Nevada students one step closer to using education savings accounts

Yesterday, a Nevada judge ruled in favor of education savings accounts, upholding the nation’s most expansive savings account program. In Duncan v. Schwartz, the ACLU and the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State sued in an effort to prevent families from accessing the accounts, which allow families to pursue a quality education for their children. The judge dismissed the case, upholding the constitutionality of Nevada’s accounts.

With an account, the state deposits a portion of a child’s funds from the state funding formula in a private bank account that parents can use to buy educational products and services for their children. The Goldwater Institute helped design the nation’s first such program in Arizona and has testified around the country in helping to design the accounts for other states. Education savings accounts are also available to families in Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi.

Nevada state treasurer Dan Schwartz issued a statement saying, “Today’s ruling brings us one step closer to allowing Nevadan parents educational choice opportunities for the upcoming school year.”

Nevada’s program is still under an injunction from a different case, Lopez v. Schwartz, so the treasurer has not been able to award any accounts to families yet.

New research from the Goldwater Institute explains Nevada Treasurer Schwartz’s plans for implementing the accounts and the need for better implementation in states like Arizona. Let’s hope Nevada’s higher courts rule in favor of families and more children can find excellent opportunities no matter where they live.