529 Dash, Required Reading for Your 529 Education: 
The 529 Dash e‑newsletter helps institutions, financial professionals, employers, and families navigate education financial planning by sharing timely industry news, product insights, market data, and best practices while promoting awareness of 529 plans and ABLE accounts.

Please Read, Engage and Share.

Paul Curley, CFA
Executive Director
ISS Market Intelligence
paul.curley@issmarketintelligence.com

Here is what you need to know from stories, research, and data released this week:

• Harvard Business School, “What paying for college can do to a family business.” Editor’s Take: Small businesses should open a dedicated account to save and pay for education and career training costs with a 529 to decrease business risk due to a decrease in cash flow to pay for those expenses. Read the article to learn more about the benefits of 529s in the employer channel, and specifically for family businesses. 
• Higher Education Dive, “Spring enrollment ticks up 1% — but graduate headcounts take a hit.” Editor’s Take: Enrollment increased year-over-year by 3.1% for community colleges and increased 1.5% for public 4-year institutions, while there was decrease of 0.1% for private nonprofit 4-year institutions despite the increase in first-year undergraduate tuition discount rates for private nonprofit institutions from 54.5% last year to 57.1% this year. While public and community colleges lead the charge for undergraduate programs, graduate enrollment declined 0.1% overall, declined 0.3% for public 4-year institutions, and declined 0.6% amongst private nonprofit 4-year institutions. Therefore, demand for higher education continues to grow overall, and particularly amongst public 4-year and community undergraduate programs where overall and net prices tend to be generally lower. In turn, demand for 529s and education financial planning including strategies and tactics on how best to save, pay and repay the cost of education will continue to grow.
• Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), “Finish kindergarten, get $100: New Oregon initiative celebrates with kindergarten diploma and contribution to savings account.” Editor’s Take: In May, Embark launched the Kinder Grad program in Oregon that will provide every Oregon kindergartener with a $100 contribution at the end of the school year to a new Embark 529 account. Thank you Oregon Treasurer Steiner for raising awareness, understanding and prioritization of 529s, education financial planning, and financial literacy, and click the link to learn more about the program, watch a video, and share.
• Nacha, “Backpack now a Nacha Preferred Partner for ACH experience, open banking, and risk and fraud prevention.” Editor’s Take: Congrats to Backpack on the announcement as they continue to improve efficiency, enhance funding timeline for students, and enhance security and compliance by moving 529, scholarship, and other payments from check processing onto the ACH Network. Click the link to learn more.
• PLANSPONSOR, “State clearinghouse for missing checks launches.” Editor’s Take: National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), a division of National Association of State Treasurers (NAST), has launched the States’ Unclaimed Retirement Clearing House which will help solve the problem of uncashed retirement plan distribution checks. NAST includes 529 and ABLE divisions as well, and so this innovation showcases the ability of states to improve ease of use and solve issues for families. Looking forward to learning more in Oklahoma City this week, and click the link to learn more.
• ISS Market Intelligence, 529 Day 2026 Webinar Replay on “529 in Focus: 3 Key Trends Shaping the Future of Education Savings in 2026.” Editor’s Take: Thank you Trisha Good and Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage for the opportunity to collaborate on the 529 Day 2026 webinar. Click the link to watch the full webinar replay, read the summary and learn more.
• 529 Insiders and planadviser, “1Q 2026 529 & ABLE market sizing highlights.” Editor’s Take: Click the link to learn more about 529 and ABLE market sizing as of March 31, 2026.

• Dates: September 23–25, 2026
• Location: JW Marriott Nashville
• Register: Here; Early Bird registration rate available through June 26, 2026
• Hotel Room Block: Book Here
• Event Website: Link
• Agenda: Link
• Event Updates: 
  • Kimberly Yee, Treasurer, State of Arizona, has been confirmed as a panelist on the “Opportunities and Outlook in 2027 & Beyond” 529 Conference session.
  • David Bell, SVP – Head of 529 Savings Plans, Vestwell, has been confirmed as a panelist on the “Platforms, Fintech and Emerging Trends” 529 Conference session.

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