Across the country, a mere 75 school choice programs in 34 states serve over one million students, this according to the most recent data from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).
With so many states considering, adopting, or expanding programs of their own, what are the types of private K-12 financial assistance available to families, and what should you know about offerings in your state? We break all this down and more.
RELATED: Taking Advantage of Private School Enrollment Trends
What’s at Stake?
Additional research from NAIS shows 58 percent of parents who consider private schooling for their kids list affordability as their number one concern. For many families, school vouchers and other tuition assistance programs fill in the financial gap, allowing them to strongly consider the possibility of private education.
In many states, vouchers contribute to the expansion of private schools writ large, whether existing schools expand the number of families they serve or the creation of new schools in areas where it was previously financially unfeasible.
The institutions that best capitalize on school voucher news will be primed to recruit the best students (regardless of family income) and maintain healthy enrollment numbers for the long term.
What Types of Financial Assistance Are Available?
Vouchers potentially allow private schools to greatly expand their impact, but knowing what type of vouchers exist or are in play for your state influences the extent of that impact.
Many states now allow for investment accounts to cover private school tuition and fees, but those accounts are only a vehicle for vouchers. Instead, there are three types of eligibility: scholarships, limited coverage, and total universal coverage.
Scholarships
While technically not the same as vouchers, state-funded private school scholarships work very similarly. Twenty states have tax credit programs, which partner with nonprofit organizations to dole out scholarships for families to use on private school expenses.
Businesses and/or individuals donate to these nonprofit organizations, providing the funds used in scholarships. These people and businesses are incentivized to donate through resultant tax credits. Since public money is not directly involved and the recipients are often selective, a tax credit scholarship program is not considered a voucher, although some voucher programs confusingly use the term ‘scholarship.’
Limited, Qualifying Coverage
Vouchers are essentially the use of public funds to subsidize private education tuition for individual families, promoting school choice to those who may not otherwise afford it. Vouchers are often usable at any private school, including religious schools.
Many states that use school vouchers only serve them to students in specific scenarios, most commonly children with special needs, those in underperforming schools, and low-income families.
Universal Coverage
On the other hand, it’s become increasingly popular for states to offer universal voucher coverage, mostly involving variations on a publicly funded bank accounts that follow a student from school to school (or homeschool).
At their most extreme, school voucher programs are offered in every scenario to any student whose family requests the funds. This unprecedented potential for private school expansion could radically change the education landscape.
School Voucher News Across the States
As American education is so decentralized, it’s best to give a state-by-state breakdown of private school voucher news, an overview of where they exist, and where there’s realistic potential to expand.
New in 2024: Utah, North Carolina
After receiving $80 million, the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program has given awards to 10,000 students in its first year. This is out of over 27,000 applicants, with a long waitlist yet to be sorted out.
In 2023, North Carolina also rolled out its own universal voucher program, centered around Opportunity Scholarships. However, this program lacked funding and featured a lengthy waitlist of over 55,000, until the state legislature overruled the governor’s veto and passed $6.5 billion in funding through 2033.
New in 2025: Louisiana, Alabama
Two states are adopting voucher programs in 2025, both in the South.
Louisiana begins rolling out its school choice program, Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR), centered around education savings accounts (ESAs). While low-income families will receive the initial priority, after full implementation all students in the state will qualify.
In Alabama, a new tax-credit program will give families up to $7,000 per student for certain school-related expenses. This program is more limited in scope, with restrictions to only children of active-duty military personnel and those in poorly performing schools.
On the Docket
The incoming presidential administration has promised to make school choice a top educational priority, but it’s still important to track school voucher news at the state level as these programs may go beyond national guidelines.
Where previous bills failed to receive enough legislative support, the states of Texas, Idaho, and Tennessee are poised to now have enough supporting votes after this previous election to pass school choice programs. The governor of South Dakota has also announced she would support similar legislation if passed.
Where Each State Stands
Looking for your state’s status? Here’s a list of every state with some form of school choice laws.
- Alabama has a limited voucher program for qualifying students, in addition to state-sponsored scholarships.
- Arizona allows families to opt their children out of public schools and receive per-pupil funding for alternative schooling, which includes private schools. In addition, there are many needs-based scholarships funded by tax credit opportunities.
- Arkansas has both an ESA program and scholarships.
- Florida has an established, expansive school choice arsenal, complete with tax credits, ESAs, and scholarships.
- Georgia has a limited-use voucher system, tax credits, and scholarships.
- Illinois offers tax credit opportunities.
- Indiana offers a voucher program, ESAs, a private/home schooling tax deduction, and tax credit opportunities.
- Iowa offers tax credits, a tax deduction for public and private school families, and ESAs.
- Kansas offers a tax credit program that funds low-income scholarships.
- Louisiana recently rolled out a universal voucher program, but there are also tax credits and scholarships based on merit and need.
- Maine has a town tuitioning program (see Vermont).
- Maryland offers vouchers to low-income families.
- Minnesota offers deductions on state income taxes.
- Mississippi has scholarships and assistance for students with disabilities.
- Missouri has a tax credit program that funds ESAs for receiving families.
- Montana offers ESAs to special needs students and tax credit opportunities.
- Nebraska offers vouchers, with priority given to low-income families.
- Nevada offers tax credits for donations to scholarship funds.
- New Hampshire has needs-based ESAs, a tax credit program, and a town tuitioning program (see Vermont).
- North Carolina just allotted funding for its voucher program and also has ESAs available for students with disabilities.
- Ohio offers a variety of school choice options, including tax credits and needs-based scholarships.
- Oklahoma offers tax credits and disability scholarships.
- Pennsylvania offers tax credit opportunities.
- Puerto Rico has a voucher program limited to qualifying students.
- Rhode Island offers a tax credit program.
- South Carolina’s state Supreme Court recently struck down state vouchers, but there are tax credit options available.
- South Dakota offers a tax credit program.
- Tennessee has very specific criteria to qualify for its ESAs.
- Utah offers ESAs to all K-12 families and special needs scholarships.
- Vermont has the nation’s oldest school choice program (1869), which allows for small towns without schools to pay for students’ schooling elsewhere.
- Viriginia has a tax credit program.
- Washington, D.C. offers the only federally backed voucher program to low-income families.
- West Virginia offers an ESA program based on existing per-pupil funding.
- Wisconsin offers statewide and local voucher programs, scholarships, and individual income tax deductions for private school families.
- Wyoming offers ESAs to low-income families.
States without any existing school choice measures include: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, North Dakota, Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, Kentucky, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Learn more information about these programs here.
How Vouchers and School Choice Programs Open Doors
Perhaps the greatest positive point to all this school voucher news is how these programs open doors otherwise inaccessible for students whose families couldn’t afford private education without financial assistance.
Private school access often grants children the specialized programs, smaller class sizes, values-based education, and/or unique teaching approaches needed to truly excel in the classroom, which can be an improvement compared to under-resourced public schools.
Vouchers also help bridge some of the gap between students of lower- and higher-income backgrounds, which helps to improve college readiness, make well-paying jobs more accessible, and break cycles of poverty.
However, an influx of students seeking out and applying for private education will mean competing private schools will look to expand to fill demand.
How Ravenna Gives Your School an Edge with New Students
As your independent school may look to expand to meet rising demand or strengthen its talent pool of applicants, having the tools to capture interest and efficiently facilitate the recruitment process is essential to long-term growth and success.
With Ravenna, schools have an automated, collaborative admissions solution that allows teams to easily find, nurture, and select the best students for enrollment, while families have an application experience that requires minimal touchpoints and quick decisions.
Learn what it means to upgrade to the next generation of private school admissions with Ravenna.
