Montana's Education Savings Account: start with the Office of Public Instruction, and check its page for current status.

One office, and one page to keep checking

Montana's Education Savings Account is administered by the Office of Public Instruction. The Office publishes the program's handbook, its list of reimbursable items, its forms and its FAQ, and it is the place to go for anything specific.

Check the official site for the program's current status. That is all this page says about it, deliberately: it is the Office's to report, and a program page is the only place that information can reliably be current. If you are making a decision that depends on it, look at the page the same day.

Reimbursement changes how you carry the risk

Some education savings programs fund purchases up front. Others reimburse a family after the family has paid. If Montana's works the second way for what you are buying, then for a while the money in play is yours, and the question of whether the program accepts the purchase is asked after it is spent.

Whether and how that applies to a given purchase is for the Office to say, in its own materials. The general habit that helps either way is the same: keep the document that proves what you bought and what you paid, and keep a note of the purpose. Our walk-through of what happens when a purchase is questioned is here: What Happens If an ESA Purchase Gets Rejected.

A habit for the whole year

Pick one place for receipts and use it every time. Name the file with the date, the seller and the child. Add one sentence on the educational purpose while you still remember it.

Families who do this find that a reimbursement request is an afternoon. Families who do not find it is a weekend and a search through old emails.

If reading a handbook is the hard part, this helps: How to Read Your ESA Program's Handbook.

Where to get the real answers

Montana Office of Public Instruction — Education Savings Account

Eligibility, applications, timing, forms and what the funds may be used for all start there. We keep Montana's figures and lists off this page on purpose: they change, and a family acting on an old copy pays for it.

How CheckFirst ESA helps

CheckFirst ESA is an organizing tool. It keeps receipts, a note on each purchase, a record of what you have submitted and a reminder before something is due, all kept per child.

It does not decide anything and it does not speak for Montana. CheckFirst ESA does not decide; your program administrator does. When something is unclear, it tells you to check with the program before you buy.