Hi friends — Janae here. It was a fairly calm week in ESA land, but a couple of things are worth knowing about before the holidays swallow your calendar.
Tennessee's Education Freedom Scholarship survived its lawsuit
On October 19, a three-judge panel dismissed the lawsuit challenging Tennessee's program, rejecting both claims against it. Per EdChoice's summary, the program awarded about 20,000 scholarships in year one and about 35,000 for 2026-27, and I haven't seen an appeal mentioned yet. For Tennessee families, nothing about your eligibility or allowed expenses changed because of this ruling. If you're in the program, keep doing what you've been doing: save receipts and keep your records tidy. If a second-semester application window mattered to you, note that it closed October 15.
Arizona: the November ballot is quieter than expected
If you've been bracing for ESA fights on the Arizona ballot, here's the update. Per Ballotpedia and Arizona news reports, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in August that the Protect Education Act (Prop 212) fell short on signatures, and HCR 2048 (the military-family ESA amendment, Prop 145) was removed under the single-subject rule. So neither is on the November ballot. I couldn't load the Arizona Department of Education's ESA pages this week, so I can't confirm any handbook or expense-category changes, and I won't guess. Your action: before you submit your next quarterly expense report, open the current ESA handbook and compare your categories to the official list.
Iowa's mid-year ESA window is open
Iowa's half-year application window for 2026-27 runs October 15 through November 15, according to the Iowa Department of Education. If you've been on the fence, your action is to read the department's ESA page, check the eligibility rules for your child, and put the November 15 date on your calendar.
Quick hits
- Texas (TEFA): a parent guide reports the second installment for private-school accounts went out around October 1, with the next scheduled for February 1, 2027. That's a secondary source, so check the Comptroller's site for your own account.
- New York: a pending bill, S10715 ("Raylee's Law"), would bar districts from approving home instruction for a currently enrolled student during a pending child-abuse investigation. It's only a bill so far, not law.
- Connecticut: Public Act 26-37 is still phased in. The in-person withdrawal step starts in the 2027-28 school year, and the state is supposed to publish forms by July 2027. Nothing is due from you today.
- Utah: the Fits All appeal at the state Supreme Court is still pending, and the program is operating for 2026-27.
- Louisiana GATOR: I couldn't find new award-notification news this week.
Take care of yourselves this week, friends. See you next Monday.
*Not legal advice — always confirm against your program's current official handbook.*