Bill
HB 2822
The bill creates an Education Savings Account program that transfers a portion of state K-12 aid to eligible low- and moderate-income students for private or alternative education
Status & Metadata
- Title: Education Savings Account Act (HB 2822)
- Sponsor: Rep. Chris Miller
- Introduced: February 2025 (filed Feb 5; first reading Feb 6); currently referred to Rules Committee.
- Procedural note: The bill text is the Illinois “Education Savings Account” proposal. The document provided also includes an unrelated Arizona bill text about nongovernmental organization contract reporting; that Arizona text is not part of the Illinois ESA proposal summarized below.
Purpose and intent
- Establishes a statewide Education Savings Account (ESA) Program to direct some or all of the State aid that would otherwise flow to a student’s resident public school district into a parent-controlled account to pay for specified private or alternative educational expenses for eligible low- and moderate-income students.
Who is eligible
- “Eligible student”: an elementary or secondary student who was eligible to attend a public school in Illinois in the preceding semester (or is newly entering school in Illinois) and who is in a household with total annual income not exceeding 2.5 times the federal free or reduced-price lunch (FRL) income standard.
Key program mechanics
- Administration: The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) must create and administer the ESA Program. The Program is to begin with the fall semester of the 2024–2025 school year (per bill text).
- Parent agreement: To receive an ESA grant, a parent must sign an agreement to (a) provide instruction in at least reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies, and science, and (b) not enroll the eligible student in a district or charter school while using ESA funds.
- Funding transfer: ISBE shall deposit into each ESA “some or all” of the State aid under Section 18‑8.15 of the School Code that would otherwise have been provided to the resident district for that student — calculated per the schedule below.
Grant amounts (income-tiered)
- Household ≤ FRL threshold: 100% of the per-student State aid under Section 18‑8.15.
- > FRL up to 1.5× FRL: 75% of that per-student State aid.
- >1.5× up to 2× FRL: 50%.
- >2× up to 2.5× FRL: 25%.
Permitted uses of ESA funds
- Tuition and fees at participating private schools.
- Textbooks required by participating schools.
- Payment to licensed/accredited tutors.
- Purchase of curriculum.
- Tuition/fees for non-public online programs.
- Fees for national norm‑referenced tests, AP exams, college admission exams.
- Contribution to 26 U.S.C. §529 plans and college/university tuition/courses.
- Educational services for students with disabilities from licensed/accredited providers.
- Tuition/fees at eligible postsecondary institutions.
- Account management fees by private financial firms approved by ISBE.
Restrictions and safeguards
- ESA funds may be used only for educational purposes; participating providers may not rebate, share, or otherwise return ESA funds to the student or parent beyond allowed uses.
- Parents may pay additional costs out-of-pocket for services not covered by the ESA.
- Participating private schools must notify ISBE and comply with Program requirements; the bill references accountability standards though detailed reporting/oversight provisions in the provided text are limited/truncated.
Potential impacts and issues
- Fiscal: Redirects state K–12 aid away from resident public school districts for participating students, potentially reducing district revenues and shifting costs to the State (administration) or districts (fixed costs remain). The schedule phases down the share of aid based on household income, concentrating full funding on the lowest-income families.
- Access: Limits participation to households at or below 2.5× FRL, targeting low- and moderate-income families.
- Oversight: The bill delegates account management and some oversight to ISBE and allows private financial managers approved by ISBE; detailed accountability and audit provisions are not fully included in the provided excerpt.
- Legal/operational: Implementation raises typical questions (e.g., effect on special education services, residency verification, timing of fund transfers, and compliance monitoring), but those are not resolved in the provided text.
Document note
- The package provided includes a separate, unrelated Arizona bill (also numbered HB 2822) addressing reporting by nongovernmental organizations that hold state contracts; that text is not part of the Illinois ESA Act summarized here.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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