Education savings accounts (ESAs) are designed to provide families with greater flexibility in designing educational programs that meet the needs of their children outside of the public system. Through ESAs, state education funds that are allocated for a child to attend public school are transferred directly to the child’s family to use for the educational services of their choice. In practice, ESAs are used for a variety of purposes, including private school tuition, direct tutoring services, educational learning devices, and distance learning.  

ESAs have grown tremendously in both scope and number in the past few years. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 13 states currently have ESA programs in operation. Beyond the creation of new ESA programs, there has been a flurry of legislative activity and public deliberation across state legislatures on the subject of ESAs. Given the rapid expansion of ESAs and the use of public dollars to support them, it is important to explore the kinds of accountability measures that are in place to ensure ESAs are serving their intended purpose. 

Accordingly, this brief  

  • provides a policy snapshot of state ESA requirements focused on accountability and transparency, and 
  • establishes the beginnings of a fact base of ESA data and reporting practices across states.