Five states have created new education savings account (ESA) programs in 2023—the most in a single year since Arizona enacted the country’s first in 2011. In the last four years, the pace of states enacting new programs has increased—two states enacted programs in 2019, while four did so in 2021.
ESAs allow families to receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized private savings accounts for use on approved educational expenses. States set different rules for what counts as an approved educational expense, but in general, families can put ESA money toward private school tuition, tutoring, curriculum, and school supplies.
Since 2011, 13 states have enacted 15 ESA programs. The Nevada State Legislature passed a bill establishing an ESA program in 2015 that would have covered nearly all students but the state supreme court ruled against the program’s funding mechanism in 2016, leaving it inoperable.
