Save to favorites
Print

Copy URL

Programs that direct public money toward private schools of a family鈥檚 choosing or family accounts that can cover any education expenses outside the public school system are proliferating.

Parents say they have sought out these programs as a way to deliver an education customized to their children鈥檚 unique needs. Politicians championing them say they represent a lifeline for students trapped in underperforming schools. Critics argue the programs deprive public schools of much-needed resources and point out that many children now benefiting from private school choice funds were already attending private schools beforehand. Several private school choice programs are facing lawsuits alleging that they violate state constitutions.

Students taking advantage of private school choice represent a small fraction of the nation鈥檚 total K-12 population, but the numbers signing up for new state programs have sometimes exceeded projections.

This tracker provides a concise yet comprehensive snapshot of the private school choice landscape on a rolling basis. In our States to Watch section, we highlight states where new private school choice programs or other notable private school choice policy changes are under consideration. Our glossary defines common terms in discussions about school choice.

Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have at least one private school choice program, according to an 澳门跑狗论坛 analysis. Of those, 12 states have at least one private school choice program that's universally accessible to K-12 students in the state.

20 States have tax-credit scholarships

16 States have education savings accounts

10 States and the District of Columbia have vouchers

2 States have tax-credit education savings accounts

States with at least one universal private school choice program

States with one or more private school choice program

澳门跑狗论坛

Education Savings Account (ESA)

Education savings accounts provide public per-pupil funds鈥攐ften a percentage of per-student state funding鈥攖o families with children who don鈥檛 attend public schools that they can use to pay for private school tuition or other education expenses, such as tutoring and homeschooling supplies. Some states restrict ESAs or specific ESA programs within the state to students with disabilities, students attending schools with poor performance, and/or students from low-income families. Recently, more states have begun adopting universal ESAs, which all families can access regardless of income, disability status, or any other qualifying factor. ESA funds are generally given directly to families, often in the form of debit cards with restrictions on how the money can be spent. While ESAs and vouchers are often used interchangeably, what sets ESAs apart from vouchers are that they can be used for a wide array of education expenses, not just private school tuition. (See EdWeek's 2023 explainer on ESAs.)

Voucher

School vouchers describe public funds that families can use at private schools of their choice, including those that are religious, to subsidize the cost of student tuition. Many vouchers are restricted to students with disabilities, students attending poor-performing schools, and students from low-income families, but some states have vouchers that are available to any student. (See EdWeek's 2017 explainer on vouchers.)

Tax-Credit Scholarship

Tax-credit scholarship programs provide scholarships to families that they can use at private schools of their choice, including those that are religious. The scholarships most commonly come from state-authorized nonprofit organizations, which issue the scholarships out of donations that they receive from businesses or individual taxpayers who receive tax credits for those donations. Eligibility can be limited based on family income, disability status, or other factors, or it can be universal. (See EdWeek's 2024 explainer on tax-credit scholarships.)

Tax-Credit Education Savings Account

Tax-Credit ESAs are a less common form of ESA through which families receive a designated, per-pupil amount from a state-authorized nonprofit organization that administers the account. Families can use the funds to cover any educational expense, including private school tuition, tutoring, or homeschooling costs. Businesses and individual taxpayers receive tax credits for donations to those nonprofit organizations. (See EdWeek's 2024 explainer on tax-credit education savings accounts.)

Universal school choice

Private school choice programs that are open to all families regardless of disability status, income, location, or public school performance. Universal policies have become more popular in recent years.

School choice

State and, to a lesser extent, federal policies and programs that allow families to send students to schools that they wouldn鈥檛 be assigned to attend in the traditional public school system. This can include charter schools; magnet schools; traditional public schools outside of a family鈥檚 assigned school zone, district, or town; homeschooling; and private schools, including those that are religiously affiliated.

Private school choice

Policies and programs that direct state and other public funds to private schools, including religious options, where families can choose to enroll their children.

Public school choice

Policies and programs that allow families to attend public schools other than the school to which a child would normally be assigned. These schools include charter schools, magnet schools, as well as traditional public schools where families proactively decide to enroll their children. This EdWeek tracker is focused on private school choice and does not include data on public school choice programs.

