Title: Student Empowerment Act
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Student Empowerment Act
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow 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:
Distributions may also be used for the purposes above in connection with a homeschool (whether treated as a homeschool or a private school under state law).

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3102 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3102

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit kindergarten 
  through grade 12 educational expenses to be paid from a 529 account.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 21, 2018

Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Toomey, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Lee, Mr. 
    Johnson, Mr. Paul, Mr. Lankford, and Mr. Sasse) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                                Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit kindergarten 
  through grade 12 educational expenses to be paid from a 529 account.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Student Empowerment Act''.

SEC. 2. 529 ACCOUNT FUNDING FOR HOMESCHOOL AND ADDITIONAL ELEMENTARY 
              AND SECONDARY EXPENSES.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (7) of section 529(c), as added by 
section 11032 of Public Law 115-97, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(7) Treatment of elementary and secondary tuition.--Any 
        reference in this section to the term `qualified higher 
        education expense' shall include a reference to--
                    ``(A) expenses for--
                            ``(i) tuition,
                            ``(ii) curriculum and curricular materials,
                            ``(iii) books or other instructional 
                        materials,
                            ``(iv) online educational materials,
                            ``(v) tuition for tutoring or educational 
                        classes outside of the home, including at a 
                        tutoring facility, but only if the tutor or 
                        instructor is not related to the student and--
                                    ``(I) is licensed as a teacher in 
                                any State,
                                    ``(II) has taught at an eligible 
                                educational institution, or
                                    ``(III) is a subject matter expert 
                                in the relevant subject,
                            ``(vi) fees for a nationally standardized 
                        norm-referenced achievement test, an advanced 
                        placement examination, or any examinations 
                        related to college or university admission,
                            ``(vii) fees for dual enrollment in an 
                        institution of higher education, and
                            ``(viii) educational therapies for students 
                        with disabilities provided by a licensed or 
                        accredited practitioner or provider, including 
                        occupational, behavioral, physical, and speech-
                        language therapies,
                in connection with enrollment or attendance at, or for 
                students enrolled at or attending, an elementary or 
                secondary public, private, or religious school, and
                    ``(B) expenses for the purposes described in 
                clauses (ii) through (viii) of subparagraph (A) in 
                connection with a homeschool (whether treated as a 
                homeschool or a private school for purposes of 
                applicable State law).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to distributions made after December 31, 2018.
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