Primary and secondary education—kindergarten through grade 12—in the United States includes both public and private schools. Some states have implemented policies that provide families with taxpayer funding for private education or homeschooling.[1]
This page provides data on three such policies—education savings accounts (ESA), school vouchers, and education tax credit scholarships. Click here for definitions.
Supporters of these policies have generally referred to them as private school choice.[2] According to University of Southern California Professor Guilbert Hentschke, school choice "has become a catch-all label describing many different programs that offer students and their families alternatives to publicly provided schools in which students are, for the most part, assigned based on the location of their residence."[3] Wisconsin became the first state to pass a law creating a school choice program, in 1989. The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program gave eligible students in Milwaukee funding to attend private schools in the city.[4] Since then, over 30 states have implemented private school choice policies.[5]
Proponents argue private school choice policies provide a lifeline to students, particularly those from low-income families, trapped in failing or mediocre public schools. Those proponents say affluent families already have school choice, since they can afford private school tuition or purchase a home in wealthy neighborhoods with high-performing public schools. Critics argue private school choice siphons scarce funds from public schools, which are left with fewer resources. Critics say private school choice policies primarily subsidize affluent families in urban areas, with many private schools. Those critics say private schools are rare in rural parts of the country, leaving families with few options for utilizing private school choice policies. Ballotpedia has compiled research on and debates around the affect private school choice policies have on rural communities.
The number of states expanding or creating private school choice policies began increasing in 2022, when two states changed their eligibility requirements to admit all or most students. In 2023, five states enacted new ESA programs, and four of those programs covered all or most K-12 students. In 2024, four states—Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Wyoming—created or expanded private school choice policies. In 2025, two states—Tennessee and Idaho—had enacted new private school choice policies, while Wyoming had expanded a program to make eligibility universal.
As of April 25, 2025:
HIGHLIGHTS
Twenty states had enacted ESA programs. Programs in 10 states—Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming—covered all or most students or would eventually do so.
Twenty states had implemented voucher programs.
Twenty-five states had enacted tax-credit or tax-scholarship programs. Twenty-seven states had enacted tax-credit scholarship programs allowing individuals or businesses to write off contributions to scholarship programs that could be used for educational expenses outside the public school system. Thirteen states had implemented policies allowing individuals to write off or deduct educational expenses from their personal taxes.
Seventeen states did not have any private school choice programs in place. Nebraska, North Dakota, and Texas were the only states with Republican trifectas that did not have private school choice programs. Twelve states with Democratic trifectas had not enacted school choice programs.
Other types of school choice include charter schools, magnet schools, and public school open-enrollment. This page does not cover those policies.
See the sections below for information on K-12 school choice policies:
This timeline shows the three most recent updates. This page is updated when school choice-related bills become law or courts issue rulings that affect school choice programs.
April 18, 2025: Utah Third Judicial District Judge Laura Scott ruled that Utah's universal ESA program, Utah Fits All, violated the Utah Constitution because its funding source—income tax dollars—is designated for nonsectarian public education.[6] On April 23, Scott ruled the program could continue to operate while the state appeals her ruling.[7]
March 4, 2025: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed HB 199, expanding an income-restricted ESA program passed in 2024 to include all students. The expanded program provided $7,000 for students to spend on educational expenses outside of the public school system. The program also provided funding for pre-kindergarten for families making at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.[8]
February 27, 2025: Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) signed HB 93, creating a refundable tax credit worth $5,000 for eligible families to use on private school tuition, tutoring, or homeschooling expenses. Families with special needs students could receive up to $7,500. The legislation capped the program at $50,000,000.[9][10][11]
ESA programs give eligible students access to government-managed accounts with taxpayer money they can spend on a range of approved educational alternatives, such as private school tuition, tutoring services, and homeschooling supplies.[12]
Voucher programs pay for eligible students to attend private schools, though the money typically goes directly from the government to the school.[13]
Tax-credit scholarships come in a variety of forms, though they typically allow individuals and businesses to lower their tax burden by donating to scholarships that can be used at private schools.[14]
Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) allow families to receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized private savings accounts for use on approved educational expenses.[15] States set different rules for what counts as an approved educational expense, but in general, families can put ESA money toward private school tuition, tutoring, curriculum, and school supplies.[16]
ESA programs can be limited to a particular set of students, such as students with special needs or those from low-income families, or open to all—or most—children in a state. Students are generally ineligible to access ESA funds if they are enrolled in a public school.
