Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that college graduates stand to earn more than those with just a high school diploma, with returns to the investment of earning a degree at approximately 15 percent. This should have prospective students packing their bags – at least until they are reminded of the staggering total college loan debt figure of $1.1 trillion across the country. Four-year degrees can cost upwards of $60,000 per year, and the U.S. Department of Education says “the average borrower now graduates with nearly $30,000 in debt.” Getting a job to help pay for college and living in mom and dad’s basement start to sound like pretty good ideas. However, thanks to education savings accounts – a program growing across the country – prospective college students don’t have to be limited by debt. Florida is the latest state to implement the program. On July 18 this year, Florida families of children with special needs began signing up for Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts. The accounts let families start saving for college years in advance. Families use the public money deposited into the accounts to pay for educational expenses like educational therapy, online classes, and private school tuition. For students determined to go to college, parents can use the accounts for prepaid college tuition plans. Nearly 1 in 5 Arizona public school students is eligible to open an education savings account that works much like Florida’s. However, Arizona’s accounts also allow students to save any money left in the accounts after high school for up to four years, even if a student does not go to college immediately. This feature gives families the flexibility to deposit a portion of education savings account money into a college savings plan each year as their child moves through K-12. Some students may choose to get ahead and use the accounts to pay for college classes while in high school, giving them a leg up on the admissions process. Others may wait and save the funds until they are ready to pursue a college degree. Education savings accounts can help families with college tuition before debt becomes a problem, and the accounts give the next generation of students more choices than “life in debt” or “life in my parents’ basement.” -Jonathan Butcher
KEEP IN TOUCH WITH US
LATEST POSTS
From Classroom to Career: How Tennessee is Empowering Students Through Career and Technical Education
CTE is setting up Tennesseans to enter the workforce and improve their lives.
Policy in Action: A Recap of the 2025 Legislative Session
The 2025 legislative session saw monumental wins for freedom in Tennessee.
Expanding Opportunity: The Future of Education in Tennessee
Join us for the first installment of Beacon's new quarterly webinar series!
First Principles Series: The Policy Case Against Tariffs
It was free trade, not tired old tariff policies, that made us the strongest country in the world.
First Principles Series: The Legal Case Against Tariffs
The separation of powers in the Constitution is a crucial bulwark against tyranny and for preserving liberty.
Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe?
The unanswerable question seems to me, do the goods of AI outweigh the evils?
Fact Checking Claims on Education Freedom Scholarships
With the bill passing, there has been an enormous amount of misinformation spread about what the legislation actually does. We seek to set t...
Tennessee: The Land of Opportunity
By working with Tennesseans from one corner of the state to the other, we can make this bold vision a reality and make Tennessee the land of...
KEEP IN TOUCH WITH US
WANT TO DO A STORY ABOUT SOMETHING YOU SEE HERE?
CONTACT US AT:
mark@beacontn.org
(O) 615-383-6431
WHO ARE WE?
The Beacon Center of Tennessee empowers Tennesseans to reclaim and protect their freedoms, so that they can freely pursue their version of the American Dream.