Earlier this week our friend Jay Greene reported on his blog that the Arizona Senate voted to expand eligibility for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) to all public school students. ESAs provide parents with a taxpayer-funded account that can be used for approved educational expenditures such as tuition, books, tutoring testing services and the like. The expanded eligibility would be phased in over time. This is great news for all students and parents in the Grand Canyon State. Let’s hope the Governor Ducey and the House help to make it a reality.
You may remember Arizona was the first state to pass ESA legislation in 2011. Since then four other states — Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi and Nevada have enacted programs. Due to the growing popularity of ESAs, nearly half of all states are considering some form of ESA legislation.
In 2015 a special needs ESA bill was introduced for the first time in North Carolina.
To find out more about how ESAs can benefit children and parents in North Carolina go to: ESA4NCkids.org
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