Magnet schools

Public schools with a specific focus, such as STEM, performing arts, or career and technical education, that are free to attend and open to all students in a district. Some magnet schools are also open to students outside of a designated district or state and require students to apply to attend.

Charter schools

Schools that receive public funding but typically operate independently of local school districts, with private nonprofits most commonly running them and less often for-profit entities. Districts or state authorizing bodies create contracts, or 鈥渃harters,鈥� with organizations that want to open charter schools, often for a designated period of time. Charters are tuition-free and are often open to all students in a district or an even broader metro area. However, they tend to have caps on enrollment and decide enrollment based on a lottery system. Because charter schools are a form of public school choice, they are not included in EdWeek鈥檚 private school choice tracker. (See EdWeek鈥檚 2018 explainer on charter schools.)

Inter- and intra-district choice

Policies and programs that allow students to attend public schools other than those to which they would normally be assigned. Those schools can be located in the student鈥檚 home district but outside of their traditional school zone (intra-district choice) or outside of their home district (inter-district choice). These policies are sometimes referred to as open enrollment.

Policies to watch

An ongoing look at significant private school choice policy development:

The federal government

President-elect Donald Trump has included private school choice among his education priorities. Republicans in Congress have that would set aside as much as $10 billion annually for a new tax-credit scholarship program open to students in every state whose families earn less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

Even before Trump took office, one version of the bill earned majority approval from the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees taxation. If Republicans choose to move the bill forward as part of the annual budget reconciliation process, they would need a simple majority of lawmakers in both chambers to agree to it. As of January, Republicans will hold 53 of 100 Senate seats and a slim majority in the 435-member House.

A federal private school choice program is closer than ever to becoming law, but it鈥檚 not guaranteed to pass. Some lawmakers who represent rural districts with few alternatives to public schools may balk on behalf of their constituents. On Dec. 9, a proposal to allocate federal defense funds to help American students living on U.S. military bases in Bahrain to attend private school .

Colorado

Voters on Nov. 5 rejected a proposed amendment to the constitution that would have enshrined 鈥渢he right to school choice,鈥� including traditional and charter public schools, private schools, and home school. Democrats continue to control both houses of the legislature and the governorship; private school choice is unlikely to advance in the near future.

Georgia

Students are eligible through the newly-established private school choice program to receive $6,500 in public ESA funds for next school year if they attend a public school that ranks among the bottom 25 percent in the state according to academic performance metrics.

The state education department in November 2024 several versions of the list of eligible public schools after district leaders questioned the inclusion of certain schools.

Then the Georgia Education Savings Authority, the newly formed rulemaking body tasked by the state with implementing the program, that permit eligibility for any student who lives in an attendance zone that includes a public school on the eligibility list. For instance, if a middle school is on the list, elementary and high school students who live in the same attendance zone would be eligible even if the school they currently attend isn鈥檛 on the eligibility list.

Some state lawmakers, including several who voted last year to approve the ESA program, have said they to hundreds of thousands of students more than expected. Critics of private school choice worry that expanding eligibility could create political pressure to increase the program鈥檚 annual spending cap, currently set at $144 million.

Idaho

Republican lawmakers who favor private school choice believe recent election results haves created more favorable conditions to pass a new policy. Public money for Idaho鈥檚 private school students could come in the form of tax credits, education savings accounts, or grants, a key lobbyist .

Debbie Critchfield, the state superintendent of education, said on July 30 that she and Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, were working on a new school choice bill, . But the budget proposal Critchfield鈥檚 agency sent the legislature in October . Both have previously said they don鈥檛 support diverting funds from public schools for private school choice.

Idaho is currently one of 22 states without a private school choice program in place. Earlier in 2024, a House bill that would have allocated $50 million for private school choice .

Mississippi

State House Speaker Jason White that he鈥檚 planning to introduce legislation in early 2025 to create a new education savings account program. The offering would be geared toward a limited number of students, primarily those who currently attend low-performing public schools, White said.

