II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2517 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow 

parents of eligible military dependent children to establish Military Education Savings Accounts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 7, 2018 

Mr. SASSE (for himself, Mr. SCOTT, and Mr. LEE) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to allow parents of eligible military dependent 

children to establish Military Education Savings Accounts, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Military Education 

5 Savings Account Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MILITARY EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. 

2 Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) is amended 

4 by inserting after section 7012 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 7012A. MILITARY EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, in 

7 consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall carry out 

8 a program under which the Secretary of Education shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) subject to the availability of funds pursu10 ant to section 7014(f), at the request of a parent of 

11 an eligible military dependent child, establish an ac12 count on behalf of such child (to be known as a 

13 ‘Military Education Savings Account’) into which 

14 the Secretary shall deposit funds in an amount de15 termined under subsection (d); and 

16 ‘‘(2) establish a procedure under which the par17 ent of the child may use funds in the account to pay 

18 for the educational expenses of the child in accord19 ance with this section. 

20 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to participate 

22 in the program under this section for a school year, 

23 a parent of an eligible military dependent child shall 

24 submit an application to the Secretary in accordance 

25 with this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION PROCESS.—In carrying out 

2 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) accept applications on a year-round 

4 basis and establish procedures for approving 

5 applications in an expeditious manner; and 

6 ‘‘(B) create a standardized form that par7 ents can use to apply for the program and en8 sure that such form is readily available in writ9 ten and electronic formats, including on a pub10 licly accessible website. 

11 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—Subject to the availability of 

12 funds to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 

13 approve the application of a parent to establish a 

14 Military Education Savings Account if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the application is submitted in ac16 cordance with the application process estab17 lished by the Secretary pursuant to this sub18 section; 

19 ‘‘(B) the application demonstrates that the 

20 child on whose behalf the Military Education 

21 Savings Account is to be established is an eligi22 ble military dependent child; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the parent who submits the applica24 tion enters into a written agreement with the 

25 Secretary pursuant to subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(4) RENEWALS.—The Secretary shall establish 

2 an expedited application process for the renewal of 

3 a previously established Military Education Savings 

4 Account. 

5 ‘‘(c) WRITTEN AGREEMENT.—As a condition of par6 ticipating in the program under this section, the parent 

7 of a child on whose behalf a Military Education Savings 

8 Account is established shall enter into a written agreement 

9 with the Secretary under which the parent agrees— 

10 ‘‘(1) to provide the child with instruction in, at 

11 minimum, the fields of reading, language, mathe12 matics, science, and social studies; 

13 ‘‘(2) to not enroll the child in a public school 

14 on a full-time basis while participating in the pro15 gram; 

16 ‘‘(3) to use funds in the Military Education 

17 Savings Account only for the purposes authorized 

18 under this section; and 

19 ‘‘(4) to comply with all other requirements of 

20 this section. 

21 ‘‘(d) AMOUNT OF DEPOSITS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) FIRST YEAR OF PROGRAM.—The amount 

23 of funds deposited into each Military Education Sav24 ings Account for the first school year for which such 


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1 accounts are established under this section shall 

2 be— 

3 ‘‘(A) $4,500 for an account established for 

4 an eligible military dependent child described in 

5 subsection (t)(1)(A); and 

6 ‘‘(B) $2,500 for an account established for 

7 an eligible military dependent child described in 

8 subsection (t)(1)(B). 

9 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—The amount of 

10 funds deposited into each Military Education Sav11 ings Account for any school year after the year de12 scribed in paragraph (1), shall be the amount deter13 mined under this subsection for the previous school 

14 year increased by a percentage equal to the percent15 age increase in the Chained Consumer Price Index 

16 for All Urban Consumers (as published by the Bu17 reau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

18 Labor) over the period of such previous school year. 

19 ‘‘(3) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—In accordance with 

20 section 7014(f), funds deposited into a Military Edu21 cation Savings Account under this subsection shall 

22 be drawn from amounts otherwise appropriated to 

23 carry out the impact aid program under section 

24 7003 and no new appropriation may be made for the 

25 purpose of carrying out this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds deposited into a Mili2 tary Education Savings Account for a school year may be 

