Facts

Looking for the facts about school choice? You’ve come to the right place. Here's what you need to know about school choice programs and the school choice movement nationwide.

Programs

  • There are 18 school voucher or scholarship tax credit programs operating across the country. Nine of these programs are school voucher programs and nine are scholarship tax credit programs.
  • There is nearly $600 million in dedicated funding available for school voucher and scholarship tax credit programs nationwide. Over the past five years, the amount of dedicated funding for school choice programs has grown from $268 million.
  • More than half of the school choice programs enacted over the past five years were either passed by Democratic legislatures or signed by Democratic governors.
  • The nation’s longest-running school choice program is the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (a voucher program created in 1990). The nation’s newest school choice program is an individual and corporate scholarship tax credit program in Indiana (created in 2009).

States

  • Eleven states and the District of Columbia offer either school voucher or scholarship tax credit programs.
  • States with school voucher programs and/or scholarship tax credit programs include: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin.
  • Two states (Ohio and Arizona) have three school choice programs each.
  • Legislators in 40+ states introduced legislation to enact school choice programs during the most recent legislative session.
  • Over the past five years, the number that have enacted school choice programs has doubled.

Student Enrollment

  • There are 179,721 children benefiting from school voucher and scholarship tax credit programs across the country. The state with the highest number of students in school choice programs is Florida.
  • There are 64,079 students enrolled in school voucher programs and 115,642 students enrolled in scholarship tax credit programs.
  • Over the past five years, student enrollment has grown by more than 86 percent.

 

State By State A look at school choice programs