School choice in the United States

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Last updated: April 25, 2025

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:

    Latest news[edit]

    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]


    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.[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]

    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.[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.


    ESA programs by state[edit]

    States with ESA programs
    State Program scope Program name Year enacted
    Alabama Universal[17] The CHOOSE Act program 2024[18]
    Arizona Universal Empowerment Scholarship Accounts 2011
    Arkansas Universal Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program 2023
    Florida Universal Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options Program 2019
    Florida Limited Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities 2014
    Georgia Limited Georgia Promise Scholarship 2024[19]
    Indiana Limited Education Scholarship Account Program 2021
    Iowa Universal Education Savings Account Program 2023
    Louisiana Limited[20] GATOR Scholarship Program 2024[21]
    Mississippi Limited Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program 2015
    Montana Limited Montana Special Needs Equal Opportunity Education Savings Account Program 2023
    New Hampshire Limited Education Freedom Account Program 2021
    North Carolina Universal Education Student Accounts (ESA+) 2021
    Tennessee Universal Education Freedom Scholarship 2025[22]
    Tennessee Limited Education Savings Account Pilot Program 2019
    Tennessee Limited Individualized Education Account Program 2015
    Utah Universal Utah Fits All Scholarship Program 2023[23]
    West Virginia Universal Hope Scholarship Program 2021
    Wyoming Universal[24] Steamboat Legacy Scholarship 2025

    Sources: EdChoice, "School Choice in America Dashboard," accessed September 5, 2023
    Education Next, "As Many More States Enact Education Savings Accounts, Implementation Challenges Abound," August 1, 2023


    Enacted and expanded ESA programs since 2022[edit]

    2025[edit]

    • 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]

    2024[edit]

    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]
    • Louisiana (Republican trifecta): Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed SB 313, establishing the LA Gator Scholarship Program, an ESA program for eligible students.[30][31]
    • 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]

    2023[edit]

    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.

    • 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.[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.

    2022[edit]

    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 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. 

    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.[43]


    K-12 school voucher programs by state[edit]

    States with K-12 school voucher programs
    State Program name Year enacted
    Georgia Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program 2007
    Indiana Choice Scholarship Program 2011
    Louisiana School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities 2010
    Louisiana Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program 2008
    Maine Town Tuitioning Program 1873
    Maryland Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program 2016
    Mississippi Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program 2013
    Mississippi Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program 2013
    North Carolina Opportunity Scholarships 2013
    Ohio Income-Based Scholarship Program 2013
    Ohio Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program 2011
    Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Program 2005
    Ohio Autism Scholarship Program 2003
    Ohio Cleveland Scholarship Program 1995
    Oklahoma Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities 2010
    Utah Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program 2005
    Vermont Town Tuitioning Program 1869
    Wisconsin Special Needs Scholarship Program 2015
    Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (Statewide) 2013
    Wisconsin Parental Private School Choice Program (Racine) 2011
    Wisconsin Milwaukee Parental Choice Program 1990

    Sources: EdChoice, "School Choice in America Dashboard," accessed September 5, 2023
    Education Next, "As Many More States Enact Education Savings Accounts, Implementation Challenges Abound," August 1, 2023

    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]

    States with education tax-credit policies
    State Program name Type of tax-credit policy Year enacted
    Alabama Accountability Act of 2013 Parent-Taxpayer Refundable Tax Credits Individual credit/deduction 2013
    Alabama Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund Scholarship 2013
    Arizona “Switcher” Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program Scholarship 2012
    Arizona Lexie’s Law for Disabled and Displaced Students Tax Credit Scholarship Program Scholarship 2009
    Arizona Original Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program Scholarship 1997
    Arkansas Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Scholarship Program Scholarship 2021
    Florida Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program Individual credit/deduction 2001
    Florida Hope Scholarship Program Scholarship 2018
    Georgia Private school tax credit Scholarship 2008
    Idaho Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit Individual credit/deduction 2025[44]
    Illinois Tax Credits for Educational Expenses Individual credit/deduction 1999
    Indiana Private School/Homeschool Deduction Individual credit/deduction 2011
    Indiana School Scholarship Tax Credit Scholarship 2009
    Iowa Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit Individual credit/deduction 1987
    Iowa School Tuition Organization Tax Credit Scholarship 2006
    Kansas Tax Credit for Low-Income Students Scholarship Program Scholarship 2014
    Louisiana Elementary and Secondary School Tuition Deduction Individual credit/deduction 2008
    Louisiana Tuition Donation Credit Program Scholarship 2012
    Minnesota K–12 Education Credit Individual credit/deduction 1987
    Minnesota Education Deduction Individual credit/deduction 1955
    Missouri Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program Scholarship 2021
    Montana Tax Credits for Contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations Scholarship 2015
    Nevada Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program Scholarship 2015
    New Hampshire Education Tax Credit Program Scholarship 2012
    Ohio K–12 Nonchartered Private School Tax Credit Individual credit/deduction 2021
    Ohio K–12 Home Education Tax Credit Individual credit/deduction 2021
    Ohio Ohio Tax-Credit Scholarship Program Scholarship 2021
    Oklahoma Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act Individual credit/deduction 2023
    Oklahoma Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarships Scholarship 2011
    Pennsylvania Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program Scholarship 2012
    Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program Scholarship 2001
    Rhode Island Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations Scholarship 2006
    South Carolina Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children Individual credit/deduction 2015
    South Carolina Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children Fund Scholarship 2013
    South Dakota Partners in Education Tax Credit Program Scholarship 2016
    Utah Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program Scholarship 2020
    Virginia Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program Scholarship 2012
    Wisconsin K–12 Private School Tuition Deduction Individual credit/deduction 2013

