AN ACT Relating to creating school choice with empowerED scholarships using educational savings accounts;
HB 1140 would create the “empowerED scholarship” program in Washington, an education savings account (ESA) system intended to let state-funded dollars follow eligible students to a range of educational options outside the traditional public school system. The bill declares that parents may use scholarship funds for qualified education expenses such as private school tuition, tutoring, curriculum, testing, transportation, assistive technology, therapies, online learning, extracurricular activities, and certain postsecondary or workforce-related costs. It also creates definitions, application procedures, account-management rules, audit requirements, and annual reporting obligations for the program.
The bill gives priority to students with disabilities, low-income students, and students in failing or challenged schools, with scholarship amounts scaled by family income and additional support for students with disabilities. It establishes a state-administered council to run the program, manage participating students’ accounts, and oversee payments through a debit-card-style system. The measure also creates a dedicated state treasury account for the program and authorizes funding from legislative appropriations, gifts and grants, and a new education-choice tax credit for business contributions.
HB 1140 would significantly alter Washington’s education funding framework by creating a new state scholarship program that diverts public dollars into individual education savings accounts for eligible students. It would add new chapters to Title 28A and Title 28C RCW, create a new treasury account, authorize tax credits for contributions to the program, and establish administrative and auditing duties for the student achievement council and the Department of Revenue. The bill also limits state regulatory control over participating private schools and homeschooling arrangements, and it expressly states that parents and participating private schools are not agents of the state or federal government.
The bill’s text reflects strong support for school choice, parental control, and competition in education, and it frames the proposal as a civil-rights and equity measure for students who are underserved by the current public school system. Because no committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, there is no direct evidence of legislative debate or bipartisan support in the supplied materials. The overall tone of the bill itself is highly affirmative toward ESAs and critical of the existing public school model.
The main points of contention are likely to be the bill’s impact on public school funding, the use of public money for private and religious schools, and the reduced regulatory oversight over participating schools and families. The bill anticipates objections that scholarships could defund public schools, but argues that competition improves outcomes and that religious participation cannot be excluded if the state creates the program. Another likely area of dispute is accountability: supporters emphasize audits and reporting, while critics may focus on limited state control, the breadth of allowable expenses, and whether the program adequately protects students and public dollars.