I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8915 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the expenses treated 

as qualified higher education expenses for purposes of 529 accounts 

to include additional elementary and secondary school expenses and certain postsecondary credentialing expenses. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 2, 2024 

Mr. HERN (for himself, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. COLLINS, and Mr. FINSTAD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand 

the expenses treated as qualified higher education expenses for purposes of 529 accounts to include additional 

elementary and secondary school expenses and certain 

postsecondary credentialing expenses. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Education and Work5 force Freedom Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND 

2 HOME SCHOOL EXPENSES TREATED AS 

3 QUALIFIED HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENSES 

4 FOR PURPOSES OF 529 ACCOUNTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 529(c)(7) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(7) TREATMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SEC8 ONDARY TUITION.—Any reference in this section to 

9 the term ‘qualified higher education expense’ shall 

10 include a reference to the following expenses in con11 nection with enrollment or attendance at, or for stu12 dents enrolled at or attending, an elementary or sec13 ondary public, private, or religious school: 

14 ‘‘(A) Tuition. 

15 ‘‘(B) Curriculum and curricular materials. 

16 ‘‘(C) Books or other instructional mate17 rials. 

18 ‘‘(D) Online educational materials. 

19 ‘‘(E) Tuition for tutoring or educational 

20 classes outside of the home, including at a tu21 toring facility, but only if the tutor or instruc22 tor is not related to the student and— 

23 ‘‘(i) is licensed as a teacher in any 

24 State, 

25 ‘‘(ii) has taught at an eligible edu26 cational institution, or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) is a subject matter expert in the 

2 relevant subject. 

3 ‘‘(F) Fees for a nationally standardized 

4 norm-referenced achievement test, an advanced 

5 placement examination, or any examinations re6 lated to college or university admission. 

7 ‘‘(G) Fees for dual enrollment in an insti8 tution of higher education. 

9 ‘‘(H) Educational therapies for students 

10 with disabilities provided by a licensed or ac11 credited practitioner or provider, including oc12 cupational, behavioral, physical, and speech-lan13 guage therapies. 

14 Such term shall include expenses for the purposes 

15 described in subparagraphs (A) through (H) in con16 nection with a homeschool (whether treated as a 

17 homeschool or a private school for purposes of appli18 cable State law).’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

20 this section shall apply to distributions made after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. CERTAIN POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALING EX2 PENSES TREATED AS QUALIFIED HIGHER 

3 EDUCATION EXPENSES FOR PURPOSES OF 

4 529 ACCOUNTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 529(e)(3) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(C) CERTAIN POSTSECONDARY

9 CREDENTIALING EXPENSES.—The term ‘quali10 fied higher education expenses’ includes quali11 fied postsecondary credentialing expenses (as 

12 defined in subsection (f)).’’. 

13 (b) QUALIFIED POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALING

14 EXPENSES.—Section 529 is amended by redesignating 

15 subsection (f) as subsection (g) and by inserting after sub16 section (e) the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(f) QUALIFIED POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALING

18 EXPENSES.—For purposes of this section— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified post20 secondary credentialing expenses’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) tuition, fees, books, supplies, and 

22 equipment required for the enrollment or at23 tendance of a designated beneficiary in a recog24 nized postsecondary credential program, or any 

25 other expense incurred in connection with en26 rollment in or attendance at a recognized postVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:41 Jul 02, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8915.IH H8915

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1 secondary credential program if such expense 

2 would, if incurred in connection with enrollment 

3 or attendance at an eligible educational institu4 tion, be covered under subsection (e)(3)(A), 

5 ‘‘(B) fees for testing if such testing is re6 quired to obtain or maintain a recognized post7 secondary credential, and 

8 ‘‘(C) fees for continuing education if such 

9 education is required to maintain a recognized 

10 postsecondary credential. 

11 ‘‘(2) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN12 TIAL PROGRAM.—For purposes of this subpara13 graph, the term ‘recognized postsecondary credential 

14 program’ means any program to obtain a recognized 

15 postsecondary credential if— 

16 ‘‘(A) such program is included on a State 

17 list prepared under section 122(d) of the Work18 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

19 U.S.C. 3152(d)), 

20 ‘‘(B) such program is listed in the 

21 WEAMS Public directory (or successor direc22 tory) maintained by the Department of Vet23 erans Affairs, 

24 ‘‘(C) an examination (developed or admin25 istered by an organization widely recognized as 


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1 providing reputable credentials in the occupa2 tion) is required to obtain or maintain such cre3 dential and such organization recognizes such 

4 program as providing training or education 

5 which prepares individuals to take such exam6 ination, or 

7 ‘‘(D) such program is identified by the 

8 Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary 

9 of Labor, as being a reputable program for ob10 taining a recognized postsecondary credential 

11 for purposes of this subparagraph. 

12 ‘‘(3) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN13 TIAL.—The term ‘recognized postsecondary creden14 tial’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) any postsecondary employment cre16 dential that is industry recognized, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) any postsecondary employment 

18 credential issued by a program that is ac19 credited by the Institute for Credentialing 

20 Excellence, the National Commission on 

21 Certifying Agencies, or the American Na22 tional Standards Institute, 

23 ‘‘(ii) any postsecondary employment 

24 credential that is included in the 

25 Credentialing Opportunities On-Line 


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1 (COOL) directory of credentialing pro2 grams (or successor directory) maintained 

3 by the Department of Defense or by any 

4 branch of the Armed Services, and 

5 ‘‘(iii) any postsecondary employment 

6 credential identified for purposes of this 

7 clause by the Secretary, after consultation 

8 with the Secretary of Labor, as being in9 dustry recognized, 

10 ‘‘(B) any certificate of completion of an 

11 apprenticeship that is registered and certified 

12 with the Secretary of Labor under the National 

13 Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. 50), 

14 ‘‘(C) any occupational or professional li15 cense issued or recognized by a State or the 

16 Federal Government (and any certification that 

17 satisfies a condition for obtaining such a li18 cense), and 

19 ‘‘(D) any recognized postsecondary creden20 tial as defined in section 3(52) of the Workforce 

21 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

22 3102).’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this subsection shall apply to distributions made after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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