America’s School Choice Programs Ranked by Eligibility, 2022 Edition

At EdChoice, eligibility is one of the most important factors in analyzing a school choice program. We believe that all parents—regardless of their residence, income or any other factor—should have access to the educational options that best fit their children’s needs.

You can find specific program eligibility rates in this year’s ABCs of School Choice, or check out this comprehensive list for programs ranked by school choice eligibility. Last year’s rankings are in parentheses following each program name. You might notice quite a bit of disruption after the Year of Educational Choice.

When possible, we calculate program eligibility based on the number of students in the state (or, in select cases, such as the Cleveland Scholarship Program, the defined geographic area) eligible to participate in that educational choice program. For programs with income limits, we calculate eligibility based on the number of families with children in the state who are income-eligible to participate in that educational choice program. See our May 2016 blog post for an in-depth look at our eligibility calculations.

Having high eligibility does not necessarily mean a program will have high participation. In some cases, such as with tax-credit scholarships, the number of eligible students may exceed the number of students a program has the resources to support. Of course, some families who are eligible will choose not to use a choice program, and that’s OK. Ultimately, we believe every family should be eligible to opt into an educational choice program and get their kids into the right learning setting.

T1. Arizona’s Original Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (T1)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 100% of students eligible

T1. Iowa’s Tuition and Textbook Tax Credits (T1)
Individual Tax Credit | 100% of taxpaying families with children eligible

T1. Minnesota’s Education Deduction (T1)
Individual Tax Deduction | 100% of taxpaying families with children eligible

T1. Montana’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations (T1)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 100% of students eligible

T1. Ohio’s Cleveland Scholarship Program (T1)
Voucher | 100% of students eligible

T1. Ohio’s K-12 Home Education Tax Credit (NR)
Individual Tax Credit | 100% of students eligible

T1. Ohio’s Nonchartered Private School Tax Credit (NR)
Individual Tax Credit | 100% of students eligible

T1. Ohio’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program (NR)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 100% of students eligible

9. Illinois’s Tax Credits for Educational Expenses (6)
Individual Tax Credit | About 98% of taxpaying families with children eligible

10. West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship Program (NR)
Education Savings Account | 93% of students eligible

11. Arizona’s “Switcher” Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (7)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 91% of families with children eligible

12. Georgia’s Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit (8)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 89% of students eligible

13. Florida’s Hope Scholarship Program (9)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 85% of students eligible

14. Oklahoma’s Equal Opportunity Education Scholarships (10)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 82% of families with children eligible

T15. Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program (22)
Voucher| 79% of families with children eligible

T15. Indiana’s School Scholarship Tax Credit Program (14)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 79% of students eligible

17. Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (12)
Voucher | 74% of families with children eligible

18. Iowa’s School Tuition Organization Tax Credit (13)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 69% of families with children eligible

19. Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (11)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 68% of families with children eligible

T20. Florida Family Empowerment Scholarship Program for Educational Options (18)
Voucher | 62% of families with children eligible

T20. Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (21)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 62% of families with children eligible

22. Puerto Rico’s Free School Selection Program (15)
Voucher | 59% of families with children eligible

23. Wisconsin’s Parental Private School Choice Program (Racine) (17)
Voucher | 57% of families with children eligible

24. Arizona’s Low-Income Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (16)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 56% of families with children eligible

25. Missouri’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program (NR)
Tax-Credit ESA | 51% of families with children eligible

26. Nevada’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (19)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 50% of families with children eligible

27. Kentucky’s Education Opportunity Account Program (NR)
Tax-Credit ESA| 49% of families with children eligible

28. Louisiana’s Tuition Donation Credit Program (20)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 46% of families with children eligible

29. North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships (23)
Voucher | 42% of families with children eligible

30. Illinois’s Invest in Kids Program (24)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 42% of families with children eligible

31. South Dakota’s Partners in Education Tax Credit Program (25)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 41% of families with children eligible

