As the first universal ESA in the nation, this legislation (SB302) gives all Nevada parents unprecedented control over their child’s education, including the right to pick their schools.

“I congratulate the Nevada Senate for acknowledging in this historic piece of legislation a principle we have long held sacred in this nation – parents are the best decision makers for their children. If passed, the Universal Education Savings Accounts would be the most expansive school choice program in the nation, creating an array of school, program and service options that would allow parents to customize their child’s education. This legislation would complement the Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program just signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval, with the winners being parents, children, taxpayers and businesses that rely on a skilled, educated workforce. We thank Senator Scott Hammond for sponsoring this groundbreaking legislation and look forward to the Assembly considering this bill in the near future.”

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Background on Education Savings Accounts:

• Education Savings Accounts (also commonly referred to as Education Scholarship Accounts or ESAs) are an innovative way to bring customization to the education system.
• ESAs create a personal approach to education, where the ultimate goal is maximizing each child’s natural learning abilities.
• ESAs utilize accounts created by parents and funded and monitored by the state, which allow parents to direct their child’s funding to the schools, courses, programs and services of their choice – including tuition and fees, curriculum materials, tutoring, online learning, and licensed services such as therapy for students with disabilities.
• The Nevada proposal would give most students 90 percent of their state education funds. Students with special needs and those with a family income of 185 percent or less of the federal poverty level would receive 100 percent of their funding.
• ESAs were first created in Arizona in 2011. Florida became the second state to pass a program in 2014 and Mississippi and Tennessee have passed programs this year.