Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
The Student Empowerment Act (S.152) amends Internal Revenue Code section 529 to allow 529 plan distributions to pay K–12 expenses. Qualified expenses include tuition (public, private, religious), curriculum, books, online materials, certain tutoring, standardized test and AP fees, dual-enrollment fees, and licensed educational therapies.
Progressives stress equity and public-school crowding concerns
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill provides a clear and targeted statutory amendment to expand 529 qualified expenses to cover specified K–12 and homeschool items.
The Student Empowerment Act (S.152) amends Internal Revenue Code section 529 to allow 529 plan distributions to pay K–12 expenses.
Qualified expenses include tuition (public, private, religious), curriculum, books, online materials, certain tutoring, standardized test and AP fees, dual-enrollment fees, and licensed educational therapies.
Homeschool expenses are explicitly included.
Substantive but narrow tax-policy change that energizes both supporters and opponents; fiscal impact and partisan divisiveness lower enactment odds absent compromise.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill provides a clear and targeted statutory amendment to expand 529 qualified expenses to cover specified K–12 and homeschool items. The amendment text is specific about included expense categories and includes some provider qualifications, and it sets an effective date.
Progressives stress equity and public-school crowding concerns
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Progressives stress equity and public-school crowding concerns
Likely skeptical or opposed.
Supports aid for students with disabilities and access to therapies, but concerned that 529 tax breaks will subsidize private and religious schooling and favor wealthier families.
Views potential diversion of public funding from public schools as a key problem.
Mixed but cautiously open.
Recognizes parental flexibility and support for special needs services and dual enrollment, while worrying about fiscal cost and equity.
Would look for guardrails, budget offsets, and monitoring to limit abuse.
Generally supportive.
Seen as expanding school choice, parental control, and homeschool support by using existing tax-advantaged savings.
Welcomes inclusion of religious schools and therapies.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Substantive but narrow tax-policy change that energizes both supporters and opponents; fiscal impact and partisan divisiveness lower enactment odds absent compromise.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Progressives stress equity and public-school crowding concerns
Substantive but narrow tax-policy change that energizes both supporters and opponents; fiscal impact and partisan divisiveness lower enactm…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill provides a clear and targeted statutory amendment to expand 529 qualified expenses to cover specified K–12 and homeschool items. The amendment text is specific about…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.