3 used by the parent of an eligible military dependent child 

4 to make payments to a qualified educational service pro5 vider for— 

6 ‘‘(1) costs of attendance at a private elementary 

7 school or secondary school recognized by the State, 

8 which may include a private school that is a religious 

9 institution; 

10 ‘‘(2) private online learning programs; 

11 ‘‘(3) private tutoring; 

12 ‘‘(4) services provided by a public elementary 

13 school or secondary school attended by the child on 

14 a less than full-time basis, including individual class15 es and extracurricular activities and programs; 

16 ‘‘(5) textbooks, curriculum programs, or other 

17 instructional materials, including any supplemental 

18 materials required by a curriculum program, private 

19 school, private online learning program, or a public 

20 school, or any parent directed curriculum associated 

21 with kindergarten through grade 12 education; 

22 ‘‘(6) computer hardware or other technological 

23 devices that are used to help meet a student’s edu24 cational needs, except that such hardware or devices 


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1 may not be purchased by a parent more than once 

2 in an 18-month period; 

3 ‘‘(7) educational software and applications; 

4 ‘‘(8) uniforms purchased from or through a pri5 vate school recognized by the State; 

6 ‘‘(9) fees for nationally standardized assessment 

7 examinations, advanced placement examinations, any 

8 exams related to admission to an institution of high9 er education, or tuition or fees for preparatory 

10 courses for such examinations; 

11 ‘‘(10) fees for summer education programs and 

12 specialized after-school education programs (but not 

13 including after-school childcare); 

14 ‘‘(11) educational services and therapies, in15 cluding occupational, behavioral, physical, speech16 language, and audiology therapies; 

17 ‘‘(12) fees for transportation paid to a fee-for18 service transportation provider for the student to 

19 travel to and from the facilities of a qualified edu20 cational service provider; 

21 ‘‘(13) costs of attendance at an institution of 

22 higher education; 

23 ‘‘(14) costs associated with an apprenticeship or 

24 other vocational training program; 


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1 ‘‘(15) fees for State-recognized industry certifi2 cation examinations, and tuition or fees for pre3 paratory courses for such examinations; 

4 ‘‘(16) contributions to a college savings ac5 count, which may include contributions to a qualified 

6 tuition program (as defined in section 529(b)(1) of 

7 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, without regard 

8 to subparagraph (B) thereof) or other prepaid tui9 tion plan offered by a State; or 

10 ‘‘(17) any other educational expenses approved 

11 by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(f) TRANSFER SCHEDULE.—The Secretary shall 

13 make quarterly transfers of the amount calculated pursu14 ant to subsection (d) for deposit into the account of each 

15 qualified student, except that the Secretary may make 

16 transfers according to another transfer schedule if the 

17 Secretary determines that a transfer schedule other than 

18 quarterly transfers is necessary for the operation of the 

19 Military Education Savings Account. Parents shall be re20 quired to complete an expense report issued by the Sec21 retary electronically or in paper format prior to the next 

22 quarter’s deposit. 

23 ‘‘(g) ROLLOVER.—Amounts remaining in the Military 

24 Education Savings Account of a student at the end of a 

25 school year shall remain available for use in accordance 


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1 with subsection (e) until the date on which such account 

2 terminates under subsection (h). 

3 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION AND RETURN OF FUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) TERMINATION.—The Military Education 

5 Savings Account of a student shall terminate on— 

6 ‘‘(A) the date on which the student enrolls 

7 in a public elementary school or secondary 

8 school on a full-time basis; 

9 ‘‘(B) in the case of a student who is pur10 suing postsecondary education, the earlier of— 

11 ‘‘(i) the date on which the student 

12 completes postsecondary education; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the student at14 tains the age of 22 years; 

15 ‘‘(C) in the case of a student who is an in16 dividual with a disability, the date on which the 

17 student attains the age of 26 years; or 

18 ‘‘(D) in the case of an individual not de19 scribed in subparagraphs (B) or (C), the earlier 

20 of— 

21 ‘‘(i) the date on which the student at22 tains the age of 22 years; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the expiration of any 4-year pe24 riod during which funds in the account are 

25 not used in accordance with this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RETURN OF FUNDS.—Any funds remain2 ing in a Military Education Savings Account before 

3 such account terminates under paragraph (1) shall 

4 be— 

5 ‘‘(A) returned to the Secretary; and 

6 ‘‘(B) used for the program under this sec7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(i) COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 A State that receives funds under this title shall consider 

10 a child with a Military Education Savings Account for a 

11 school year as meeting the State’s compulsory school at12 tendance requirements for such school year. 

