What is an ESA?

An Education Savings Account, or esa, is a state scholarship program that allows parents to personalize how their children are educated. It does this by directing money toward a combination of education programs and approved providers. These funds can cover the cost of private school tuition, instructional materials, approved technology items, tutoring and therapists, specialists, and more. How do ESAs work? The state determines the amount of the scholarship award based on a variety of factors, including the student's county and grade level and whether the student has unique needs. The state provides the funds to a scholarship funding organization like Step up for Students, which then puts the funds into the student's esa, where parents can use the money to help cover the costs of various educational services and products. Step up for Students has created an online platform that allows parents to easily manage their student scholarship funds. Our platform makes it easy to find pre approved schools and shop for educational services and products from national retailers and top education service providers. Parents have the option to pay directly with their scholarship dollars and have zero out of pocket expenses for their child's education goods and services. Or they can pay for services and products out of pocket and get reimbursed. Unused funds can also be rolled over to pay for future expenses, including college. Today, thousands of parents across the country are using ESAs to personalize their child's education. Maybe it can help you too. Learn more@stepupforstudents.org.