Student Empowerment Act

Senate Bill

S. 152

119th Congress

Student Empowerment Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 20, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Ted Cruz

Senator

Republican

TX

Cosponsors

8

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Taxation

Summary

This bill expands 529 education savings plan eligible expenses to include homeschool tuition and various K-12 educational costs. Newly covered expenses include curriculum materials, instructional books, online learning, tutoring, testing fees, dual enrollment, and educational therapies for students with disabilities. This extends tax-advantaged savings beyond the current 10,000 dollar K-12 tuition limit to cover broader educational expenses.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

SponsorTed Cruz (R-TX)

Introduced1/20/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

ChamberSenate

Data from Congress.gov

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Vote Prediction

Student Empowerment Act

This bill expands 529 education savings plan eligible expenses to include homeschool tuition and various K-12 educational costs. Newly covered expenses include curriculum materials, instructional books, online learning, tutoring, testing fees, dual enrollment,

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill expands 529 education savings plan eligible expenses to include homeschool tuition and various K-12 educational costs. Newly covered expenses include curriculum materials, instructional books, online learning, tutoring, testing fees, dual enrollment, and educational therapies for students with disabilities. This extends tax-advantaged savings beyond the current 10,000 dollar K-12 tuition limit to cover broader educational expenses.

Bill Number: 152
Sponsor: Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Introduced: 1/20/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Policy Area: Taxation

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Student Empowerment Act
Bill Number: 152
Sponsor: Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced: 1/20/2025
Summary: This bill expands 529 education savings plan eligible expenses to include homeschool tuition and various K-12 educational costs. Newly covered expenses include curriculum materials, instructional books, online learning, tutoring, testing fees, dual enrollment, and educational therapies for students

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill expands 529 education savings plan eligible expenses to include homeschool tuition and various K-12 educational costs. Newly covered expenses include curriculum materials, instructional books, online learning, tutoring, testing fees, dual enrollment, and educational therapies for students with disabilities. This extends tax-advantaged savings beyond the current 10,000 dollar K-12 tuition limit to cover broader educational expenses.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Student Empowerment ActThis bill expands the education-related expenses that may be paid for with tax-free distributions from a qualified tuition program (also known as a 529 plan) to include certain expenses related to elementary, secondary, and homeschool education.Under current law, distributions from a 529 plan are excluded from gross income if they are used to pay for qualified higher education expenses, which includes up to $10,000 (per year and per beneficiary) for tuition at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school.The bill expands the education-related expenses that may be paid for with tax-free distributions from a 529 plan to include tuition related to homeschooling and the following expenses related to elementary, secondary, and homeschool education:<ul><li>curriculum and curricular materials,</li><li>books or other instructional materials,</li><li>online educational materials,</li><li>tutoring or educational classes outside the home,</li><li>testing fees,</li><li>fees for dual enrollment in an institution of higher education, and</li><li>educational therapies for students with disabilities.</li></ul>

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Expands 529 plan eligible expenses for K-12 education
Covers homeschool tuition and curriculum materials
Includes tutoring, testing fees, and online materials
Allows dual enrollment college course payments
Adds educational therapies for students with disabilities

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This legislation significantly expands school choice by enabling tax-advantaged funds for diverse educational expenses. Homeschool families gain access to 529 benefits previously limited to traditional schools. The expanded categories recognize modern educational costs beyond basic tuition. Critics argue it further subsidizes alternatives to public education while reducing potential tax revenue.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Taxation

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

152, 119th Congress (2025). "Student Empowerment Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-152

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