13 ‘‘(j) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of a child with a 

14 Military Education Savings Account who attends a public 

15 school on a less than full-time basis in a school year— 

16 ‘‘(1) the child may not attend the public school 

17 free of charge; and 

18 ‘‘(2) funds in the Account, in an amount deter19 mined pursuant to an agreement between the parent 

20 of the child and the local educational agency con21 cerned, shall be used to pay for the child’s costs of 

22 attendance at such school. 

23 ‘‘(k) TAX TREATMENT OF ACCOUNTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Military Education Sav2 ings Account is exempt from taxation under subtitle 

3 A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTIONS AND DISTRIBUTIONS.— 

5 For purposes of such subtitle— 

6 ‘‘(A) any contribution to a military edu7 cation savings account by the Secretary under 

8 this section shall not be includible in the gross 

9 income of the individual for whose benefit such 

10 account is maintained or the parent of such in11 dividual; and 

12 ‘‘(B) any distribution from a military edu13 cation savings account which is permitted under 

14 this section shall not be includible in the gross 

15 income of the individual for whose benefit such 

16 account is maintained or the parent of such in17 dividual. 

18 ‘‘(l) PRIVACY.—Section 444 of the General Education 

19 Provisions Act (commonly known as the ‘Family Edu20 cational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’) (20 U.S.C. 

21 1232g) shall apply to a qualified educational service pro22 vider in the same manner that such section applies to an 

23 educational agency or institution (as that term is defined 

24 in such section). 


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1 ‘‘(m) FRAUD PREVENTION AND REPORTING.—The 

2 Secretary shall establish a website and a telephone hotline 

3 that enable individuals to anonymously report suspected 

4 fraud in the program under this section. The Secretary 

5 also shall conduct or contract for random, quarterly, or 

6 annual audits of accounts as needed to ensure compliance 

7 with this section. 

8 ‘‘(n) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of 

9 Education may enter into one or more contracts for the 

10 purpose of carrying out the responsibilities of the Sec11 retary under this section. 

12 ‘‘(o) SURETY BOND.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

14 each qualified educational service provider that re15 ceives not less than $100,000 in funds from Military 

16 Education Savings Accounts in a school year to post 

17 a surety bond, in an amount determined by the Sec18 retary, for such school year. 

19 ‘‘(2) RETENTION.—The Secretary shall pre20 scribe the circumstances under which a surety bond 

21 under paragraph (1) may be retained by the Sec22 retary. 

23 ‘‘(p) REFUNDS.—The Secretary shall establish a 

24 process under which payments from a Military Education 

25 Savings Account to a qualified educational service provider 


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1 may be refunded to the account in the event of fraud or 

2 nonperformance by the provider. 

3 ‘‘(q) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) NONAGENCY.—A qualified educational 

5 service provider that receives a payment from a Mili6 tary Education Savings Account pursuant to this 

7 section shall not be considered an agent of the State 

8 or the Federal Government solely because the pro9 vider received such payment. 

10 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL OR STATE SUPERVISION.—Noth11 ing in this section shall be construed to allow any 

12 agency of a State or the Federal Government to ex13 ercise control or supervision over any qualified edu14 cational service provider. 

15 ‘‘(3) NO IMPOSITION OF ADDITIONAL REQUIRE16 MENTS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

17 to require a qualified educational service provider to 

18 alter its creed, practices, admissions policy, or cur19 riculum in order to be eligible to receive payments 

20 from a Military Education Savings Account. 

