# Education Savings Accounts for Military Families Act of 2023

This bill creates a new federal program that gives military families money to pay for their children's education outside of traditional public schools. Here's what that means in practice.

If you're a military family with a child on active duty, you can now apply for a Military Education Savings Account. Once approved, the federal government deposits $6,000 per year into an account for your child (adjusted annually for inflation). You can then use this money to pay for a wide range of educational options instead of sending your child to public school full-time. This includes private school tuition, online learning programs, tutoring, educational therapies, textbooks, computers, test prep courses, college costs, vocational training, and even contributions to college savings plans. Essentially, the money follows your child to whatever educational service you choose, as long as it's licensed by your state.

To qualify, your child must have a parent on active military duty and must have attended public school for at least 100 consecutive days in the previous year. Once you get an account, you can't enroll your child full-time in public school while using the program, though part-time public school attendance is allowed (though you'd need to pay for those part-time services from your account). The program includes an online marketplace to make it easier to find and pay approved educational providers. If funds remain unused at the end of the year, they roll over to the next year. The account terminates when your child turns 22, completes college, or enrolls full-time in public school—at which point any remaining money goes back to the federal government to fund the program for other families.

The bill sets aside $1.2 billion for the first year. If there aren't enough funds for all eligible military families who apply, existing accounts get renewed first, and then a lottery system determines who gets new accounts, with priority given to siblings of current account holders and enlisted members' children over officers' children. The program includes fraud protections, requires providers to post bonds if they receive large amounts of money, and allows parents to report suspected fraud anonymously.

Education Savings Accounts for Military Families Act of 2023

Banks, Jim

Education Savings Accounts for Military Families Act of 2023 This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to establish a program to provide&nbsp;children with parents on active duty in the uniformed services with funds to pay educational expenses. Specifically, ED must establish a tax-exempt Military Education Savings Account for dependent children of parents in the uniformed services for the payment of the children's educational expenses. Funds in the savings account may be used for specified purposes, including the cost of attendance at a private elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education, private tutoring, or costs associated with an apprenticeship or other vocational training program.