Glossary

Education savings account

A state-funded account that parents can use for private school tuition, tutoring, homeschooling costs and other approved education expenses.

Also called: ESA, education freedom account, empowerment scholarship account

An education savings account (ESA) is a program in which the state deposits a portion of the funds it would have spent on a child's public education into an account that the parent controls. Families can spend the money on approved expenses, such as private school tuition, tutoring, online courses, therapies, textbooks and, in some programs, homeschool materials, and sometimes roll over unused funds.

Arizona created the first ESA program in 2011 for students with disabilities, and expanded it to all students in 2022. Other states, including Florida, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, West Virginia and Texas, have adopted broad programs. It differs from a school voucher, which pays a school directly, by offering flexibility to assemble a customized education.

Supporters see ESAs as the most flexible form of school choice, treating the money as the family's. Critics argue that they lack accountability for how funds are used, mainly subsidize families already in private schools, cost more than projected and drain money from public schools, and that private schools may not take all students. Participation and costs have exceeded expectations in some states. Legal challenges have been brought under state constitutions.

Last reviewed November 8, 2026

In the index now

Related terms

School choice Policies that let families use public education funds or tax benefits to select schools beyond their assigned district school. School voucher A government-funded certificate that lets a family pay for tuition at a private school, including religious schools, instead of the local public school. Tax-credit scholarship A program giving donors a tax credit for contributions to nonprofit organizations that fund private school scholarships. Homeschooling Education of children at home by parents or tutors rather than in a public or private school, legal in every U.S. state. Charter school A publicly funded school operated independently under a charter that frees it from some rules in exchange for accountability for results.