21 ‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF ASSISTANCE.—For pur22 poses of any Federal law, assistance provided under 

23 this section shall be considered assistance to the 

24 military dependent student or to the parents of a 

25 student on whose behalf a Military Education SavVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Mar 15, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2517.IS S2517

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1 ings Account is established and shall not be consid2 ered assistance to the qualified educational service 

3 provider that uses or receives funds from a Military 

4 Education Savings Account. 

5 ‘‘(r) LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) BURDEN.—In any legal proceeding in 

7 which a qualified educational service provider chal8 lenges a requirement imposed by the Department on 

9 the provider, the Department shall have the burden 

10 of establishing that the requirement is necessary and 

11 does not impose any undue burden on the provider. 

12 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No liability shall arise 

14 on the part of an entity described in subpara15 graph (B) solely because such entity awards, 

16 uses, or receives funds from a Military Edu17 cation Savings Account. 

18 ‘‘(B) ENTITY DESCRIBED.—The entities 

19 described in this subparagraph are the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(i) The Department. 

22 ‘‘(ii) An entity that enters into a con23 tract with the Secretary pursuant to sub24 section (n). 

25 ‘‘(3) INTERVENTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), a parent of an eligible mili3 tary dependant student or a parent of a student 

4 on whose behalf a Military Education Savings 

5 Account is established may intervene in any 

6 legal proceeding in which the constitutionality 

7 of the program under this section is challenged 

8 under a State constitution or the Constitution 

9 of the United States. 

10 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of judi11 cial administration, a court may— 

12 ‘‘(i) limit the number of parents al13 lowed to intervene in a proceeding under 

14 subparagraph (A); or 

15 ‘‘(ii) require all parents who have in16 tervened in a proceeding under subpara17 graph (A) to file a joint brief, except that 

18 no parent shall be required to join any 

19 brief filed on behalf of a State that is a de20 fendant in the proceeding. 

21 ‘‘(s) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Secretary 

22 may use not more than 5 percent of the funds made avail23 able to carry out this section for the direct costs of admin24 istering Military Education Savings Accounts. 

25 ‘‘(t) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible military dependent child’ 

2 means a child who— 

3 ‘‘(A)(i) has a parent on active duty in the 

4 uniformed services (as that term defined in sec5 tion 101 of title 37, United States Code, except 

6 that such term does not include an officer in 

7 the National Guard who has been activated); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) resides within the boundaries of a 

10 heavily impacted local educational agency; or 

11 ‘‘(B)(i) has a parent on active duty in the 

12 uniformed services (as that term defined in sec13 tion 101 of title 37, United States Code, except 

14 that such term does not include an officer in 

15 the National Guard who has been activated); 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) resides within the boundaries of a 

18 local educational agency eligible to receive a 

19 basic support payment under section 

20 7003(b)(1) that is not a heavily impacted local 

21 educational agency. 

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘heavily impacted local edu23 cational agency’ means a local educational agency el24 igible to receive a payment under section 7003(b)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 

2 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 

3 Higher Education Act of 1965. 

4 ‘‘(4) The term ‘qualified educational service 

5 provider’ means an entity or person that provides 

6 educational services for which funds may be ex7 pended under subsection (e), including— 

8 ‘‘(A) a private school; 

9 ‘‘(B) a private online learning program or 

10 course; 

11 ‘‘(C) an institution of higher education, in12 cluding a State institution of higher education, 

13 a junior or community college, or a postsec14 ondary vocational institution; 

15 ‘‘(D) a public school; 

16 ‘‘(E) a private tutor or entity that operates 

17 a tutoring facility; 

18 ‘‘(F) a provider of educational materials or 

19 curricula; 

20 ‘‘(G) a provider of education-related thera21 pies or services; and 

22 ‘‘(H) any other provider of educational 

23 services approved by the Secretary.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 7014 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7714) is amended by add4 ing at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(f) MILITARY EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) SOURCE OF FUNDS AND PROHIBITION ON

7 NEW APPROPRIATION.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

8 section 7012A shall be carried out using funds oth9 erwise appropriated to carry out section 7003 and 

10 no new appropriation may be made to carry out such 

11 section 7012A. 

12 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON USE OF CERTAIN

13 FUNDS.—In making funds available to carry out sec14 tion 7012A under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

15 ensure that such funds are drawn only from 

16 amounts otherwise made available for the education 

17 of military dependent children under section 7003 

18 and not from other sources.’’. 

Æ 


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