11. Department of Education · Notable · Needs Congress

Give D.C. students education savings accounts

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Printed page 347 11. Department of Education

“Federal lawmakers should offer District students the opportunity to use education savings accounts. A portion of a child's federal education spending should be deposited in a private spending account that parents can use to pay for personal tutors, education therapists, books and curricular materials, private school tuition, transportation and more.”

What has happened

Feb 3, 2026 Not started
No education savings account exists for District students. Federal K-12 money for the District still moves as SOAR scholarships paid to participating schools, funded again at $52,500,000 in the FY2026 appropriation; no part of a child's federal education spending is deposited in an account parents control. The nearest thing Congress did is different in kind: the Education Freedom Tax Credit in Public Law 119-21 lists the District of Columbia among the jurisdictions that may elect to participate, but it credits donors who give to scholarship granting organizations rather than depositing a child's federal funding in a family-controlled account.
- Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (Public Law 119-75), federal payment for school improvement — D.C. Opportunity Scholarships
  Primary Congress Feb 3, 2026
- Public Law 119-21, sec. 70411 — Education Freedom Tax Credit (new 26 U.S.C. 25F), which treats the District of Columbia as a “covered State”
  Primary Congress Jul 4, 2025

Research log

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Research notes

One negative search covered this ask and #869 and #870.

Action: create
Object: Education savings accounts for District of Columbia students
ID: 871