Bill Number: HB199

Bill Name: Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act

Issue Summary:

The Legislature passed an educational savings account (ESA) bill last year that provided funds to low-income families for preschool and also provided $6,000 per student to low-income families for k-12 schooling. The money did not come from the school foundation account dedicated to public school support.

What HB199 does:

  • Diverts $44 million from the school foundation account to pay for these “scholarships”
  • Raises the per-student funding to $7,000
  • Removes income requirements and provides public money for private school – both potentially problematic for the Wyoming Constitution (a question for the Wyoming Supreme Court?)  
  • Removes preschool funding
  • Lacks accountability – no registration required for private providers and no student achievement testing

Take Action: Tell Representatives (before Wednesday afternoon) and tell Senators after Wednesday to stick with the 2024 ESA and kill this use of public education money on private schooling with no oversight. https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislators/2025/H

Action Timeline: HB199 gets a 3rd and final vote in the House on Wednesday (today) and then goes to the Senate. We don’t know yet which Senate committee will hear the bill. At this point, you should message all senators.

Additional Resources:https://wyoleg.gov/Legislators/2025/S

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