School choice in the United States

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Last updated: May 16, 2024

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 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]

In 2023, five states enacted new ESA programs, and four of those programs covered all or most K-12 students. In 2022, two states expanded their programs to cover all or most students. Click here to read about these changes.

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:

• Latest news
• Terminology and definitions
• Education savings accounts (ESAs)
• Vouchers
• Education tax credits
• Other education policy topics

2024 news[edit]

• 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.^[5]
• 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.^[6]
• March 7, 2024: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed the CHOOSE Act, creating an ESA program. The program was set to accept students in the 2025-2026 school year.^[7][8]

Terminology and definitions[edit]

This page covers the following policies:

• 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.^[9]
• Voucher programs pay for eligible students to attend private schools, though the money typically goes directly from the government to the school.^[10]
• 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.^[11]

ESAs[edit]

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.^[12] 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.^[13]

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.

ESA programs by state[edit]

ESA legislation in 2022 and 2023[edit]

In 2023, 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 ESA program was expanded or created.

• 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.^[17][18][19] 
• 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.^[20][21]
• 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.^[22]
• 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.^[23]
• 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.^[24]

Two states expanded existing ESA programs to cover all or most students in 2023.

• Florida (Republican trifecta): On March 27, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) expanded the state’s Family Empowerment Scholarship program to provide all K-12 students with around $7,500 for educational expenses. The program was initially launched in 2019 but was restricted to a subset of students. 
• 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.^[25] 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. Republicans have 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.

History of ESA legislation[edit]

Between 2011 and 2023, 13 states enacted 15 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. 

Vouchers[edit]

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.^[26]

K-12 school voucher programs by state[edit]

Education tax credits[edit]

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.

K-12 tax-credit policies by state[edit]

Arguments for and against school choice[edit]

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.^[27][28]

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.^[29][30]

Subscribe to Hall Pass to stay up to date on school board politics and education policy[edit]

Hall Pass is a weekly newsletter designed to keep you plugged into the conversations driving school board politics and education policy. We bring you a roundup of the sharpest education commentary and research from across the political spectrum and the latest on school board elections and recall efforts.

Below are the three most recent edition:

• Hall Pass - May 15, 2024
• Hall Pass - May 8, 2024
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Other education policy pages on Ballotpedia[edit]

Want to read more about education policy in the United States? Start with the overviews below:

• Trends in curriculum development
  • Critical race theory (CRT)
  • Use of the term critical race theory (CRT)
  • Areas of inquiry and disagreement related to critical race theory (CRT)
    • Responses to trends in curriculum development
• K-12 content standards and curriculum research
  • K-12 content standards, curriculum, and stautorily required areas of instruction in the states
• K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and statutes in the states
  • K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and statutes in the states
• K-12 areas of instruction required by statute in the states‎
  • K-12 areas of instruction required by statute in the states‎

See also[edit]

• School board elections, 2024
• School board recalls, 2024
• Endorsements of school board members by state executive officeholders and candidates, 2024
• Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2023
• School board dismissals of district superintendents
• Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024

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