103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB1573
 
Introduced , by Rep. Adam M. Niemerg
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

 Creates the Education Savings Account Act. Requires the State Board of Education to create the Education Savings Account Program. Provides that a parent of an eligible student (defined as any elementary or secondary student who was eligible to attend a public school in this State in the preceding semester or is starting school in this State for the first time and who is a member of a household whose total annual income does not exceed an amount equal to 2.5 times the income standard used to qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch under the national free or reduced-price lunch program) shall qualify for the State Board to make a grant to his or her child's Education Savings Account by signing an agreement. Requires the State Board to deposit into an Education Savings Account some or all of the State aid under the State aid formula provisions of the School Code that would otherwise have been provided to the resident school district for the eligible student had the student enrolled in the resident school district. Provides that parents participating in the Program shall agree to use the funds deposited in their eligible students' accounts for certain qualifying expenses to educate the eligible student. Sets forth provisions concerning the calculation of grant amounts and other basic elements of the Program, administration of the Program, accountability standards for participating schools, and the responsibilities of the State Board and resident school districts.



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STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
MAY APPLY

 
 
A BILL FOR
 


HB1573LRB103 26046 RJT 52401 b



1 AN ACT concerning education.


2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3represented in the General Assembly:



4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
5Education Savings Account Act.


6 Section 5. Definitions. 
7 "Eligible postsecondary institution" means a public 
8community college, a public university, or an accredited 
9private postsecondary institution.
10 "Eligible student" means any elementary or secondary 
11student who was eligible to attend a public school in this 
12State in the preceding semester or is starting school in this 
13State for the first time and who is a member of a household 
14whose total annual income does not exceed an amount equal to 
152.5 times the income standard used to qualify for a free or 
16reduced-price lunch under the national free or reduced-price 
17lunch program established under 42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.
18 "Parent" means a resident of this State who is a parent, 
19guardian, custodian, or other person with the authority to act 
20on behalf of the child.
21 "Participating school" means any private school that 
22provides education to elementary or secondary students and has 
23notified the State Board of its intention to participate in 
 
 
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1the Program and comply with the Program's requirements.
2 "Private tutoring" means tutoring services provided by 
3tutors accredited by a regional or national accrediting 
4organization.
5 "Program" means the Education Savings Account Program 
6created in this Act.
7 "Resident school district" means the public school 
8district in which the student resides.
9 "State Board" means the State Board of Education.

10 Section 10. Basic elements of the Program. 
11 (a) The State Board shall create the Education Savings 
12Account Program. The Program shall begin with the fall 
13semester of the 2024-2025 school year.
14 (b) A parent of an eligible student shall qualify for the 
15State Board to make a grant to his or her child's Education 
16Savings Account if the parent signs an agreement promising:
17  (1) to provide an education for the eligible student 
18 in at least the subjects of reading, grammar, mathematics, 
19 social studies, and science; and
20  (2) not to enroll their eligible student in a district 
21 or charter school.
22 (c) The State Board shall deposit into an Education 
23Savings Account some or all of the State aid under Section 
2418-8.15 of the School Code that would otherwise have been 
25provided to the resident school district for the eligible 
 
 
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1student had the student enrolled in the resident school 
2district, as calculated under subsection (e) of this Section.
3 (d) Parents participating in the Program shall agree to 
4use the funds deposited in their eligible students' Education 
5Savings Accounts for the following qualifying expenses to 
6educate the eligible student:
7  (1) Tuition and fees at a participating school.
8  (2) Textbooks required by a participating school.
9  (3) Payment to a licensed or accredited tutor.
10  (4) Payment for the purchase of curriculum.
11  (5) Tuition or fees for a non-public, online learning 
12 program.
13  (6) Fees for national, norm-referenced examinations, 
14 Advanced Placement examinations or similar courses, and 
15 any examinations related to college or university 
16 admission.
17  (7) Contribution to the eligible student's qualified 
18 tuition program established pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 529.
19  (8) Educational services for pupils with disabilities 
20 from a licensed or accredited practitioner or provider.
21  (9) Tuition and fees at an eligible postsecondary 
22 institution.
23  (10) Textbooks required for college or university 
24 courses.
25  (11) Fees for account management by private financial 
26 management firms approved by the State Board.
 
