Wyoming Education Savings Accounts Act
In one sentence
Plain language
Official record
Bill Summary - 24LSO-0477 Bill No.: HB0166 Effective: Multiple Dates LSO No.: 24LSO-0477 Enrolled Act No.: HEA No. 0053 Chapter No.: 108 Prime Sponsor: Clouston Catch Title: Education savings accounts-1. Has Report: Yes Subject: Creation of K-12 education savings accounts. Summary/Major Elements: This act creates education savings accounts for students to attend prekindergarten, K-12 private schools, and to pay educational expenses. A student with a household income that is at or below one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the federal poverty level may receive six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) per year. The program will be administered by the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) and requires parents or guardians to execute an agreement with the State. The act establishes requirements for education service providers to participate in the program. The act includes an initial appropriation of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000.00) from the general fund to be distributed to students. In addition, four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000.00) was appropriated to the WDE for contractual services and four hundred eighty thousand dollars ($480,000.00) for the salaries and benefits of two (2) WDE full-time employees. Comments: Creates a major program: Wyoming Education Savings Accounts Act. Requires the WDE to report regularly to the Joint Education Interim Committee on the expenditure of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000.00) appropriated for contractual services. The above summary is not an official publication of the Wyoming Legislature and is not an official statement of legislative intent. While the Legislative Service Office endeavored to provide accurate information in this summary, it should not be relied upon as a comprehensive abstract of the bill.
Public statements
Last checked Aug 5, 6:23 AM
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the bill because it increases government spending without offsetting public school costs and undermines the responsibility of churches and families.
D · H45
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the bill because they believe extending eligibility to higher income levels does not make it constitutional and amounts to giving checks to those who can afford private schools.
R · H09
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the bill as a necessary compromise between opposing sides, despite acknowledging it is not perfect.
R · S02
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment because it provides more educational choices for families while bolstering private schools, which alleviates concerns about government taking over preschool education.
R · S25
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment to ensure that science instruction respects established scientific facts about geology and evolution rather than allowing alternative theories.
R · S26
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because they believe it is unconstitutional to dictate curriculum or delete ideas for homeschoolers and fundamentalist Christians.
R · S19
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because they view it as unnecessary bureaucracy requiring parental acknowledgement, though they do not see it as fundamentally harmful to the bill.
R · S03
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment to ensure state funds are used for fact-based, non-sectarian education in compliance with the Wyoming Constitution.
R · S15
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because they believe it is unconstitutional to use taxpayer money for religious instruction regarding topics like creationism.
D · S09
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the bill because they believe it has been altered to include unconstitutional provisions for sectarian education and offers little value.
R · S27
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker expresses concern about passing the bill because it no longer resembles their original intent and they worry that providing $6,000 to anyone without means testing is problematic.
R · S18
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the bill because they believe it is unconstitutional and would result in $20 million being spent on legal fees instead of education. They also cite a lack of transparency, accountability, and testing as reasons for not supporting the measure.
R · S13
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the bill because they believe it provides an opportunity to offer universal school choice to all children.
R · H32
Why they voted this way
The speaker opposes concurrence because the Senate removed pre-kindergarten, accountability testing to prevent students from falling behind and fight fraud, and a tiered income system.
R · H09
Why they voted this way
The speaker opposes concurrence because giving money to any individual without a means test violates Article 16 Section 6 of the state constitution, which allows support only for the poor.
R · H01
Why they voted this way
The speaker supports concurrence to avoid letting perfection be the enemy of good, arguing that this bill offers an opportunity to change how education is offered despite potential flaws.
R · H50
Why they voted this way
The speaker supports concurrence because it provides Wyoming families and parents with an opportunity to choose what is best for their child.
R · H46
Why they voted this way
The speaker supports concurrence by citing that other successful ESA programs lack testing requirements and have low fraud rates, while arguing the bill is constitutional because funds are directed by parents as private action.
Why they voted this way
The speaker opposes concurrence because he believes the bill is likely unconstitutional as it gives money to anyone who asks for it rather than being a welfare item.
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker argues that requiring students receiving state funds to study the constitutions is a reasonable condition, noting they would not have accepted such funds if it restricted their ability to direct education as desired.
H42
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because he believes it asks intrusive questions about policies like religious affiliation that are not asked of public school teachers, urging a no vote.
R · H50
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment by questioning why religious affiliation should be codified as discriminatory and arguing that tracking personal details like dress codes is unnecessary.
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment by stating that taxpayers have a right to transparency regarding how their money is used, including tracking student outcomes and safety.
R · H46
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because the existing third-party system already tracks approved expenses and reimbursements, making extra reporting unnecessary.
D · H45
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment because third-party systems in other states have been found to be rampant with fraud and do not prevent government waste.
R · H07
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment to change the application requirement from both parents signing to just the custodial parent, allowing one parent to proceed if they disagree.
R · H09
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment to reduce funding as a compromise, noting agreement from the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
R · H32
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment to reduce funding, stating he has calculated the numbers and believes the program will be successful at this lower appropriation level.
D · H13
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment because they believe tax dollars should not go toward supporting schools teaching things harmful to students, regardless of whether payment goes directly to parents or schools.
