# 119-s-152: Student Empowerment Act

119-s-152, Student Empowerment Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-152
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-152
- Congress: 119
- Title: Student Empowerment Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-20
- Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 8
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Would let people use 529 plan money tax-free for a much wider set of K–12 and homeschool education costs.** It would add curriculum, books, online materials, tutoring under rules, testing fees, dual-enrollment charges, and licensed educational therapies to the list of qualifying 529 expenses. - Families with school-age children would be able to pay for curriculum, textbooks, online class subscriptions, and testing fees with tax-free 529 distributions, not just tuition. Current law already allows up to $10,000 per year for K–12 tuition, and this bill broadens what counts beyond that cap. - Homeschooling households would gain the same 529 access for homeschool curriculum, materials, online resources, tutoring, testing, and other listed costs. - Students with disabilities would be able to use 529 funds for educational therapies like occupational, behavioral, physical, and speech-language therapy when provided by a licensed or accredited practitioner. - Tutors and tutoring centers could be paid with 529 money when the tutor is not related to the student and is a licensed teacher, has taught at an eligible school, or is a subject-matter expert.

## Cosponsors (8)

- Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK), 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] (R-SC), 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Curtis, John R. [R-UT] (R-UT), 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI] (R-WI), 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD), 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO), 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL] (R-FL), 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Use 529 savings for K-12 costs: benefit, medium. If enacted, you could use money from a 529 education savings plan to pay certain K-12 costs. Covered costs would include tuition, curriculum, books, and online materials. Tutoring outside the home is covered only if the tutor is not related. The tutor must be licensed, have taught at an eligible sc…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act
- 119-s-587: Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025
- 119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025
- 119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-s-128: SAVE Act

## Sources
- [119-s-152 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/152)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752)
- [119-s-587: Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-587)
- [119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-186)
- [119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-6)
- [119-s-128: SAVE Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-128)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-152 (as of 2025-12-21).