Programs that direct public money toward private schools of a family’s 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’s 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’s 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.
States with at least one universal private school choice program
States with one or more private school choice program
Policies to watch
An ongoing look at significant private school choice policy development:
- The federal government
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Wyoming
The federal government
President-elect Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 29 calling for the U.S. Education Department to develop guidance to states for expanding private school choice.
On the same day, Senate Republicans proposed legislation that would set aside $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, a similar proposal 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.
Republicans currently hold 53 of 100 Senate seats and a slim majority in the 435-member House. Even so, a new private school choice program is not guaranteed to pass. Some lawmakers who represent rural districts with few alternatives to public schools may balk on behalf of their constituents.
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 published and then withdrew 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, published rules 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’t on the eligibility list.
Some state lawmakers, including several who voted last year to approve the ESA program, have said they don’t support expanding eligibility 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’s annual spending cap, currently set at $144 million.
Idaho
The state senate education committee voted 5-4 on Feb. 4 to advance a proposal that would make several changes to the state’s existing Empowering Parents program, which gives $1,000 per child to parents who apply for funds to spend on various public or private education expenses that supplement the classroom experience. The bill proposes adding $20 million to the program, offering a bigger award of $5,000 per student, and expanding the list of eligible expenses to include private school tuition.
The full senate will now consider the proposal, though House leaders have signaled they may not be inclined to support it.
Meanwhile, House lawmakers voted 42-28 on Feb. 7 to approve a program to offer $50 million in tax credits to parents of private and home-school students. Each student would be eligible for $5,000, and students with disabilities would get an additional $2,500. The bill doesn’t have a veto-proof majority in the house, and would need to pass the senate before arriving at Gov. Brad Little’s desk.
Idaho is currently one of 22 states without a private school choice program in place. Last March, a House bill that would have allocated $50 million for private school choice faltered well before passing.
Indiana
Newly elected Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, is proposing to increase investment in the state’s existing school voucher program so that all students are eligible. Currently, students are eligible for the voucher program if they come from families earning no more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level, which means the overwhelming majority of the state’s students are already eligible. Roughly 70,000 students participated this year, costing the state $439 million.
Braun’s budget proposal also includes tripling the annual allocation for the state’s limited education savings account offering, from $10 million to $30 million. The program accepts applications from K-12 students with disabilities who previously attended public schools. Roughly 1,000 students use the program for the current school year.
Kansas
A bill in the state senate proposes offering up to $125 million a year in tax credits to private school parents—$4,000 per student attending an unaccredited private school, and $8,000 per student attending an accredited private school.
The chair of the senate education committee, Renee Erickson, said in late January that she believes private school choice legislation will succeed this year. In order to do so, it will need to garner enough support from lawmakers to overcome a veto from Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat. Republicans currently hold supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature.
Mississippi
House lawmakers have proposed a bill to create a new education savings account program that would present two alternatives to students attending schools or districts rated “D” or “F” by the state: transfer to a nearby school or district with a higher rating, or use the state’s per-pupil education funding allocation to help cover the cost of private school tuition if the student can’t access a higher-rated public school.
Students from families earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level would get priority consideration for the program, which would cost $5 million in its first year. The bill passed the house education committee on Feb. 4.
Lawmakers have also discussed investing $2 million a year to clear the waitlist for the state’s existing ESA program, which has offered roughly $7,000 apiece to a few hundred students with disabilities since 2015.
Last year, lawmakers proposed a universal private school choice program, and later a state-funded study of private school choice, but neither bill advanced.
Missouri
Lawmakers have proposed several bills to expand private school choice during the 2025 legislative session. One would expand eligibility for the state’s existing tax-credit ESA program--which prioritizes scholarships for students with disabilities and low-income students--to include students who already attend private school. (Currently, the program is only available to public school students hoping to enroll in a private school.)
Another proposal, with bills filed in both the House and Senate, would offer a separate tax credit directly to families for private educational expenses.
Montana
Republican state lawmakers, who hold supermajorities in both houses of the legislature, are considering several proposals to expand private school choice in the state.
One bill proposes to create a new tax-credit program with two components: individuals and corporations would receive tax credits for donating to organizations that grant private school scholarships; and parents would be able to apply for a tax credit of up to $7,000 to cover the cost of private school tuition and other related expenses.
The state would spend up to $4 million for each of those two offerings in the first year. If the state spends 80 percent of that total in one year, the amount would increase by 25 percent the next year.
Another bill would expand eligibility for the state’s existing education savings account program to all of the state’s students; currently the program only accepts applications from children with disabilities.
Yet another bill would kick off the process of amending the state’s constitution to remove restrictions on public funds for “sectarian” schools.
New Hampshire
State Rep. Valerie McDonnell has circulated a legislative proposal to remove the income eligibility cap on the state’s education savings account program, which currently restricts eligibility to students from families earning less than 350 percent of the federal poverty level.
McDonnell’s bill would immediately make the ESA program universal, though the Republican has said she’s open to a conversation about gradually lifting the eligibility cap rather than eliminating it all at once. Newly inaugurated Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, has also indicated support for making the ESA program universal.
