School Choice

Tracker

Which States Have Private School Choice?
Education savings accounts, voucher, and tax-credit scholarships are growing. This tracker keeps tabs on them so you don't have to.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.. Lee presented the Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2024, his administration's legislative proposal to establish statewide universal school choice.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks in favor of establishing a statewide, universal private school choice program on Nov. 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee lawmakers passed that proposal, and Lee is also opting Tennessee into the first federal tax-credit scholarship program that will make publicly funded private school scholarships available to families. Tennessee is one of 21 participating states and counting.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters Federal Program Will Bring Private School Choice to At Least 4 New States
More state decisions on opting into the first federal private school choice program are rolling in.
Matthew Stone, January 26, 2026
6 min read
Image of students working at desks, wearing black and white school uniforms.
iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters As School Choice Goes Universal, What New Research Is Showing
New analyses shed light on the students using state funds for private school and the schools they attend.
9 min read
Signs along the hallway at Lake View Elementary say "Together, we are Lake View" in different languages.
Signs along the hallway at Lake View Elementary say "Together, we are Lake View" in different languages. The benefits of dual-language programs include desegregation and increased enrollment for schools, a study finds.
Narayan Mahon for Education Week
English Learners Q&A How One District's Dual-Language Program Helped to Desegregate Schools
A study about dual-language programs shows how they can increase equity and accessibility for all students.
Jennifer Vilcarino, December 15, 2025
7 min read
Illustration of scissors, glue, a ruler, and pencils used to create a cut paper collage forming a small school.
iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Opinion 'This Place Feels Like Me': Why My School District Needed a Microschool
A superintendent writes about adding a small, flexible learning site to his district's traditional schools.
George Philhower, November 19, 2025
4 min read
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature on Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. The federal government has made its biggest push yet for school choice under the Trump administration.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters Private School Choice Gets Supercharged in Trump's 2nd Term
At the same time, his administration is pledging to dial back the federal role in education.
Brooke Schultz, October 9, 2025
6 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Opinion What Could the New Federal Tuition Tax Credit Mean for School Choice?
Just what this new program will mean for your state is still uncertain.
Rick Hess, October 7, 2025
7 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Opinion How Can Education Savings Accounts Serve Students With Special Needs?
The state that pioneered the ESA is overseeing more than 10,000 requests daily from families for education expenses.
Rick Hess, September 23, 2025
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Opinion The Biggest Things People Don’t Know About School Choice
The school choice debate is rife with urban myths and dubious claims.
Rick Hess, September 9, 2025
8 min read
Upside down bluish green-colored Dollar symbol and finance graph shaped #2 pencil. On white-colored notepaper background.
Getty
Education Funding State Funding for Schools Is a Mess This Year, Too. Here's Why
The Trump administration's school funding disruptions have drawn significant attention, but schools are challenged by state budgets, too.
Mark Lieberman, August 29, 2025
12 min read
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the Tennessee state legislature on Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. After the passage of the first federal tax-credit scholarship, all states will have to decide whether to opt into the new program.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters Tracker Federal Private School Choice: Which States Are Opting In?
Education Week is tracking state decisions on the first major federal program that directs public funds to private schools.
2 min read
Tanya Bryant, CEO of ReNEW Schools for Education Week.
Tanya Bryant, the CEO of ReNEW Schools, visits the ReNEW Dolores T. Aaron Academy in New Orleans' 9th Ward on July 31, 2025. The school serves students in pre-K through 8th grade and is part of the ReNEW charter school network that Bryant leads.
L. Kasimu Harris for Education Week
School & District Management The Storm, Aftermath, and Recovery: How Katrina Shaped This Educator's Career
An educator's pre- and post-Katrina work shows how a generation of teachers had a front-row seat to dramatic changes in New Orleans schools.
Evie Blad, August 19, 2025
9 min read
Amber Powell, a first grade teacher, and Dr. Vera Triplett, CEO/Founder, of Noble Minds Institute for Whole Child Learning.
Vera Triplett, the CEO and founder of Noble Minds Institute for Whole Child Learning, right, walks with Amber Powell, a 1st grade teacher, on Aug. 6, 2025. The school, located in the East Carrollton neighborhood of New Orleans, will convert to a private, independent school this school year.
L. Kasimu Harris for Education Week
School & District Management Q&A This School Leader Still Sees the Effects of Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later
Vera Triplett is concerned about the number of schools that have shut down in her city in the years since Katrina.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, August 19, 2025
6 min read
Students walk from buses into Daviess County Middle School on the first day of classes for Daviess County Public Schools, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky.
Students walk from buses into Daviess County Middle School on the first day of classes for Daviess County Public Schools on Aug. 12, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky. Parents generally give public education low marks, but they don't believe the U.S. Department of Education should be dismantled.
Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP
Families & the Community What Americans Really Think of Public Schools
Americans continue to give a higher grade to their local schools than to the nation's education system as a whole, a new poll finds.
Evie Blad, August 19, 2025
5 min read
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. The One, Big Beautiful Bill Act championed by President Donald Trump includes the first federal school voucher program. States will decide whether to opt in to the offering.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters Opt In or Not? States Weigh Big Decision on Federal School Vouchers
A new federal program provides tax credits for donations to groups that provide private-school scholarships.
Brooke Schultz, August 4, 2025
7 min read