All ESA statutes list allowable uses of funds, but only 3 of 15 detail prohibited uses, and nearly all call for audits¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2029: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The statutes of all ESA programs explicitly specify allowable uses of funds, commonly including tuition, textbooks, therapies, tutoring, and educational technology. → Berry 2024 q2 i? Only 3 of the 15 state statutes explicitly list prohibited expenses, and all but 2 of the 15 statutes call for audits of ESA programs. → Berry 2024 (2)

Evidence¶

Berry 2024¶

Berry, W. & Chait, R. (2024). Education savings accounts and accountability: A landscape analysis across states. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED663763

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Financial accountability analysis of the 15 statutes finds all specify allowable expenses, with a common list including private school tuition and fees, textbooks, educational therapies, tutoring services, and educational technology; less frequent allowances include summer and after-school program fees and workforce credentials.

"The statutes of all ESA programs contain language that explicitly specifies what types of services and materials ESA funds can be used for."

Berry 2024 (2)¶

Berry, W. & Chait, R. (2024). Education savings accounts and accountability: A landscape analysis across states. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED663763

q2 · i? · review · r2

Statute analysis reports "only 3 of the 15 state statutes" list prohibited uses (e.g., noneducational consumer electronics), and that all but 2 of the 15 statutes contain explicit audit language; eight states require annual audits and five require random audits. The brief notes much of this language is open to interpretation.

"While almost all ESA statutes detail allowable uses of funds, only 3 of the 15 state statutes explicitly list expenses that ESA funds cannot be used for."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Most ESA statutes require data collection and public reporting, and many states publish annual report data beyond statutory requirements — related
• Most ESA programs have flexible assessment requirements, and testing results are largely informational with only West Virginia imposing explicit performance benchmarks — related
• ESA programs have grown rapidly, serving over 326,400 students across 13 states as of the 2023/24 school year — related