Wyoming: Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed HB 199, expanding an income-restricted ESA program passed in 2024 to include all students. The expanded program provided $7,000 for students to spend on educational expenses outside of the public school system. The program also provided funding for pre-kindergarten for families making at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.[25]
Tennessee: Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed HB 6004, creating the Education Freedom Scholarship program.[26] The ESA program was set to provide 20,000 scholarships in its first year, each worth around $7,300, to defray the costs of private school tuition or other supplementary educational expenses.[27] Half the scholarship were reserved for students from families making 300% of the income qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, while the other half were available to all eligible students.[26]
Five states adopted new ESA programs or expanded existing ones to cover more students. Trifecta status reflects partisan control of state government at the time the legislation was signed into law.
Alabama (Republican trifecta): Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed HB 129 on March 7, creating the Creating Hope & Opportunity for Our Students’ Education (CHOOSE) Act. Among other things, the program was set to provide families with up to $7,000 per child for use at a participating private school beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.[28]
Georgia (Republican trifecta): Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed SB 233, creating the Georgia Promise Scholarship. The Georgia Promise Scholarship provided students zoned for the lowest-performing 25% of districts with $6,500 for private school tuition, tutoring services, and other expenses. The program prioritized students from families earning less than 400% of the federal poverty limit. The program was scheduled to go into effect in 2025.[29]
Missouri (Republican trifecta): Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed SB 727 on May 7. Among other things, the omnibus education bill expanded the funding cap for Missouri Empowerment Scholarships, a tax-credit ESA.[32]
Wyoming (Republican trifecta): Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed HB 166 on March 21. The bill created an ESA program to provide $6,000 to students from families making less than 150% of the federal poverty limit. The bill originally allowed families making more than 150% of the federal poverty limit to apply for the program, but Gordon vetoed that provision.[33]
Five states created new ESA programs to provide students with taxpayer funding for K-12 private education expenses. Trifecta status reflects partisan control of state government at the time the legislation was signed into law.
Arkansas (Republican trifecta): Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed the Arkansas LEARNS Act on March 9, creating, among other things, Education Freedom Accounts. The accounts provide eligible students with around $6,600 for eligible expenses. In the 2025-26 school year, eligibility will expand to include all students.[34][35][36]
Utah (Republican trifecta): Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed HB 215 in January, creating, among other things, the Utah Fits All Scholarship. All students are eligible for the accounts, which will receive about $8,000 for approved educational expenses per year.[37][38]
Iowa (Republican trifecta): Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) in January signed a bill creating the Education Savings Account program. All students are eligible for the program, which provides about $7,500 for approved educational expenses.[39]
Montana (Republican trifecta): Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed House Bill 393 on May 18, creating the Special Needs Equal Opportunity Education Savings Account Program. The program is limited to students with special needs.[40]
South Carolina (Republican trifecta): Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed the Education Scholarship Trust Fund Act into law May 5. The program provides up to $6,000 for approved educational expenses to students from low-income households.[41]
Two states expanded existing ESA programs to cover all or most students in 2023.
North Carolina (divided government): On Sept. 22, Gov. Roy Cooper (D) allowed the state’s $30 billion budget to become law without his signature. Included in the budget was an expansion of the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program, providing taxpayer funding for eligible students to use at participating private schools.[42] The General Assembly enacted the program in 2013 but limited the tuition assistance to students from low-income families who had previously attended a public school for at least a year. North Carolina has a divided government and is one of 29 states where one party holds a veto-proof majority in both legislative chambers. At the time, Republicans had a 30-20 majority in the Senate and a 72-48 majority in the House.
In July 2022, Arizona expanded its 2011 program to cover all students. A few months later, in October, the West Virginia Supreme Court allowed West Virginia's ESA program, first enacted in 2021 and set to cover over 90% of students, to go into effect.
Between 2011 and 2024, 17 states enacted 19 ESA programs. The Nevada State Legislature passed a bill establishing an ESA program in 2015 that would have covered nearly all students but the state supreme court ruled against the program’s funding mechanism in 2016, leaving it inoperable.
School vouchers, also known as opportunity scholarships, are government-funded scholarships that allow public school students to attend private schools. Vouchers redirect the state per-pupil education funding, giving it directly to individual families instead of school districts. Unlike ESAs, which can be spent on a variety of educational expenses, vouchers are typically earmarked exclusively for private school tuition, and may be restricted to low-income or special needs students.[43]
Education tax credits allow corporations and individuals to receive tax credits for contributing to scholarship programs. Some states have policies allowing individuals to write off approved educational expenses from their state income taxes.