32. Ohio’s Income-Based Scholarship Program (30)
Voucher | 40% of students eligible

33. Arkansas’s Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Scholarship Program (NR)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 38% of families with children eligible

34. Virginia’s Educational Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credits (26)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 37% of families with children eligible

35. Alabama’s Education Scholarship Program (28)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 35% of families with children eligible

36. Rhode Island’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations (27)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 34% of families with children eligible

37. Louisiana Scholarship Program (29)
Voucher| 32% of students eligible

T38. New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account Program (31)
Education Savings Account| 31% of families with children eligible

T38. New Hampshire’s Education Tax Credit Program (31)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 31% of families with children eligible

40. Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (32)
Voucher | 30% of families with children eligible

41. Washington, D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarship Program (33)
Voucher | 29% of families with children eligible

42. Wisconsin’s Parental Choice Program (Statewide) (34)
Voucher | 24% of families with children eligible

43. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (43)
Education Savings Account | 23% of students eligible

44. Kansas’s Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program (56)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 23% of students eligible

45. Maryland’s Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program (35)
Voucher | 19% of families with children eligible

46. Minnesota’s K–12 Education Credit (36)
Individual Tax Credit | 18% of families with children eligible

47. Oklahoma’s Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities (38)
Voucher | 18% of students eligible

48. Arkansas’s Succeed Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities (42)
Voucher | 15% of students eligible

49. Ohio’s Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program (44)
Voucher | 15% of students eligible

50. Louisiana’s Elementary and Secondary School Tuition Deduction (37)
Individual Tax Deduction | 14% of students eligible

51. Wisconsin’s K–12 Private School Tuition Deduction (39)
Individual Tax Deduction | 14% of taxpaying families with children eligible

T52. South Carolina’s Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (T48)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 13% of students eligible

T52. South Carolina’s Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (T48)
Individual Tax Credit | 13% of students eligible

54. Wisconsin’s Special Needs Scholarship Program (41)
Voucher | 13% of taxpaying families eligible

55. Indiana’s Education Scholarship Account Program (NR)
Education Savings Account | 13% of students eligible

56. Utah’s Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program (53)
Voucher | 13% of students eligible

57. Utah’s Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program (NR)
Tax-Credit Scholarship| 12% of students eligible

58. Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program (51)
Voucher | 12% of students eligible

59. Mississippi’s Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program (45)
Education Savings Account | 12% of students eligible

T60. North Carolina’s Personal Education Savings Accounts (T52)
Education Savings Account | 11% of students eligible

T60. North Carolina’s Special Education Scholarship Grant for Children with Disabilities (T52)
Voucher | 11% of students eligible

62. Florida’s John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program (47)
Voucher | 11% of students eligible

63. Arizona’s Lexie’s Law for Disabled and Displaced Students Tax Credit Scholarship Program (46)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 11% of students eligible

64. Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program (50)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 10% of students eligible

65. Florida’s Empowerment Scholarship Program for Students with Unique Abilities (54)
Education Savings Account | 10% of students eligible

66. Indiana’s Private/Homeschool Deduction (40)
Individual Tax Deduction | 13% of taxpaying families with children eligible

67. Louisiana’s School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities (55)
Voucher | 6% of students eligible

68. Alabama Accountability Act of 2013 Parent-Taxpayer Refundable Tax Credits (57)
Individual Tax Credit | 5% of students eligible

69. Vermont’s Town Tuitioning Program (58)
Voucher | 4% of students eligible

70. Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program (59)
Voucher | 3% of students eligible

71. Mississippi’s Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (61)
Voucher | 2% of students eligible

72. Tennessee’s Individualized Education Accounts (62)
Education Savings Account | 2% of students eligible

73. Maine’s Town Tuitioning Program (60)
Voucher | 2% of students eligible

74. Ohio’s Autism Scholarship Program (63)
Voucher | 1% of students eligible

75. New Hampshire’s Town Tuitioning Program (64)
Voucher | <1% of students eligible