Dive Brief:
- In Nevada, a new Education Savings Account program that allows Nevada families to use a majority of their share of per-pupil state education funding for "qualified expenses," including private school tuition, has been approved.
- The program is expected to go into effect and begin distributing money in February 2016 if no court challenges delay the process.
- The state's Democrats have spoken out against the plan, and state lawyers had previously said they believed that the program's exemptions for military families and kindergartners "went too far," the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Dive Insight:
The new Education Savings Account program has had a bumpy road toward execution. In June, the state legislature approved a general fund tax package worth $1.1 billion that increased the state's total education spending by 16%, in order to source funding for Gov. Brian Sandoval's ed reform plan. The governor’s "aggressive school choice agenda" dramatically expanded voucher program, enabling students from any socioeconomic background to attend any school they chose. But since then, state officials have struggled to keep up with a flurry of paperwork. The state's school choice agenda is unmatched and, as-yet, untested.