School Choice

Tracker

Which States Have Private School Choice?
Education savings accounts, vouchers, and tax-credit scholarships are growing. This tracker keeps tabs on them so you don't have to.
Mayor Michelle Wu and Gov Maura Healey arrive at the Otis Elementary School after Wu endorsed Healey in her reelection bid.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey appears in Boston on Oct. 1, 2026, as part of her reelection campaign. Healey is one of five Democratic governors who sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent seeking more clarity on the new federal school choice program before deciding whether to opt her state in.
Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald
School Choice & Charters Democratic Governors Have Questions About the Federal School Choice Program
A letter from five Democratic governors signals some movement as state leaders decide whether to opt in.
Arianna Prothero, October 26, 2026
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5 min read
Collage-style illustration of tall vertical clippings of green lockers, a school bus and a wooden desk, all split apart. In between the images are clippings of text from the IRS webpage that has information about the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit.
Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
School Choice & Charters Opinion Don’t Be Fooled by Claims That Tax-Credit Scholarships Can Help Public Education
The latest federal school choice scheme is a Trojan horse, argue Miguel Cardona and Robert Kim.
Miguel Cardona & Robert Kim, October 23, 2026
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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 What Could a Blue Wave Mean for School Choice?
A Democratic wave could slow school choice’s momentum, but established programs are hard to undo.
Rick Hess, October 20, 2026
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5 min read
Maria Contreras, right, opens the door for her son, Ian Contreras, before taking him to school on Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Maria Contreras, right, opens the door for her son, Ian Contreras, before taking him to school on Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. Private school choice programs—such as Texas' education savings accounts—are shaping debates in close races in a handful of states.
Julio Cortez/AP
School Choice & Charters School Choice Could Prove Pivotal in Some Midterm Races This Fall
"The politics of school choice are being scrambled in real time," says one advocate.
Arianna Prothero, October 20, 2026
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8 min read
Federal tax dollars flow into a public school. Federal school choice funding.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty
School Choice & Charters Q&A How Much Will Federal School Choice Benefit Public Schools?
"The money is there," says a researcher trying to project how much is there for public school students.
Arianna Prothero, October 15, 2026
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5 min read
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at a Texas Democratic Party press conference ahead of the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas on Sept. 9, 2026.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at a Texas Democratic Party press conference ahead of the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas on Sept. 9, 2026. Pritzker is among 16 governors who have yet to announce whether their states will participate in the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, the first national school choice program.
Gabriela Passos/AP
School Choice & Charters Democratic Holdouts Still Aren’t Committing to Trump’s School Choice Program
Sixteen governors still haven't said whether they'll opt in to the first national school choice program.
Matthew Stone & Arianna Prothero, October 14, 2026
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6 min read
A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2025.
A tutor works with students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2025. The federal tax-credit scholarship program that launches next year can cover select expenses for public school students, including for tutoring. But to receive revenue from the program, public schools could have to set up systems to charge fees that the federally bankrolled scholarships can then cover.
Eric Thayer/AP
Budget & Finance Trump's School Choice Program Could Push Public Schools to Charge New Fees
Districts that charge new fees will likely confront tricky logistical, legal, and philosophical questions.
Mark Lieberman, October 9, 2026
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9 min read
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the top Democrat in the Republican-majority House, is joined by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., chair of the House Democratic Caucus, as they criticize President Donald Trump and his policies while talking to reporters about the approaching midterm election, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 17, 2026. He's joined by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., who chairs the House Democratic Caucus. If Democrats gain a majority of either chamber of Congress after next month's elections, they'll be able to hold oversight hearings on and launch investigations into the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal What a Democratic Congress Could Mean for Trump's K-12 Agenda
They may try to reverse—or at least investigate—the Trump admin.'s efforts to dismantle the Ed. Dept.
Alyson Klein, October 8, 2026
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9 min read
School building at the center against a green grid background. Neighborhood homes are on both sides of the school and are made up of tax forms that are collaged together. Some of the forms show things like "School District Residency" and "File a separate form SD 100 for each taxing school district in which you lived during the taxable year".
Illustration by Taylor Callery for Education Week
States A Unique K-12 Ballot Initiative, and Other 2026 Election Highlights
One state would require 'Spar-Spangled Banner' broadcasts in schools. Others would limit taxes.
Matthew Stone, October 7, 2026
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10 min read
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WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 10: (L to R) Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Frank O. Bowman III, professor emeritus of law, University of Missouri School of Law arrive to testify before a House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled "Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas' Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States," at the U.S. Capitol on January 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. House Republicans have started their hearings into impeaching President Biden's Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, second from left, was a defendant in a lawsuit from the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation challenging a decision from the state's charter school authorizing board that denied the group's bid to open a charter school.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Law & Courts Federal Court Ruling Paves Way for Jewish Charter School in Oklahoma
A federal judge cleared the way for a Florida-based Jewish charter school network to open in the state.
Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton, Tulsa World, Okla., September 28, 2026
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4 min read
Row of three school desks. Each has a different color seat. One is red, one is white, and the third desk has a blue seat. Each desk has a voting booth on top with the familiar voting "American flag" and the word "VOTE".
Illustration by Taylor Callery for Education Week
States EdWeek's Guide to the 2026 Elections: Where Education Is on the Ballot
Education Week reviewed what's on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
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2 min read
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, center, arrives for a news conference about President Donald Trump s Education Freedom Tax Credit on March 27, 2026 at Hamtramck Academy in Hamtramck, Mich.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, center, arrives for a news conference about President Donald Trump's tax-credit scholarship program on March 27, 2026 at Hamtramck Academy in Hamtramck, Mich., where she urged Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to opt her state in. The Trump administration, through the Department of the Treasury, is expected to release regulations for the program in the coming days. Several governors have said they're awaiting those regulations before deciding whether their states participate.
Katy Kildee/The Detroit News via TNS
Education Funding Federal Tax Credits for K-12 Scholarships: What We Know (and Don't)
The Trump administration is preparing to issue rules for its new, ambitious school choice program.
Mark Lieberman & Arianna Prothero, September 23, 2026
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11 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 Do Parents Look for in a School?
Test scores aren’t the whole story. The CEO of GreatSchools talks about what parents want.
Rick Hess, September 22, 2026
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5 min read