    Sources: EdChoice, "School Choice in America Dashboard," accessed September 5, 2023

    Programs no longer in effect[edit]

    Private school choice policies no longer in effect
    State Program name Type of policy Dates active Summary
    Illinois Invest in Kids Program tax-credit scholarship 2017-2023 The Invest in Kids Program expired on December 31, 2024, after the Illinois State Legislature declined to continue funding it.[45][46]
    Nebraska Opportunity Scholarships Act Tax-credit scholarship 2023-2024 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]
    South Carolina South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund Program ESA 2023-2024 On September 12, 2024, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled 3-2 the program violated the state constitution.

    States without school choice policies[edit]

    Seventeen states did not have school choice policies providing taxpayer support for private educational expenses as of 2025.

    States without school choice policies
    State Trifecta Status
    Alaska Divided government
    California Democratic trifecta
    Colorado Democratic trifecta
    Connecticut Democratic trifecta
    Delaware Democratic trifecta
    Hawaii Democratic trifecta
    Kentucky Divided government
    Massachusetts Democratic trifecta
    Michigan Democratic trifecta
    Nebraska Republican trifecta
    New Jersey Democratic trifecta
    New Mexico Democratic trifecta
    New York Democratic trifecta
    North Dakota Republican trifecta
    Oregon Democratic trifecta
    Texas Republican trifecta
    Washington Democratic trifecta


    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.[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)"

    Timeline[edit]

