North Dakota Legislature Passes ESA and Charter School Bills
By Kathryn Hickok
On Monday, the North Dakota legislature passed the state’s first private school choice program. If signed by Governor Kelly Armstrong, House Bill 1540 would establish Education Savings Accounts for North Dakota students beginning in the 2026-27 school year. Award amounts would be determined by families’ income levels, and the lowest-income students could receive more than $4,000 each. A separate bill, signed into law this week, has authorized the establishment of public charter schools in the state.
Education Savings Account programs allow parents to use a defined amount of state education funding on behalf of their children for qualifying education-related expenses, including tuition, textbooks, tutoring, and transportation.
North Dakota’s ESA and charter school laws will empower parents to choose the educational environments that best help their children succeed. When parents have choices, students have more opportunities for their individual learning needs and goals to be met. North Dakota is taking strong steps to make sure every child has access to an effective, meaningful, and empowering education.
Kathryn Hickok is Executive Vice President at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization, and Director of Cascade’s Children’s Scholarship Fund-Oregon program.
