America’s School Choice Programs Ranked by Participation, 2020 Edition
The 2020 edition of The ABCs of School Choice gives the most up-to-date information we have on program participation.
In this post we rank the programs by how many participants they have, based on the most recent data available for each program at the time of this writing. Last year’s rankings are in parentheses following each program name.
While participation is a key factor in analyzing school choice systems, program design is just as important. Take the top five programs below, for example: Most of these programs offer families tax relief for private school tuition. Such programs often fail to provide immediate financial support to families of all income levels.
Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), vouchers and tax-credit scholarships, however, have the ability to provide families with the needed flexibility and funding to meet their children’s educational needs.
Eligibility, regulations and funding play important roles in how people and schools interact with school choice programs.
1. Illinois’s Tax Credits for Educational Expenses (1)
Individual Tax Credit | 265,437 tax returns
2. Minnesota’s Education Deduction (2)
Individual Tax Deduction | 205,655 tax returns
3. Iowa’s Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit (3)
Individual Tax Credit | 116,707 tax returns
4. Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (4)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 108,570 students
5. Louisiana’s Elementary & Secondary School Tuition Deduction (5)
Individual Tax Deduction | 77,097 tax returns
6. Indiana’s Private School/Homeschool Deduction (6)
Individual Tax Deduction | 56,223 tax returns
7. Minnesota’s K–12 Education Credit (7)
Individual Tax Credit | 40,506 tax returns
8. Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (10)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 37,725 scholarships
9. Wisconsin’s K–12 Private School Tuition Deduction (8)
Individual Tax Deduction | 38,170 tax returns
10. Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program (9)
Voucher | 36,290 students
11. Arizona’s Original Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (11)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 32,585 scholarships
12. Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (13)
Voucher | 28,978 students
13. Florida’s John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (12)
Voucher | 28,935 students
14. Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (14)
Voucher | 28,197 students
15. Arizona’s “Switcher” Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (15)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 22,348 scholarships
16. Arizona’s Low-Income Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (16)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 20,964 scholarships
17. Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program (17)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 14,419 scholarships
18. Georgia’s Qualified Educational Expense Tax Credit (18)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 13,895 scholarships
19. Florida’s Gardiner Scholarships (19)
ESA | 13,884 students
20. North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships (23)
Voucher | 12,183 students
21. Ohio’s Income-Based Scholarship Program (22)
Voucher | 11,353 students
22. Iowa’s School Tuition Organization Tax Credit (20)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 10,791 scholarships
23. Indiana’s School Scholarship Tax Credit (21)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 10,146 scholarships
24. Wisconsin’s Parental Choice Program (Statewide) (26)
Voucher | 9,746 students
25. Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship Program (NR)
Voucher | 9,095 students
26. Ohio’s Cleveland Scholarship Program (24)
Voucher | 7,251 students
27. Illinois’s Invest in Kids Program (63)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 7,178 scholarships
28. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (27)
ESA | 7,079 students
29. Louisiana Scholarship Program (25)
Voucher | 6,892 students
30. Maine’s Town Tuitioning Program (29)
Voucher | 5,374 students
31. Ohio’s Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program (28)
Voucher | 5,007 students
32. Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program (30)
Voucher | 4,873 students
33. Virginia’s Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program (31)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 4,505 scholarships
34. Alabama’s Education Scholarship Program (32)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 4,006 students
35. Wisconsin’s Parental Private School Choice Program (Racine) (36)
Voucher | 3,650 students
36. Vermont’s Town Tuitioning Program (35)
Voucher | 3,627 students
37. Maryland’s Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program (34)
Voucher | 3,168 students
38. Ohio’s Autism Scholarship (33)
Voucher | 3,152 students
39. Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarships (37)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 2,555 students
40. South Carolina’s Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (39)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 2,327 students
41. Louisiana’s Tuition Donation Credit Program (40)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 2,115 students
42. North Carolina’s Special Education Scholarship Grants for Children with Disabilities (42)
Voucher | 1,754 students
43. Washington D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarships Program (41)
Voucher | 1,724 students
44. Nevada’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (38)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 1,491 scholarships
45. Utah’s Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship (43)
Voucher| 1,107 students
46. Arizona’s Lexie’s Law for Disabled and Displaced Students Tax Credit Scholarship Program (44)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 1,103 scholarships
47. Wisconsin’s Special Needs Scholarship Program (46)
Voucher | 1,058 students
48. Oklahoma’s Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities (46)
Voucher | 1,002 students
49. South Dakota’s Partners in Education Tax Credit Program (48)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 720 students
50. South Carolina’s Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (47)
Individual Tax Credit| 508 students
51. Mississippi’s Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program (53)
ESA | 502 students
52. Louisiana’s School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities (51)
Voucher | 486 students
53. Arkansas’s Succeed Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities (55)
Voucher | 427 students
54. New Hampshire’s Education Tax Credit Program (49)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 413 students
55. Puerto Rico’s Free School Selection Program (NR)
Voucher | 407 students
56. Rhode Island’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations (50)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 397 students
57. Kansas’s Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program (52)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 369 students
58. North Carolina’s Personal Education Savings Account (54)
ESA | 282 students
59. Florida’s Hope Scholarship Program (59)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 271 students
60. Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program (56)
Voucher | 249 students
61. Tennessee’s Individualized Education Account Program (58)
ESA | 137 students
62. Alabama’s Accountability Act of 2013 Parent/Taxpayer Refundable Tax Credits (57)
Individual Tax Credit | 120 tax returns
63. Montana’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations (60)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 25 students
64. New Hampshire’s Town Tuitioning Program (61)
Voucher | 17 students
65. Mississippi’s Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (62)
Voucher | 2 students