    • 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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    See also[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. U.S. Department of Education, "Trends in the Use of School Choice 1993 to 2003," November 2006
    2. American Enterprise Institute, "The Best Argument for School Choice," June 14, 2023
    3. Hentschke, G. (2017). A Brief and Future History of School Choice". In Fox, R. and Buchanan, N., Ed. "The Wiley Handbook of School Choice." (28-45). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2017)
    4. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, "A brief history of voucher expansion," accessed September 22, 2023
    5. EdChoice, "Idaho Enacts First School Choice Program," February 27, 2025
    6. Salt Lake Tribune, "What’s next for Utah’s school voucher program after judge declared it unconstitutional? Here’s what we know so far.," April 21, 2025
    7. Utah News Dispatch, "Utah Fits All voucher program will continue until Utah Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality," April 23, 2025
    8. WyoFile, "Governor signs universal school voucher bill, calling it ‘remarkable achievement for Wyoming’," March 5, 2025
    9. Idaho Capital Sun, "Idaho Gov. Brad Little signs law that directs state funds to private school tuition," February 27, 2025
    10. Idaho Statesman, "Trump endorsed this contested Idaho bill. Gov. Little issued his decision on school vouchers," February 27, 2025
    11. The Lion, "Idaho Gov. signs school choice bill," February 27, 2025
    12. Education Next, "What Is an Education Savings Account, and Why Does It Matter?" May 11, 2023
    13. American Experiment, "No, Education Savings Accounts are not the same as vouchers," April 28, 2021
    14. USA Facts, "From charter schools to tax credit scholarships: School choice explained," October 26, 2021
    15. The Policy Circle, "Education Savings Accounts," accessed September 5, 2023
    16. Education Next, "As Many More States Enact Education Savings Accounts, Implementation Challenges Abound," August 1, 2023
    17. Program will become universally available to students in the 2027-28 school year
    18. Program scheduled to launch in 2025
    19. Scheduled to take effect in 2025
    20. Program set to become universal in the third stage of implementation
    21. Program set to launch in 2025
    22. The program, enacted on February 12, 2025, was projected to begin admitting students for the 2025-26 school year, beginning in August 2025.
    23. 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.
    24. Wyoming first enacted an income-restricted ESA program in 2024 before expanding the program in 2025
    25. WyoFile, "Governor signs universal school voucher bill, calling it ‘remarkable achievement for Wyoming’," March 5, 2025
    26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 The Lion, "Tennessee governor signs universal school choice bill after shrewd additions helped it pass," February 12, 2025
    27. Chalkbeat Tennessee, "Universal school voucher plan passes in Tennessee legislature," January 30, 2025
    28. Alabama Department of Revenue, "Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education Act of 2024 – The CHOOSE Act," accessed December 3, 2024
    29. Fox 5 Atlanta, "Kemp signs Georgia school voucher bill amid controversy," April 23, 2024
    30. The Lion, "Universal school choice bill signed into law by Louisiana governor," June 19, 2024
    31. Office of the Governor Jeff Landry, "Governor Landry Signs “Dream Big” Education Plan into Law," June 19, 2024
    32. The Kansas City Star, "Parson signs sweeping education bill targeting 4-day weeks, boosting private schools," December 3, 2024
    33. The Sheridan Press, "Governor signs state's first education savings account program into law, limits eligibility," March 25, 2024
    34. Arkansas Democrat Gazette, "Sanders signs Arkansas LEARNS, her education overhaul, into law," March 9, 2023
    35. Division of Elementary & Secondary Education," accessed October 20, 2023
    36. KATV, "School choice vouchers: LEARNS Act Education Freedom Accounts a class act or lesson in uncertainty?" September 10, 2023
    37. Washington Examiner, "'School choice revolution': Utah becomes third state to enact universal program," January 30, 2023
    38. Utah State Board of Education, "Utah Fits All Scholarship Program," accessed October 20, 2023
    39. IPR, "Reynolds signs law creating tax-funded accounts, expanding school choice in Iowa," January 24, 2023
    40. LegiScan, "Montana House Bill 393," accessed October 20, 2023
    41. South Carolina Department of Education, "Education Scholarship Trust Fund Program," May 5, 2023
    42. NC Newsline, "Gov. Cooper will let state budget bill become law without his signature," September 22, 2023
    43. The Dallas Morning News, "What are school vouchers and how are they different from ESA effort pushed in Texas?" July 26, 2022
    44. The program was scheduled to open at the end of the 2025-26 school year
    45. The Center Square, "Illinois legislators consider more tax credits; Invest in Kids not among them," May 11, 2024
    46. Chicago Tribune, "Families lament, public school advocates celebrate end of controversial scholarship tax credit," November 13, 2023
    47. Nebraska Public Media, "Voters repeal state-funded private school scholarship program," November 5, 2024
    48. Teach Democracy, "BRIA 8 2 b The Debate Over School Choice," accessed September 12, 2023
    49. American Enterprise Institute, "The Best Argument for School Choice," June 14, 2023
    50. Huff Post, "Top 10 Reasons School Choice Is No Choice," February 18, 2017
    51. ACLU, "The School Choice Myth and Our (Literal) Case Against It," January 29, 2016
    52. Utah News Dispatch, "Utah Fits All voucher program is ‘unconstitutional,’ district court rules," accessed April 24, 2025
    53. WyoFile, "Governor signs universal school voucher bill, calling it ‘remarkable achievement for Wyoming’," March 5, 2025
    54. Idaho Capital Sun, "Idaho Gov. Brad Little signs law that directs state funds to private school tuition," February 27, 2025
    55. Idaho Statesman, "Trump endorsed this contested Idaho bill. Gov. Little issued his decision on school vouchers," February 27, 2025
    56. The Lion, "Idaho Gov. signs school choice bill," February 27, 2025
    57. Chalkbeat Tennessee, "Universal school voucher plan passes in Tennessee legislature," January 30, 2025
    58. The Center Square, "Universal school choice funding, ICE cooperation are law," November 20, 2024
    59. NC Governor Roy Cooper, "Joined by Education and Business Leaders from Both Parties, Governor Cooper Vetoes HB1," September 20, 2024
    60. Associated Press, "North Carolina Republicans complete a veto override of voucher, immigration bill," November 21, 2024
    61. Nebraska Examiner, "Nebraska voters reject state funding for students attending private K-12 schools," November 5, 2024
    62. K-12 Dive, "South Carolina Supreme Court deals blow to private school scholarships," September 13, 2024
    63. Associated Press, "Court won’t allow public money to be spent on private schools in South Carolina," September 11, 2024
    64. The State, "SC Supreme Court blocks public funding of private schools, disappointing state leaders," September 12, 2024
    65. The Lion, "Universal school choice bill signed into law by Louisiana governor," June 19, 2024
    66. Office of the Governor Jeff Landry, "Governor Landry Signs “Dream Big” Education Plan into Law," June 19, 2024
    67. Fox 5 Atlanta, "Kemp signs Georgia school voucher bill amid controversy," April 23, 2024
    68. The Sheridan Press, "Governor signs state's first education savings account program into law, limits eligibility," March 25, 2024

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