Lawmakers last year proposed a universal private school choice program, and later a state-funded study of private school choice, but neither bill advanced.

North Dakota

Lawmakers are in the early stages of pondering they could pass in the upcoming legislative session. One, floated by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, would dedicate $50 million to education savings accounts for all K-12 students in the state.

Under what Burgum is calling public school students could use them to cover fees for field trips, enrichment programs, and extracurricular activities; while non-public school students could use them for private school tuition, homeschooling costs, and other related expenses. Some Democratic lawmakers and school district advocates have said they鈥檙e open to this proposal if public and non-public school students alike receive the same amount of money, the .

Meanwhile, a Republican state senator is planning to introduce a different proposal for an ESA program. Participating public and homeschool students would each receive roughly $1,000, while participating private school students would each receive roughly $6,000.

North Dakota currently does not have any private school choice programs. It鈥檚 also one of only four states that still prohibits public charter schools鈥攖hough a state House member is planning to propose changing that soon.

South Carolina

The Institute for Justice, an influential conservative law firm with a long history of advocating for private school choice proponents, on Dec. 5 urging the South Carolina supreme court to overturn its recent ruling nullifying the core of the state鈥檚 education savings account program.

The court ruled that the state constitution鈥檚鈥淏laine Amendment鈥� prohibits the state from using public dollars to cover the cost of private school tuition. But the filing argues that federal precedent on the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution renders Blaine Amendments themselves unconstitutional.

The new filing requests the court to take action by Dec. 26. In the meantime, several lawmakers in the state senate were to discuss their approach to private school choice going forward.

The senate鈥檚 education chairman, Greg Hembree, that he鈥檚 planning to propose a bill to revive the ESA program but derive its funding from a different source to dodge concerns over constitutionality.

South Dakota

Gov. Kristi Noem on Dec. 3 $4 million for a new education savings account program. Each participating student would receive $3,000 to spend on private school tuition and other private education expenses.

Lawmakers would have to work out the details, including eligibility criteria and accountability measures, before it becomes law. The Republican governor鈥檚 spokesperson the proposed program would be geared toward low-income students.

South Dakota lawmakers debated creating an ESA program twice in recent years, but financial constraints . The state has had a tax-credit scholarship program since 2016.

Tennessee

The first bill filed in the state legislature after the Nov. 5 election was a . Half the money would be reserved for students from families earning less than 300 percent of the federal poverty line, and all students in the state would be eligible for the other half.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee is and to avoid a repeat of the chaos and infighting that doomed last year鈥檚 effort to expand private school choice. Several election victories for lawmaker candidates backed by Lee may smooth the path, but .

Texas

After Election Day results came in, Gov. Greg Abbott in for his fight to establish private school choice in his state. Lawmakers who have signaled their support for offering state funds to parents to spend on private education now make up a majority of both houses of the legislature, Abbott said. The legislature will take up the issue in the coming months, aiming to reach consensus after .

Some observers of Republican politics believe Abbott will be in the running to . If that happens, private school choice could be on shakier ground. A prominent Texas critic of private school choice that he believes Abbott鈥檚 departure from the governorship would give cover for some lawmakers to back away from supporting a new ESA program.

Some school boards and district superintendents who previously opposed private school choice are now saying they will adjust their advocacy to focus on ensuring any new programs offering public funds for private education include the same accountability measures that public schools must follow, .

Virginia

Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Dec. 18 released a state budget proposal that included . The state would give $5,000 to each of 10,000 students whose families earn less than 200 percent of the federal income limit to receive free meals from public schools. Youngkin, a Republican, proposes to fund the program using dollars from recent revenue growth, not from the existing education budget.

The proposal is likely to face steep opposition from both houses of the legislature, which are controlled by Democrats. Virginia鈥檚 only other private school choice offering is a tax-credit scholarship program.

Contact Information

For media or research inquiries about this data, contact library@educationweek.org.

How to Cite This Page

Which States Have Private School Choice? (2024, January 31). 澳门跑狗论坛. Retrieved Month Day, Year from /policy-politics/which-states-have-private-school-choice/2024/01