 
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1 (e) Grant amounts to Education Savings Accounts shall be 
2calculated according to the following schedule:
3  (1) For students from households qualifying for the 
4 federal free or reduced-price lunch program, the amount 
5 granted to the student's Education Savings Account shall 
6 be equal to the dollar amount the resident school district 
7 would have received to serve and educate the eligible 
8 student from State aid under Section 18-8.15 of the School 
9 Code had the student enrolled there.
10  (2) For students from households with an annual income 
11 greater than the amount required to qualify for the 
12 federal free or reduced-price lunch program but less than 
13 1.5 times that amount, the amount granted to the student's 
14 Education Savings Account shall be equal to 75% of the 
15 dollar amount the resident school district would have 
16 received to serve and educate the eligible student from 
17 State aid under Section 18-8.15 of the School Code had the 
18 student enrolled there.
19  (3) For students from households with an annual income 
20 of greater than 1.5 times the amount required to qualify 
21 for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program but 
22 less than 2 times that amount, the amount granted to the 
23 student's Education Savings Account shall be equal to 50% 
24 of the dollar amount the resident school district would 
25 have received to serve and educate the eligible student 
26 from State aid under Section 18-8.15 of the School Code 
 
 
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1 had the student enrolled there.
2  (4) For students from households with an annual income 
3 of greater than 2 times the amount required to qualify for 
4 the federal free or reduced-price lunch program but less 
5 than 2.5 times that amount, the amount granted to the 
6 student's Education Savings Account shall be equal to 25% 
7 of the dollar amount the resident school district would 
8 have received to serve and educate the eligible student 
9 from State aid under Section 18-8.15 of the School Code 
10 had the student enrolled there.

11 (f) A participating school, private tutor, eligible 
12postsecondary institution, or other educational provider may 
13not refund, rebate, or share a student's grant with the 
14student's parent or the student in any manner. The funds in an 
15Education Saving Account may be used only for educational 
16purposes.
17 (g) Parents shall be allowed to make payments for the 
18costs of educational programs and services not covered by the 
19funds in their accounts.
20 (h) A participating student shall be counted in the 
21enrollment figures for his or her resident school district for 
22the purposes of calculating State aid to the resident school 
23district under Section 18-8.15 of the School Code. The funds 
24needed for a grant to an Education Savings Account shall be 
25subtracted from the State aid payable to the student's 
26resident school district under Section 18-8.15 of the School 
 
 
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1Code.

2 Section 15. Administration of the Program. 
3 (a) The State Board shall approve private financial 
4management firms to manage Education Savings Accounts.
5 (b) The State Board shall have the authority to conduct or 
6contract for the auditing of accounts and shall, at a minimum, 
7conduct random audits of accounts on an annual basis. The 
8State Board shall have the authority to make any parent of an 
9eligible student ineligible for the Program in the event of 
10substantial misuse of the funds in the account.
11 (c) The State Board shall have the authority to refer 
12cases of substantial misuse of funds to law enforcement 
13agencies for investigation if evidence of fraudulent use of an 
14account is obtained.
15 (d) The State Board shall provide parents of participating 
16students with a written explanation of the allowable uses of 
17Education Savings Accounts, the responsibilities of parents, 
18and the duties of the State Board.
19 (e) The State Board may deduct an amount from the grants to 
20Education Savings Accounts to cover the costs of overseeing 
21the accounts and administering the program, up to a limit of 
223%.
23 (f) The State Board shall establish reasonable fees for 
24private financial management firms participating in the 
25Program based upon market rates.
 
 
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1 (g) The State Board shall make payments to eligible 
2students' Education Savings Accounts on a quarterly basis.

3 Section 20. Accountability standards for participating 
4schools. 
5 (a) To ensure that students are treated fairly and kept 
6safe, all participating schools shall:
7  (1) comply with all health and safety laws or codes 
8 that apply to private schools;
9  (2) hold a valid occupancy permit if required by their 
10 local government;
11  (3) certify that they comply with the 
12 nondiscrimination policies set forth in 42 U.S.C. 1981; 
13 and
14  (4) conduct criminal history records checks on 
15 employees. The participating school shall then:
16   (A) exclude from employment any people not 
17 permitted by State law to work in a private school; and
18   (B) exclude from employment any people that might 
19 reasonably pose a threat to the safety of students.
20 (b) To ensure that funds are spent appropriately, all 
21participating schools shall:
22  (1) provide parents with a receipt for all qualifying 
23 expenses at the school; and
24  (2) demonstrate their financial viability by showing 
25 they can repay any funds that might be provided from 
 