On November 5, 2024, Nebraska voters repealed parts of LB 1402 in a 57-43% referendum vote. LB 1402 authorized the state treasurer to administer a scholarship program with a $10 million budget for use toward private educational expenses beginning in fiscal year 2024-2025.[47]
Proponents of school choice policies argue the programs and policies improve educational outcomes and expand opportunity and access for historically disadvantaged students. In addition, supporters say school choice policies empower parents and improve traditional public schools through competition.[48][49]
Critics of school choice policies contend such programs divert funds from traditional public schools, resulting in—or exacerbating—unequal outcomes among students. In addition, critics say school voucher programs and ESAs direct tax dollars to religious organizations, which operate many private schools.[50][51]
Rural school choice podcast
Check out this episode of Ballotpedia's On the Ballot: "How does universal school choice work in rural America? (Part 1)"
April 18, 2025: Utah Third Judicial District Judge Laura Scott ruled that Utah's universal school choice program, titled Utah Fits All, violated the Utah Constitution. The court held that the state Constitution charges the Utah Legislature with establishing and maintaining free and public education, but but they cannot establish schools and programs that are not open to all the children of Utah or free from sectarian control.[52]
March 4, 2025: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed HB 199, expanding an income-restricted ESA program passed in 2024 to include all students. The expanded program provided $7,000 for students to spend on educational expenses outside of the public school system. The program also provided funding for pre-kindergarten for families making at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.[53]
February 27, 2025: Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) signed HB 93, creating a universal refundable tax credit worth $5,000 for eligible families to use on private school tuition, tutoring, or homeschooling expenses. Families with special needs students could receive up to $7,500. The legislation capped the program at $50,000,000.[54][55][56]
February 12, 2025: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed HB 6004, creating the Education Freedom Scholarship program.[26] The ESA program was set to provide 20,000 scholarships in its first year, each worth around $7,300, to defray the costs of private school tuition or other supplementary educational expenses.[57] Half the scholarship were reserved for students from families making 300% of the income qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, while the other half were available to all eligible students.[26]
November 20, 2024: The North Carolina General Assembly voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of House Bill 10, which provided roughly $463 million for the state's Opportunity Scholarship voucher program.[58] Cooper vetoed the bill on September 20, 2024.[59] The Senate voted 30-19 to overturn Cooper's veto, while the House voted 72-44 to do the same.[60]
November 5, 2024: Nebraska residents voted 57-43% to partially repeal Legislative Bill 1402, which authorized the state treasurer to administer an education scholarship program with a $10 million budget beginning in fiscal year 2024-2025. The referendum did not repeal the part of LB 1402 that repealed a previous tax credit enacted by LB 753 for qualifying taxpayers who contributed to scholarship-granting organizations for education scholarships for private schools.[61]
September 11, 2024: The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled 3-2 that the state's 2023 Education Scholarship Trust Fund Program, an ESA program, violates the state constitution's prohibition on using taxpayer dollars to benefit private or religious schools.[62][63] The ruling only invalidated the part of the program allowing taxpayer funding to be used on private educational expenses. Qualified students accepted into out-of-district public schools could still use the funds to defray the cost of the transfer.[64]
June 19, 2024: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed SB 313, establishing the LA Gator Scholarship Program, an ESA program for eligible students.[65][66]
April 23, 2024: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed SB 233, creating the Georgia Promise Scholarship. The Georgia Promise Scholarship provided students zoned for the lowest-performing 25% of districts with $6,500 for private school tuition, tutoring services, and other expenses. The program prioritized students from families earning less than 400% of the federal poverty limit. The program was scheduled to go into effect in 2025.[67]
March 21, 2024: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed HB 166. The bill created an ESA program to provide $6,000 to students from families making less than 150% of the federal poverty limit. The bill originally allowed families making more than 150% of the federal poverty limit to apply for the program, but Gordon vetoed that provision.[68]
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↑The program, enacted on February 12, 2025, was projected to begin admitting students for the 2025-26 school year, beginning in August 2025.
↑A district court judge ruled on April 18, 2025, that the program violated the Utah state constitution, but allowed it to continue operating while the state appeals her ruling.
↑Wyoming first enacted an income-restricted ESA program in 2024 before expanding the program in 2025