Helping Parents Educate Children During the Coronavirus Pandemic

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3949 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit kindergarten through grade 12 educational expenses to be paid from a 529 account during the Coronavirus Emergency Period. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 11, 2020 Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. LEE, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit kindergarten through grade 12 educational expenses to be paid from a 529 account during the Coronavirus Emergency Period. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Parents Edu- 4 cate Children During the Coronavirus Pandemic’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3949.IS S3949 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3949 IS SEC. 2. 529 ACCOUNT FUNDING FOR HOMESCHOOL AND AD- 1 DITIONAL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EX- 2 PENSES DURING THE CORONAVIRUS EMER- 3 GENCY PERIOD. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 529(c)(7) of the Internal 5 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 6 ‘‘(7) TREATMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SEC- 7 ONDARY TUITION.—Any reference in this section to 8 the term ‘qualified higher education expense’ shall 9 include a reference to the following expenses in con- 10 nection with enrollment or attendance at, or for stu- 11 dents enrolled at or attending, an elementary or sec- 12 ondary public, private, or religious school: 13 ‘‘(A) Tuition. 14 ‘‘(B) Curriculum and curricular materials. 15 ‘‘(C) Books or other instructional mate- 16 rials. 17 ‘‘(D) Online educational materials. 18 ‘‘(E) Tuition for tutoring or educational 19 classes outside of the home, including at a tu- 20 toring facility, but only if the tutor or instruc- 21 tor is not related to the student and— 22 ‘‘(i) is licensed as a teacher in any 23 State, 24 ‘‘(ii) has taught at an eligible edu- 25 cational institution, or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3949.IS S3949 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3949 IS ‘‘(iii) is a subject matter expert in the 1 relevant subject. 2 ‘‘(F) Fees for a nationally standardized 3 norm-referenced achievement test, an advanced 4 placement examination, or any examinations re- 5 lated to college or university admission. 6 ‘‘(G) Fees for dual enrollment in an insti- 7 tution of higher education. 8 ‘‘(H) Educational therapies for students 9 with disabilities provided by a licensed or ac- 10 credited practitioner or provider, including oc- 11 cupational, behavioral, physical, and speech-lan- 12 guage therapies. 13 Such term shall include, from the period beginning 14 on March 13, 2020, and ending on the date on 15 which the national emergency declared by the Presi- 16 dent under section 201 of the National Emergencies 17 Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) related to the 18 coronavirus (as defined in section 506 of the 19 Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supple- 20 mental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116– 21 123)) has ended, expenses for the purposes de- 22 scribed in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (E), and 23 (H) in connection with a homeschool (whether treat- 24 ed as a homeschool or a private school for purposes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3949.IS S3949 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3949 IS of applicable State law) or with a parent or guardian 1 educating a child at home due to school closure be- 2 cause of the coronavirus (as so defined).’’. 3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 4 this section shall apply to distributions made after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act. 6 SEC. 3. ROLLOVERS FROM CERTAIN RETIREMENT PLANS. 7 In the case of a distribution from an eligible retire- 8 ment plan described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of section 9 402(c)(8)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after 10 February 29, 2020, and before January 1, 2021— 11 (1) section 72(t) of such Code shall not apply 12 to such distribution; 13 (2) such distribution shall be treated as meeting 14 the requirements of section 401(k)(2)(B)(i), if appli- 15 cable; and 16 (3) such distribution shall be treated as having 17 been contributed in a direct trustee-to-trustee trans- 18 fer within 60 days of the distribution for purposes 19 of section 401(a)(31) or 408(d)(3), whichever is ap- 20 plicable, if 21 within 60 days of such distribution, an amount equal to 22 the amount of such distribution is contributed to a quali- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3949.IS S3949 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3949 IS fied tuition program under section 529 of the Internal 1 Revenue Code of 1986. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:12 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3949.IS S3949 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS