Student Empowerment Act
Latest action · Jan 28, 2021 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 28, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Student Empowerment Act
This bill allows tax-exempt distributions from qualified tuition programs (known as 529 plans) to be used for additional educational expenses in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary school.
(Under current law, distributions in connection with an elementary or secondary school are limited to tuition for a public, private, or religious school.) The bill allows the distributions to be used for additional educational expenses, including
- curriculum and curricular materials,
- books or other instructional materials,
- online educational materials,
- tutoring or educational classes outside the home,
- testing fees,
- fees for dual enrollment in an institution of higher education, and
- educational therapies for students with disabilities.
Distributions may also be used for tuition and the purposes above in connection with a homeschool (whether treated as a homeschool or a private school under state law).
Cosponsors 22
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 28, 2021 to Aug 2, 2022; 9 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-WA | Cathy McMorris Rodgers | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-CO | Doug Lamborn | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-PA | John Joyce | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-FL | Matt Gaetz | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-PA | Mike Kelly | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-SC | Ralph Norman | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-TX | Randy K. Weber, Sr. | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-OH | Steve Chabot | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-NY | Tom Reed | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-FL | Brian J. Mast | Feb 23, 2021 | |
| R-UT | Burgess Owens | Feb 23, 2021 | |
| R-NC | Dan Bishop | Feb 23, 2021 | |
| R-CA | Darrell Issa | Feb 23, 2021 | |
| R-PA | Scott Perry | Feb 23, 2021 | |
| R-NC | Madison Cawthorn | Jun 15, 2021 | |
| R-MO | Billy Long | Jun 16, 2021 | |
| R-MO | Blaine Luetkemeyer | Jun 17, 2021 | |
| R-NE | Adrian Smith | Jul 27, 2021 | |
| R-TN | David Kustoff | Aug 3, 2021 | |
| R-CA | Tom McClintock | Aug 24, 2021 | |
| R-TN | Tim Burchett | Sep 20, 2021 | |
| R-IA | Ashley Hinson | Aug 2, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Jan 28, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 28, 2021Introduced in House
- Jan 28, 2021Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 17, January 28, 2021, page H253.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R47492 | Tax-Advantaged Savings Accounts: Overview and Policy Considerations | Report | Mar 31, 2023 |
Related bills 7
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 44 | Student Empowerment Act | Identical bill | Jan 26, 2021 |
| HR 621 | Student Empowerment Act | Reintroduction of | Jan 16, 2019 |
| S 1757 | Children Have Opportunities in Classrooms Everywhere Act | Related bill | May 20, 2021 |
| HR 3704 | Children Have Opportunities in Classrooms Everywhere Act | Related bill | Jun 4, 2021 |
| S 4726 | Catch Up Our Kids Act of 2022 | Related bill | Aug 2, 2022 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit kindergarten through grade 12 educational expenses to be paid from a 529 account.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Student Empowerment Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Taxation.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 28, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
