Section 21-2-904 - [Effective 1/1/2025] Esa program eligibility; parent agreement; esa administration(a) Subject to the availability of funds as determined by the legislature, any child who is a Wyoming resident, who meets one (1) of the following qualifications, and subject to W.S. 21-2-903(a), shall be eligible to receive an ESA subject to the provisions of this act: (i) The child has not graduated from high school or received a high school equivalency certificate and is eligible to attend a public school in this state; or(ii) The child is not less than four (4) years of age as of August 1 of the year in which the application for an ESA is made and has not yet attained the age to attend public school in this state.(b) To participate in the ESA program, the custodial parent of an ESA student shall sign an agreement with the state superintendent that: (i) Requires use of the ESA funds for the following qualifying expenses to educate the ESA student:(A) Tuition and fees at a qualified school;(B) Tutoring services provided by an individual or a tutoring facility. The tutoring services shall not be provided by an ESA student's immediate family;(C) Services contracted for and provided by a public school district, including services provided by a public charter school. Services under this subparagraph may include, without limitation, individual classes and extracurricular activities and programs;(D) Textbooks, curriculum and other instructional materials, including, but not limited to, any supplemental materials or associated online instruction required by either a curriculum or an education service provider;(E) Computer hardware or other technological devices that are primarily used to help meet an ESA student's educational needs;(F) Educational software and applications;(H) Fees for nationally standardized assessments, advanced placement examinations, examinations related to college or university admission and tuition and fees for preparatory courses for the exams;(J) Tuition and fees for summer education programs and specialized after school education programs;(K) Tuition, fees, instructional materials and examination fees at a career or technical school;(M) Educational services and therapies including, but not limited to, occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language and audiology therapies;(N) Tuition and fees at an institution of higher education;(O) Fees for transportation paid to a fee-for-service transportation provider for the student to travel to and from an education service provider;(P) Any other educational expense approved by the state superintendent.(ii) For students eligible for an ESA under paragraph (a)(i) of this section: (A) Requires that the ESA student receive instruction in, at minimum, reading, writing, mathematics, civics, including studies of the United States constitution and the constitution of the state of Wyoming, history, literature and science. No parent shall be required to include any instruction that conflicts with the parent's or the ESA student's religious doctrines;(B) Requires that the ESA student take the statewide assessments administered pursuant to W.S. 21-2-304(a) or a nationally normed achievement exam;(C) Certifies that the ESA student is not, or will not be, enrolled in a public school district upon receipt of the ESA and releases the applicable school district from all obligations to educate the ESA student. This subparagraph shall not:(I) Require an eligible student to withdraw from a public school district before applying for or receiving an ESA if the student withdraws from the public school district before receiving or expending any monies in the student's ESA;(II) Prevent a qualified student from applying in advance for an ESA student to be funded beginning the following school year; or(III) Prevent a public school district from charging an ESA for any services provided to the qualified student to the extent authorized by law.(c) Funds in an ESA shall not be refunded, rebated or shared with a parent of an ESA student in any manner. Any refund or rebate for goods or services purchased with ESA funds shall be credited directly to the student's ESA.(d) Parents may make payments for costs of educational goods and services not covered by the funds in the ESA. Personal deposits into an ESA shall not be permitted.(e) An ESA shall remain active and any unused funds shall not revert until the parent withdraws the ESA student from the ESA program or until the ESA student is no longer eligible for the ESA program, unless the ESA is closed because of a substantial misuse of funds. When an ESA is closed, any unused funds shall revert to the Wyoming education savings accounts expenditure account.(f) Nothing in this act shall be construed to require an ESA student to be enrolled, full-time or part-time, in a nonpublic school. An ESA student receiving individualized instruction in a non-school setting shall not be construed to be a student of a home-based educational program as defined in W.S. 21-4-101(a)(v).Added by Laws 2024, ch. 108,§ 1, eff. 1/1/2025.