EDITORIAL: ESA regulations
Today brings another important step in the formalization of Nevada's Education Savings Accounts, the new school choice initiative that already is changing education across the state.
At 9 a.m., Treasurer Dan Schwartz will hold a public workshop to gather more input on the regulations that will determine how the program operates. The meeting will be held at the Sawyer Building in downtown Las Vegas, 555 E. Washington Ave., Suite 4401. This will be the final opportunity for parents and educational service providers who have concerns about the draft regulations to comment on how they might be made better. The regulations are expected to be approved next month.
ESAs will allow parents to withdraw their children from public school and gain control of the state funding that supports enrollment. Parents can then use that money — about $5,700 per year for students who are disabled or from low-income households, and about $5,100 per year for all other children — to pay for private school tuition, distance learning, tutoring, technology, special therapies or other educational expenses.
Mr. Schwartz has received more than 2,000 early applications for ESAs, despite the fact that many details remain unsettled. Among them: whether incoming kindergarten students first must attend public school for 100 days to be eligible for an ESA.
The process of finalizing how ESAs will function is fluid. The earlier families become involved, the easier it will be to understand.
