What Is School Choice? Everything You Need to Know

If you check the news, “school choice” is a hot topic of discussion. There are groups for and against school choice, but many people have no idea what school choice actually is. In short, school choice allows families to send their children to the schools of their choosing. That’s the simple definition. There is much more to learn about school choice, including the types of schools involved, what states offer it, and how parents ensure that their children receive funding at the schools of their choice. Keep reading our school choice guide to learn more!

What exactly is school choice? 

First, a little history here! Historically, students attended the public schools that correlated with the districts they lived in. That changed in 1990 when the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) formed. The MPCP was the first modern school choice program in the United States. Moving forward, every state has some form school choice, and since 2010, states offering private school vouchers have doubled. 

So what is the definition of school choice? School choice allows public funds (mainly tax dollars) to be allocated to families so they can choose schools that are the best fit for their children. The concept aims to level the playing field through access to greater educational opportunities for all students. 

Here are some of the schooling options that fall under “choice”: 

• Charter schools
• Homeschools
• Magnet schools
• Microschools
• Online schools
• Private schools
• Public schools

School choice funding

There are different types of school choice funding resources, including the following: 

• Education saving accounts (ESAS) 
• Individual tax credits and deductions 
• School vouchers
• Tax credit education savings accounts (ESAS) 
• Tax credit scholarships

All of these school choice options are ways in which students can receive fully-funded access to different types of educational institutions for free or a heavily discounted price. 

Breaking down the different types of school choice

Education savings accounts (ESAS)  

ESAs is a savings account that is government-authorized and filled with public funds. 

The ESAs allows parents to withdraw their children from a public school district and then access this government-authorized savings account with restricted but multiple uses. 

The funds are delegated to be used to cover tuition and fees of different educational institutions including the following: 

• Private school
• Online learning programs
• Community college costs 
• Higher education expenses
• Any approved learning services

Currently 16 states offer ESAs: 

• Alabama: Creating Hope & Opportunity for Our Students’ Education
• Arizona: Empowerment Scholarship Accounts
• Arkansas: Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program
• Florida: Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options Program, Florida Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (ESA)
• Georgia: Georgia Promise Scholarship
• Indiana: Education Scholarship Account Program
• Iowa: Education Savings Account Program >
• Mississippi: Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program
• Montana: Montana Special Needs Equal Opportunity Education Savings Account Program
• New Hampshire: Education Freedom Account Program
• North Carolina: Education Student Accounts (ESA+)
• South Carolina: South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund Program
• Tennessee: Education Savings Account Program, Individualized Education Account Program
• Utah: Utah Fits All Scholarship Program
• West Virginia: Hope Scholarship Program
• Wyoming: Wyoming Education Savings Account Program

Individual tax credits and deductions 

Tax credit and deductions allow parents to receive state tax relief for approved educational expenses. These expenses can include the following: 

• Private school tuition
• Books 
• Supplies
• Computers
• Tutors
• Transportation

Currently there are 9 states with individual tax credit/deductions:

• Alabama: Accountability Act of 2013 Parent-Taxpayer Refundable Tax Credits
• Illinois: Tax Credits for Educational Expenses
• Indiana: Private School/Homeschool Deduction 
• Iowa: Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit
• Louisiana: Elementary and Secondary School Tuition Deduction
• Minnesota: Education Deduction, K-12 Education Credit
• Ohio: K-12 Home Education Tax Credit, K-12 Nonchartered Private School Tax Credit
• South Carolina: Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children
• Wisconsin: K-12 Private School Tuition Deduction

Also see: What is a parochial school?

School vouchers

A school voucher is a program in which public funding is set aside to help parent’s fund their children’s private education. 

Under a school voucher program, funds allocated to a school district would be given to a participating family in the form of a voucher. This voucher would then be used to pay partial or full tuition for their child’s private school, including both religious and non-religious options. 

Therefore, school vouchers can help low-income families afford to send their children to nearby private schools without worrying about the tuition. 

Currently 16 states utilize school vouchers: 

• Arkansas: Succeed Scholarship Program
• District of Columbia: Opportunity Scholarship Program
• Florida: John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program, Family Empowerment Scholarship
• Georgia: Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program
• Indiana: Choice Scholarship Program
• Louisiana: Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence, School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities 
• Maine: Town Tuitioning Program 
• Maryland: Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program
• Mississippi: Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program/Speech-Language Therapy Scholarship for Students with Speech-Language Impairments Program, Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program
• New Hampshire: Town Tuitioning Program
• North Carolina: Opportunity Scholarship , Special Education Scholarships for Children with Disabilities
• Ohio: Educational Choice Scholarship Program, edChoice Expansion Program, Autism Scholarship Program , Joh Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program, Cleveland Scholarship Program 
• Oklahoma: Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program
• Utah: Carson Smith Scholarship Program 
• Vermont: Town Tuitioning Program
• Wisconsin: Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, Racine Parental Private School Choice Program, Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, Wisconsin Special Needs Scholarship Program 

Tax-credit education savings account (ESAS) 

Tax credit education savings accounts are a type of savings account in which taxpayers receive tax credits when they donate to nonprofit organizations. Families can then use these funds to pay for education-related expenses. 

Currently only 2 states offer tax-credit ESAS:

• Florida: Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
• Missouri: Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program

Tax-credit scholarships

Tax-credit scholarships allow taxpayers to receive tax credit when they have donated to nonprofits that provide scholarships for private schools. 

Currently there are 22 states that offer tax-credit scholarships:

• Alabama: Education Scholarship Program
• Arizona: Lexie’s Law for Disabled and Displaced Students Tax Credit Scholarship Program, Low-Income Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program , Original Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program , “Switcher” Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program 
• Arkansas: Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Scholarship Program
• Florida: Hope Scholarship Program
• Georgia: Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit
• Illinois: Invest in Kids Program
• Indiana: School Scholarship Tax Credit
• Iowa: School Tuition Organization Tax Credit
• Kansas: Tax Credit for Low-Income Students Scholarship Program
• Louisiana: Tuition Donation Credit Program
• Montana: Tax Credits for Contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations
• Nebraska: Opportunity Scholarships Act
• Nevada: Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program
• New Hampshire: Education Tax Credit Program
• Ohio: Ohio Tax-Credit Scholarship Program
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarships
• Pennsylvania: Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program, Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program
• Rhode Island: Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations
• South Carolina: Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children Fund
• South Dakota: Partners in Education Tax Credit Program
• Utah: Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program
• Virginia: Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program 

Key Takeaways

• “School Choice” offers various options for parents to send their children to schools that differ from their public neighborhood school
• This can include the availability of other public institutions, such as charter schools and magnet schools, as well as subsidizing a private education
• Subsidies can come in multiple forms, including tax credits, education savings accounts, and vouchers from the government
• Your School Choice options will vary significantly based on the state in which you live. Make sure to check resources in your specific state to see what your options are

Additional resources

• How to find financial aid for private K-12 schools
• Top middle school scholarships
• Charter schools vs. private schools

Frequently asked questions about school choice