R · H09
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker states they will vote against the bill if it proceeds down this path because it represents a slippery slope of handing out money without limits.
R · H40
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because it creates a one-year gap where families would be ineligible to receive funds.
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because they believe it violates the state constitution which limits aid to necessary support of the poor.
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes removing pre-kindergarten eligibility because early childhood education is vital for less advantaged parents and third-grade reading levels.
H60
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes removing pre-kindergarten because it is an important component to incentivize parents with younger children who need kindergarten readiness help.
R · H17
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes removing pre-kindergarten because there is currently no certification or curriculum requirement for preschools, making it difficult to verify quality.
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports keeping pre-kindergarten because the bill is about parental choice, allowing parents to select preschools that best benefit their children.
R · H32
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes removing pre-kindergarten because it is a key piece of the bill that benefits children, families, and the state regardless of their future school choice.
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports removing pre-kindergarten because the state currently does not support such programs in regular public schools, making it difficult to expand.
R · H07
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports removing pre-kindergarten because the bill lacks authority for the superintendent to create necessary curriculum and guidelines for preschools.
R · H46
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker opposes the amendment because it adds unnecessary complexity to existing requirements for private schools and homeschool programs.
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the amendment to ensure consistency in education standards, specifically regarding teaching the Constitution and other required subjects.
R · H32
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker supports the bill because it removes three-year-olds from preschool eligibility to help kindergarteners who are behind, and expands income tiers so funding reaches more families while ensuring responsible implementation.
R · H31
Why they voted this way
The lawmaker finds the bill unpalatable due to its inclusion of a preschool component that moves away from their preferred direction, though they still encourage voting for it.
Wyoming roll calls
13 roll calls
Official activity
Changes
32 stored
The amendment removes certain words related to science education from the bill, specifically deleting references to doctrines and practices in relation to science.
The amendment changes how certain funds are distributed, redirecting $10 million from the public school foundation program account to the Wyoming education savings accounts expenditure account for fiscal year 2026.
The amendment modifies the distribution of funds to include a new allocation for education savings accounts in fiscal year 2026, and allows borrowing from a reserve account to support these accounts.
The amendment changes the number of positions and funding amounts related to education savings accounts in Wyoming.
The amendment removes a previous change made by the House standing committee from the bill.
The amendment changes the amount of money deposited into education savings accounts for students starting in 2027, and makes other technical adjustments to the bill.
This amendment removes specific sections and wording from the bill related to education savings accounts, including references to preschool and certain administrative details.
The amendment removes the word 'civics' from certain lists in the bill and adds a comprehensive list of subjects, including civics with specific reference to the federal constitution.
The amendment adds requirements for students receiving education savings accounts (ESAs) to study the U.S. and Wyoming constitutions, and it outlines consequences if parents do not ensure this instruction.
The amendment removes a specific line from the bill's first page.
The amendment requires the state superintendent to report annually on various aspects of education savings accounts (ESAs), including student outcomes, special education services, and provider requirements.
The amendment corrects grammatical errors in the bill by replacing 'who's' with 'whose'.
The amendment changes how education savings accounts (ESA) are administered and monitored in Wyoming by specifying that certain exams must be approved by the state superintendent.
The amendment requires parents of students using education savings accounts (ESAs) to report their expenses annually.
The amendment changes the term 'parents' to 'the custodial parent' in a section of HB0166.
The amendment reduces the amount of money allocated for education savings accounts from forty million dollars to twenty million dollars.
The amendment removes the word 'Shall' from a specific line in the bill.
The amendment removes a previous change made by the House standing committee from the bill.
The amendment adds language to clarify that students receiving individualized instruction outside of traditional school settings are not considered home-schooled students under Wyoming law.
The amendment removes a specific phrase and makes a small change to the wording of an existing sentence in the bill.
The amendment adds a new clause (f) to the bill that allows education service providers to maintain their existing creed, practices, admission policies, and curriculum without being required to change them to accept payments from an ESA.
The amendment changes where money for education savings accounts comes from, switching it from a specific school fund to the general state fund.
The amendment changes the amounts of education savings accounts (ESAs) based on household income levels and adds requirements for studying U.S. and Wyoming constitutions.
The amendment adds a definition for 'pre-kindergarten' and makes changes to the bill's text related to pre-kindergarten education.
The amendment reduces the funding amount for education savings accounts from forty million dollars to five million dollars, changes certain positions from multiple employees to a single employee, and adjusts related financial figures.
The amendment changes the science instruction requirements for education savings accounts to include specific topics and exclude certain theories.
This amendment removes certain changes made by a previous Senate committee and adds a new provision regarding the expiration of education savings accounts.
The amendment adds a new section to the bill that establishes a pilot program for education savings accounts aimed at pre-kindergarten children in up to five selected counties.
The amendment adds a new rule that education savings accounts (ESA) programs cannot offer services to pre-kindergarten students unless they also provide services to primary and secondary school students.
The amendment changes the requirements for parents to receive education savings account funds and adds a condition related to science instruction.
The amendment to HB0166 removes several sections of the bill related to education savings accounts (ESAs) and modifies some existing provisions.
The amendment reduces the amount of money allocated for education savings accounts from twenty million to five million dollars.