Bill
HB 387
HB 387 creates Education Opportunity Accounts: state-funded accounts parents use to pay private school tuition and other approved education costs, managed by PED.
Status
- Introduced: November 12, 2024
- Current status: Action postponed indefinitely / withdrawn from consideration (committee action in 2025).
- If enacted (bill as analyzed): effective date stated in analysis would be June 20, 2025 (bill text did not contain an effective date).
Purpose / Intent
- Establish a statewide Education Opportunity Account (EOA) program administered by the Public Education Department (PED) to allow parents of participating students to use public funds for private school tuition and a defined set of other educational expenses via an account administered under a contract with PED.
Key provisions
- Program and fund
- Creates the Education Opportunity Account program within PED.
- Creates an Education Opportunity Account Fund as a nonreverting state treasury fund to operate the program.
- Appropriates $100 million from the general fund to the EOA Fund and $580,000 to PED for program administration (for FY25 and subsequent years in the bill text).
- Eligibility, contracts, and account mechanics
- PED approves applications and enters a contract with each participating student’s parent.
- PED determines each participating student’s account award amount: set equal to the average amount spent by public school districts and charter schools for a public-school student in the same grade, weighted for special education and at‑risk units if applicable.
- PED makes monthly deposits into accounts and may contract for financial management services.
- Parents sign a contract agreeing to program rules (e.g., provide instruction in core subjects, not enroll the student full‑time in public school while participating, use funds only for qualifying expenses).
- Parents may not deposit their own funds into EOA accounts.
- Allowable uses (qualifying educational expenses)
- Private elementary/secondary tuition and fees
- Tutoring by qualified persons
- Textbooks and instructional materials (including hardware/software)
- Fees for standardized tests and AP exams
- Summer and after‑school program tuition/fees
- Public transportation to/from school
- Other educational charges approved by PED
- Oversight and reporting
- PED must maintain a public list of qualified education service providers.
- PED must ensure compliance with special education requirements and certify appropriate use of funds.
- PED must report annually (by December 1) to the Governor and Legislature on program participation, demographics, expenditures, etc.
- Establishes an Education Opportunity Review Commission to advise PED on eligible expenditures and program issues.
Fiscal impact (as analyzed)
- Direct appropriations in the bill: $100 million (EOA Fund) and $580,000 (PED administration) from the general fund.
- Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) estimate: if all ~22,000 current private school students participated, per‑student awards could range roughly $7,050 to $23,200 (depending on grade, income, disability), producing total program costs between about $156.2 million and $514.3 million — i.e., the appropriation would be insufficient if broad take‑up occurs.
- Administrative costs: PED may need additional staff/FTE (LESC estimate: at least one FTE ~$75,000 plus benefits).
Who would be affected
- Primary: parents and students who enroll in private schools or use permitted services; qualified education service providers (private schools, tutors, vendors).
- Secondary: Public school funding (State Equalization Guarantee/unit funding could be affected depending on participation and how funding shifts), PED (administration workload), state budget and the EOA nonreverting fund.
- Potential legal exposure: the analysis notes possible conflicts with state constitutional provisions (anti‑donation/education clauses), which could affect program implementation and litigation risk.
Substantive and technical issues
- Constitutional concerns: possible conflict with state constitutional provisions that bar using public funds to support sectarian or private schools or appropriating state funds to entities not under state control.
- Technical timing: bill text appropriated monies for “FY25 and subsequent fiscal years”; analysts suggested amending to indicate FY26 appropriations if intended.
- Take‑up and total cost uncertainty: actual fiscal impact depends on how many students participate and the per‑student award amounts.
Related proposals
- The bill was noted to relate to several other account/choice bills (e.g., Low‑Income Education Opportunity Account Act, Education Freedom Account Act) and to proposed constitutional amendments regarding the anti‑donation clause.
Bottom line
- HB 387 would create a state‑administered voucher‑style Education Opportunity Account program transferring state education dollars into parent‑controlled accounts to pay private school tuition and other defined educational expenses. The program would shift administration and accountability responsibilities to PED, require a sizable appropriation to seed the fund, and could materially affect state education spending depending on participation; it also raises potential constitutional and implementation issues.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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