 
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1 Education Savings Accounts, if they are to receive $50,000 
2 or more during the school year, by:
3   (A) filing with the State Board, prior to the 
4 start of the school year, a surety bond payable to this 
5 State in an amount equal to the aggregate amount of the 
6 funds from Education Savings Accounts expected to be 
7 paid during the school year from students admitted at 
8 the participating school; or
9   (B) filing with the State Board, prior to the 
10 start of the school year, financial information that 
11 demonstrates the school has the ability to pay an 
12 aggregate amount equal to the amount of the funds from 
13 Education Savings Accounts expected to be paid during 
14 the school year to students admitted to the 
15 participating school.
16 (c) In order to allow parents and taxpayers to measure the 
17achievements of the Program:
18  (1) parents shall ensure that:
19   (A) each year their eligible student takes either 
20 State achievement tests or national, norm-referenced 
21 tests that measure learning gains in mathematics and 
22 language arts and provide for value-added assessment;
23   (B) the results of these tests are provided to the 
24 State Board or an organization chosen by the State 
25 Board on an annual basis;
26   (C) the student information is reported in a way 
 
 
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1 that would allow the State Board to aggregate data by 
2 grade level, gender, family income level, and race; 
3 and
4   (D) the State Board or an organization chosen by 
5 the State Board will be informed of the eligible 
6 student's graduation from high school; and

7  (2) the State Board or an organization chosen by the 
8 State Board shall:
9   (A) ensure compliance with all student privacy 
10 laws;
11   (B) collect all test results;
12   (C) provide the test results, associated learning 
13 gains, and graduation rates to the public, via the 
14 State Board's Internet website, after the third year 
15 of test and graduation-related data collection; the 
16 findings shall be aggregated by the students' grade 
17 level, gender, family income level, number of years of 
18 participation in the Program, and race;
19   (D) provide graduation rates to the public via the 
20 State Board's Internet website after the third year of 
21 test and test-related data collection; and
22   (E) administer an annual parental satisfaction 
23 survey that shall ask parents of students receiving 
24 Education Savings Accounts to express:

25    (i) their satisfaction with the Program; and
26    (ii) their opinions on other topics, items, or 
 
 
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1 issues that the State Board finds would elicit 
2 information about the effectiveness of the Program 
3 and the number of years their child has 
4 participated in the Program.

5 (d) A participating school is autonomous and not an agent 
6of this State or the federal government, and, therefore:
7  (1) the State Board or any other State agency may not 
8 in any way regulate the educational program of a 
9 participating school or education provider that accepts 
10 funds from an Education Savings Account;
11  (2) the creation of the Program does not expand the 
12 regulatory authority of this State, its officers, or any 
13 school district to impose any additional regulation of 
14 private schools or education providers beyond those 
15 necessary to enforce the requirements of the Program; and
16  (3) participating schools and education providers 
17 shall be given the maximum freedom to provide for the 
18 educational needs of their students without governmental 
19 control.

20 Section 25. Responsibilities of the State Board.

21 (a) The State Board shall ensure that eligible students 
22and their parents are informed annually of which schools will 
23be participating in the Program. Special attention shall be 
24paid to ensuring that lower-income families are made aware of 
25the program and their options.
 
 
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1 (b) The State Board shall create a standard form that 
2parents of eligible students can submit to establish the 
3student's eligibility for the Program. The State Board shall 
4ensure that the application is readily available to interested 
5families through various sources, including the Internet.
6 (c) The State Board may bar a participating school or 
7education provider from the Program if the State Board 
8establishes that the participating school or education 
9provider has:
10  (1) routinely failed to comply with the accountability 
11 standards established in Section 20 of this Act; or
12  (2) failed to provide the eligible student with the 
13 educational services funded by the Education Savings 
14 Account.
15 (d) If the State Board decides to bar a participating 
16school or education provider from the program, the State Board 
17shall notify eligible students and their parents of this 
18decision as quickly as possible.
19 (e) The State Board shall adopt rules and procedures as 
20necessary for the administration of the Program.

21 Section 30. Responsibilities of resident school districts. 

22 (a) The resident school district shall provide a 
23participating school or education provider that has admitted 
24an eligible student under the Program with a complete copy of 
25the student's school records, while complying with the federal 
 
 
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1Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. 
21232g).
3 (b) The resident school district shall provide 
4transportation for an eligible student to and from the 
5participating school or education provider under the same 
6conditions as the resident school district is required to 
7provide transportation for other resident students to and from 
8private schools under the law. The resident school district 
9shall qualify for State transportation aid for each student so 
10transported.