CHEYENNE — Lawmakers on the Wyoming House floor spent the better part of Friday, Feb. 23, debating House Bill 166, a measure to create Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) that would send public funds to parents to pay for private schooling, preschool and related education services.

The most contested issues were how to fund the accounts, how large the program should be at startup, whether preschool (pre-kindergarten) should be eligible, and whether the statute should explicitly require private providers to teach the U.S. and Wyoming constitutions and a set of subjects commonly called the “basket of goods.”

The bill sponsor and several supporters said ESAs are a parent-choice policy meant to expand educational options. Opponents repeatedly raised constitutional concerns about using public dollars for private education and urged limits on scope and funding until the program’s administration and likely participation were clearer.

Representative Chastick moved the first amendment (Second Reading Amendment 1) to restore supervisory language and remove a sentence that had been read by some as giving parents a veto over curriculum; that amendment failed on a voice vote. Representative Andrew and other opponents argued the original measures preserve parental choice rather than give a veto power.

A series of funding amendments followed. Representative Walters offered and later reoffered measures to fund startup ESAs by diverting a portion of Federal Mineral Royalty (FMR) flows before they reach the School Foundation Program (SFP) and to reduce initial funding from $40 million to $10 million. Those amendments (Second Reading Amendments 2 and 3) failed on the floor after extended debate about whether education-dedicated funds or the general fund should pay for ESAs and about how many students the appropriation would cover if fully subscribed.

Lawmakers also debated staffing and implementation details for the Department of Education to administer the program. An amendment (Second Reading Amendment 4) proposing to reduce two authorized positions to one and to shift funding sources was divided for votes. Both divisions of the amendment were defeated; the full amendment did not adopt the proposed changes.

Representative Andrew won a change reintroducing a targeted payment tier for families between 350% and 400% of the federal poverty level: Second Reading Amendment 5 was adopted (37 Aye, 23 No). That amendment restores a reduced ESA amount ($1,000 per school year) for that income band.

A later amendment (Second Reading Amendment 6) that would have sunset the means-testing and move the program toward universal eligibility after two years was brought up but withdrawn by the sponsor once members noted a drafting flaw that would have left a year of ineligibility. The House then voted on the motion as presented and the amendment failed overwhelmingly (1 Aye, 61 No).

Representative Andrew also offered an amendment (Second Reading Amendment 7) to remove pre-kindergarten from eligible ESA uses; that amendment failed after floor debate. Supporters of leaving pre-K in the bill cited early childhood research and noted earlier committee language intended to define pre-kindergarten for the program and to give the superintendent authority to set standards for providers.

An amendment (Second Reading Amendment 8) to require that ESA-funded instruction include specified subject areas — including physical education, fine and performing arts, health and safety, career and technical education, and explicit instruction in the U.S. and Wyoming constitutions — was debated and failed on division.

After the amendment votes and debate, members ordered House Bill 166 to a third reading. The bill remains on the calendar for further consideration with the changes adopted on second reading reflected in the bill text.

Votes at a glance (selected floor actions from Feb. 23):
- Second Reading Amendment 1 (Representative Chastick) — Failed (voice vote; tally not specified in transcript)
- Second Reading Amendment 2 (Representative Walters; FMR funding; $10M) — Failed (tally not specified)
- Second Reading Amendment 3 (Representative Walters; FMR funding; $40M) — Failed (tally not specified)
- Second Reading Amendment 4 (Representative Walters; reduce positions and change funding) — Divided; Division 1 not adopted; Division 2 not adopted (amendment not adopted)
- Second Reading Amendment 5 (Representative Andrew; restore $1,000 reduced ESA tier for 350–400% FPL) — Adopted (37 Aye, 23 No)
- Second Reading Amendment 6 (Representative Andrew; sunset means-testing to universal after two years) — Failed (1 Aye, 61 No)
- Second Reading Amendment 7 (Representative Andrew; remove pre-kindergarten) — Failed (tally not specified)
- Second Reading Amendment 8 (Representative Newsom; add basket-of-goods subjects & constitutions) — Failed (division vote tally not adopted)

Separate floor business: the House also took a consent vote to pass a set of unrelated bills (see list below); those measures passed the House on Friday and were sent on in the process to the next step. Vote tallies for individual consent bills were recorded in the floor transcript where specified; where the transcript does not provide a bill-specific tally the vote is recorded below as “not specified.”

Votes at a glance — consent list passed by the House on Feb. 23 (outcome: passed): House bills 12, 13, 29, 30, 31, 58, 64, 67, 74, 77, 116, 138, 141, 145, 197 (detailed vote tallies per bill: not specified in the transcript for each bill).