Roughly 5,300 students currently participate in the program at an annual cost of $23 million. Slightly more than 300 applied for accounts this school year but were denied because their income was too high. All of those applicants would be approved under the proposed adjustment to the program.
Nebraska
Less than three months after the state’s voters decisively chose to repeal a law that allowed parents of private school students to claim tax credits, lawmakers are proposing to revive that exact program. One lawmaker is pushing to designate the program as an appropriation, which would make it immune from being challenged on the ballot.
They’ve also proposed a bill that would bring back the state’s tax-credit scholarship program, which gave tax credits to individuals and corporations that donated to organizations which grant scholarships to private school students.
Another legislative proposal calls for creating a private school choice program solely accessible to students in foster care.
North Dakota
Lawmakers are pondering several private school choice proposals with the goal of passing at least one during the current legislative session.
One bill would dedicate as much as $50 million a year to education savings accounts for all K-12 students in the state. Backers, including Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong, are describing this proposal as the first truly universal ESA program in the country.
Each public school student would get $1,000 to cover fees for field trips, enrichment programs, and extracurricular activities; private school students would get between $2,000 and $4,000 each to spend on private school tuition and other related expenses; and homeschool students would get $1,000 each.
A separate proposal would allow parents to contribute up to $2,000 for educational expenses to a savings account run by the Bank of North Dakota. The state would match half the contribution.
North Dakota currently does not have any private school choice programs. It’s also one of only four states that still prohibits public charter schools—though House lawmakers are advancing legislation to change that, too.
South Carolina
The state supreme court ruled last September that the state constitution’s “Blaine Amendment” prohibits the state from using public dollars to cover the cost of private school tuition. That ruling essentially nullified the state’s existing education savings account program.
Republican state senators on Feb. 4 approved a bill that creates a similar program offering roughly $8,500 in ESA funds to 10,000 students per year. That money will come from the state’s lottery revenue, rather than from its general fund.
Within two years, the program would be open to families whose annual income is less than 600 percent of the federal poverty level--which means the vast majority of the state’s families would be eligible.
Once the bill clears the senate, it will move to the house for consideration. If the law passes, another lawsuit to challenge the program’s new funding approach is likely.
South Dakota
Gov. Kristi Noem on Dec. 3 included in her proposed annual budget $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.
Republican majority leaders in the state house and senate proposed a bill that would establish a new ESA program open to all of the state’s K-12 students. That bill failed to advance out of committee. Legislative leaders vowed on Jan. 30 to develop a new proposal.
The state has had a tax-credit scholarship program since 2016. Students are eligible to participate if they’re in foster care, or from families earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
Tennessee
During the last week of January, Republican lawmakers in the state house and senate approved a bill that expands the state’s existing education savings account program so that all public and private school students statewide are eligible to apply. The state will invest $474 million for 20,000 students to receive $7,300 each to spend on various private educational expenses. Half of those students will have to meet income requirements.
Gov. Bill Lee made expanding private school choice a top priority in recent years, even helping to bankroll campaigns that replaced incumbent Republican lawmakers with candidates who were more likely to support universal ESAs.
Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott declared victory after Election Day for his fight to establish private school choice. 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.
On Jan. 22, lawmakers in the House and Senate both unveiled budget proposals that included $1 billion to establish an education savings account program that would accept applications from all students. Each participating private school student would receive a base amount of $10,000; students with disabilities would each get $11,500; and homeschool students would get a $2,000 ESA.
The state senate on Feb. 5 approved a bill to establish that program. The House has historically been less keen on private school choice than the senate. But House Speaker Dustin Burrows said on Feb. 5 he believes private school legislation has enough votes to pass this time around.
Vermont
Gov. Phil Scott on Feb. 6 laid out a proposal for a new statewide school choice system that would be markedly different from any other state’s.
Each regional school division would be required to designate at least one school--including public magnet schools as well as area private schools--as a “choice school.” All of the state’s students would be eligible to apply for the “school choice lottery” in their district.
For students approved to attend a choice school through their district’s lottery, the state would direct those students’ per-pupil allocation to the choice school--whether it’s public or private. Choice schools would be exempt from some state mandates related to academics and operations.
This system would mark a major departure from the state’s existing setup, in which students who live in areas without a local public school option for their grade level can use publicly funded vouchers to attend school elsewhere, including at private or religious schools. It’s not clear yet whether Scott’s proposal would permit religious schools to be among the schools designated for the choice lottery.
Wyoming
The legislature on Jan. 16 began considering a bill that would make the ESA program universal. The House on Jan. 29 voted 39-21 to approve the bill.
Megan Degenfelder, the state education chief, told Cowboy State Daily in January that she supports expanding eligibility for the state’s existing education savings account program to all of the state’s K-12 students. Degenfelder proposed amending the House bill to require participating schools to be certified by the state and to administer state tests for students—but the committee’s lawmakers nixed her proposed amendments.
Eligibility for the program, signed into law last year and set to subsidize students’ private education starting in the 2025-26 school year, is currently restricted to students from families earning 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Each participating student receives $6,000.
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How to Cite This Page
Which States Have Private School Choice? (2024, January 31). Education Week. Retrieved Month Day, Year from https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/which-states-have-private-school-choice/2024/01
