Parent guide. Updated August 2026.
What can you buy with ESA funds?
Curriculum, online courses, tutoring, testing, educational technology, and enrichment from recognized vendors. The details depend on your state handbook.
The authoritative answer is always your program's current parent handbook. This guide helps you find the right question and category.
Which categories appear across many programs?
Curriculum and instructional materials
Full-grade packages, subject-specific programs, digital curriculum, and related books or materials are common categories. Your current program guide controls.
Online courses
Many programs allow structured online learning, including coding, game development, and academic subjects. A syllabus, objectives, and assessment give reviewers useful evidence, but do not guarantee approval.
Testing and assessments
Assessment and testing fees are common categories, but accepted tests, evaluators, and documentation vary. Florida PEP families should follow the current annual-assessment and purchasing guidance.
Tutoring and educational services
Tutoring may qualify when the provider meets the program's registration, credential, or marketplace requirements.
Educational technology
Some programs allow devices, software, or connectivity with price, frequency, or educational-use limits. Check the current handbook before a hardware purchase.
Supplemental and enrichment
Some programs cover educational supplies, enrichment, extracurriculars, or physical education, often with additional limits. Confirm the exact category before purchase.
What do programs reject?
Anything without a clear educational purpose. The reviewer approves line items, not intentions.
General household or entertainment purchases unless the current program guide expressly allows the specific item and educational use.
Purchases from vendors your program has not approved in states with closed vendor lists. Limited reimbursement exceptions do not make an unapproved vendor automatically eligible.
Expenses outside your program's category list, even educational ones. When in doubt, check the current parent handbook first.
The rules are state rules
"ESA" is a family of programs, not one program. Arizona's ESA, Florida's PEP, the Texas Education Freedom Account, Utah Fits All, and West Virginia's Hope Scholarship each publish their own allowable-expense list and use different marketplaces, portals, debit-card, reimbursement, or tax-credit routes. Category limits and provider rules also differ. Start with your state's page.
Common questions
What can I buy with ESA funds?
Common categories across state programs include curriculum and instructional materials, online courses, approved tutoring, testing and assessment fees, educational technology, and enrichment. Award sizes vary widely: for 2026-27, Iowa Students First pays $8,148, Arkansas EFA $7,208-$8,011, South Carolina ESTF $7,634, Wyoming's ESA $7,000, West Virginia Hope about $5,436, Utah Fits All $4,000-$8,000 by age and setting, and Texas TEFA $2,000 for home education. No single program necessarily includes every category. Check its current allowable-expense list, provider rules, and category caps before purchase.
Can I buy online courses with an ESA?
Many programs include online learning or curriculum categories, but not every course, seller, or delivery model is automatically approved. Check the current state guide and provider rules before purchase. A syllabus, learning objectives, and assessment can support the review.
Do I pay out of pocket and get reimbursed?
It depends on the program and the vendor's current approval status. Some programs support marketplace or direct-vendor payment, some allow reimbursement for eligible out-of-pocket purchases, and some use both. As of August 2026: Arizona ESA and Arkansas EFA route direct vendor payments through ClassWallet; Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Missouri, Utah, Iowa, and Wyoming purchase through the Odyssey marketplace; Florida PEP works mainly by reimbursement through Step Up For Students; and Oklahoma is a refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 per student claimed on Form 591-D, not an account at all. Confirm the live payment path shown on the state page before buying.
How do I know if a specific purchase is eligible?
Check your program's current parent handbook or purchasing guide before buying. It is the authoritative list and can change during a school year. Clear student, seller, item, date, amount, and delivery details help a reviewer, but the program still makes the final decision.
Do ESA funds expire at the end of the year?
Rollover and return rules vary widely. Some accounts retain unused funds while eligibility stays active; other programs return funds at a deadline. Check the current handbook before planning a future purchase around an unused balance.