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.
Vermont State House 24197596488760
The Vermont State House in Montpelier, Vt., on Friday, July 12, 2024. Vermont last week became the first state to enact rules restricting scholarships awarded under a new federal school choice program to public school and low-income students.
Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo
School Choice & Charters A State's New Law Sets Up Clash With Trump's School Choice Program Rules
A state passed new requirements if it opts in to the new federal scholarship tax credit program.
Matthew Stone, June 23, 2026
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 the International Debate Over School Choice Can Teach Us at Home
A scholar highlights a new push to forge a consensus on parental rights—from New York to Africa.
Rick Hess, June 23, 2026
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 Microschools Are Booming. Will They Have the Funds to Grow?
This venture can help “small schools” secure space, improve facilities, and grow enrollment.
Rick Hess, June 16, 2026
6 min read
Gov. Tina Kotek speaks at a meeting of the Oregon Prosperity Council in Portland on Jan. 22 . In a new poll of Portland metro area voters, only a third of respondents said they have a positive opinion of Kotek.
Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon speaks at a meeting of the Oregon Prosperity Council in Portland on Jan. 22. 2026. Kotek said Friday she wouldn't opt Oregon in to a new federal tax credit program that, starting next year, will bankroll scholarships for K-12 students that can cover private school tuition, home-school expenses in some states, and certain expenses for public school students.
Mark Graves/The Oregonian via TNS
School Choice & Charters Another Democratic-Leaning State Will Pass on the Federal School Choice Program
Thirty-one states are on track to participate in the first federal tax-credit scholarship program.
Matthew Stone, June 12, 2026
4 min read
Graduation cap and dollars. Scholarship or student loan concept.
Getty
School Choice & Charters How Can Public Schools Participate in Trump's Federal Choice Program?
The Trump administration has confirmed public schools can receive federal scholarship funds. Here's how.
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
Law & Courts Opinion How State Courts Are Quietly Shaping U.S. Education
In education, the real action is often at the state level, not in Washington, explains Derek Black.
Rick Hess, June 9, 2026
8 min read
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 9: Students walk down a hallway outside classrooms at Houston Quran Academy in Houston, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Students walk down a hallway outside classrooms at Houston Quran Academy in Houston on May 9, 2025. Texas initially excluded Islamic schools from its new private school choice program, leading some to wonder if other states might limit the kinds of private schools eligible for state school choice funding.
Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty
School Choice & Charters Could More States Try to Keep Islamic Schools Out of Their Choice Programs?
A state asserted it could exclude certain schools from its new private school choice program.
Arianna Prothero, May 20, 2026
10 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives to testify during the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education," in Rayburn building on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives to testify during the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on Thursday, May 14, 2026. She defended the movement of dozens of her department's programs to other agencies and a budget proposal that would eliminate dozens of federal education programs.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP
Federal 'Creative' or 'Illegal?' Congress Debates Trump's Dismantling of Education Dept.
Republicans praised Linda McMahon for shrinking the federal K-12 footprint. Democrats raised concerns.
Alyson Klein, May 14, 2026
6 min read
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reads "Snowflakes Fall" to daycare children at the Department of Labor on Dec. 20, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. Hochul on Jan. 3, 2024, said she will push for schools to reemphasize phonics in literacy education programs, a potential overhaul that comes as many states revamp curriculums amid low reading scores.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reads "Snowflakes Fall" to children on Dec. 20, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. Hochul became the latest Democratic governor to say she'll opt her state in to the federal tax-credit scholarship program that takes effect next year, and will direct federal taxpayer funds to private school scholarships.
Will Waldron/The Albany Times Union via AP
School Choice & Charters A Large Democratic-Led State Says Yes to Trump’s School Choice Program
Thirty-one states are on track to participate in the first major federal foray into private school choice.
Matthew Stone, May 8, 2026
5 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 A New Federal Education Tax Credit Is Creating a Dilemma for Blue States
A new tax credit is forcing Democrats to navigate the tensions of politics and principles.
Rick Hess, April 28, 2026
9 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 Forgotten History of the School Choice Movement
Long before vouchers or charter schools, Americans were already clashing over education options.
Rick Hess, April 21, 2026
9 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 Can School Choice Programs Stamp Out Fraud While Staying Flexible?
With the rollout of the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, transparency is vital.
Rick Hess, April 7, 2026
7 min read
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks to a group of event attendees for his Parent Empowerment Night event where he advocated for school choice and vouchers at Temple Christian School in Fort Worth on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to attendees of his Parent Empowerment Night event where he advocated school choice and vouchers at Temple Christian School in Fort Worth on March 6, 2025. Texas is accepting applications for its new private school choice program for two more weeks after a judge intervened in a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination for the state's exclusion of Islamic schools.
Chris Torres/Fort Worth Star-Telegram via TNS
School Choice & Charters Families Get 2 More Weeks to Apply for Nation's Largest School Choice Program
Lawsuits say Texas is discriminating by excluding Islamic schools from the private school choice program.
Jennifer Vilcarino, March 18, 2026
3 min read
Superintendent Roosevelt Nivens speaks after being announced as AASA National Superintendent of the Year in Nashville, Tenn. on Feb. 12, 2026.
Roosevelt Nivens, superintendent of the Lamar Consolidated Independent school district in Texas, speaks after being named superintendent of the year by AASA in Nashville, Tenn. on Feb. 12, 2026. The district Nivens leads will open a new charter school for students with autism in the 2026-27 school year.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Special Education Inside a K-12 District’s Plan for a Charter School for Students With Autism
A specialized charter school will serve a fast-growing segment of a Texas school district's student body.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, March 11, 2026
6 min read