U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas introduced the Student Empowerment Act to expand school choice. The measure would increase the availability of 529 Education Savings Plans to include K-12 elementary and secondary school tuition and eligible K-12 educational expenses for public, private, and homeschooling students.
“School choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century, and throughout my Senate tenure, I have been proud to lead the fight for educational freedom,” Cruz said on Tuesday.
He added, “The Student Empowerment Act is commonsense legislation that will expand access to 529 savings accounts and empower American families to best meet their children’s learning needs.”
The legislation aims to help K-12 elementary, secondary, and homeschooling students use 529 savings accounts for education and expenses such as school curricula, books, tutoring, and testing fees.
Additionally, the bill would enable students with disabilities to use their 529 savings accounts to pay for educational therapies and customize learning based on their needs.
“We need to ensure families, parents in particular, have more options when it comes to choosing a school that best fits their children’s academic needs,” explained Michele Exner, director of federal affairs at Parents Defending Education Action. She added that “Students should not be constrained to a school based on an arbitrary metric like a zip code.”
Gov. Greg Abbott has highlighted the rising support for school choice. “School choice is wanted by all demographic groups in the state of Texas,” he said in November. “Hispanics and African Americans in the state of Texas, they strongly support school choice. Those parents want an option.”
Cruz was joined by U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Curtis (R-Utah), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) in introducing the legislation.
U.S. Rep. Hern (R-Okla.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.