Governor gets bill to pay for tutoring, private schools

CARSON CITY — The Assembly on Friday passed a bill that would allow parents to put public school funding toward other educational purposes for their child, including private schools and tutoring.

The measure, Senate Bill 302, passed with a party-line 25-17 vote, with Republican legislators supporting it.

The bill, which has already passed the Senate, now needs only a signature from Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval to become law.

SB302 would provide grants for a child’s education that are 90 percent of the state’s average per-student funding. That money would then go into an education savings account for the child. Under the measure, the state would oversee the spending by issuing the parents coded debit cards that could only be used for approved expenditures.

Supporters said the change would encourage choice, allowing families to send children to schools that are the best fit and aid families that cannot afford private schools.

Opponents said putting public dollars into private schools isn’t sound policy, and will financially hurt the finances of the state’s public education system.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.