Federal Legislation	March 11, 2013

Action Requested:
No action is requested at this time. HSLDA will continue to monitor this bill and will send out an action e-lert if the bill comes up for a hearing.

Summary:
S. 86 would open Coverdell Education Savings Accounts to homeschool families.

Status:

3/11/2013

Referred to Senate Finance Committee

Sponsor: Senator David Vitter (LA)

Bill Summary and Status S. 86

HSLDA’s Position:
Support

Talking Points:
This legislation would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include homeschool expenses in Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESA).

A Coverdell ESA is an investment tool for parents seeking to save money for their children’s education related expenses, such as tuition, books, and supplies. This type of account is advantageous because its interest and distributions (withdrawals) are tax-free.

The Coverdell ESA can be used to pay for a child’s eligible education expenses. Currently, eligible expenses only include public and private school expenses. This means that only homeschool students in states which define a homeschool a private school can use the Coverdell ESA for educational expenses.

S. 86 would open Coverdell ESA accounts to homeschool families by including homeschool expenses as an eligible educational expense.

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