America’s School Choice Programs Ranked by Eligibility, 2018 Edition

At EdChoice, eligibility is one of the most important factors in analyzing a school choice program. We believe that all parents—regardless geography, 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 parenthesis following each program name.

When possible, we calculate program eligibility based on the number of students in the state 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. .

We refined our calculations this year to include homeschool student estimates and a more liberal family income count, so many programs saw modest net eligibility increases. At the same time, we also used more recent American Community Survey data, so the total population of families was also expanded for many programs. Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA) and state foster care data were also incorporated for applicable programs.

It’s important to note that just because a program has high eligibility doesn’t mean it will have high participation. As today’s , not every family who is eligible for school choice will choose to use an educational choice program, but we believe that such options should be available should parents choose them.

This week, we’ll show how important

T1. Illinois’s Tax Credits for Educational Expenses (T1)
Individual Tax Credit | 100% of taxpaying families with children 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

6. Arizona’s Original Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (6)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 99% of families with children eligible

7. Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts (7)
ESA | 93% of students eligible

8. Arizona’s “Switcher” Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (8)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 93% of families with children eligible

9. Georgia’s Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit (10)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 88% of students eligible

10. Oklahoma’s Equal Opportunity Education Scholarships (11)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 82% of families with children eligible

11. Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (12)
Voucher | 75% of families with children eligible

12. Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (16)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 62% of families with children eligible

13. Indiana’s School Scholarship Tax Credit Program (19)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 60% of students eligible

14. Wisconsin’s Parental Private School Choice Program (Racine) (17)
Voucher | 60% of families with children eligible

15. Arizona’s Low-Income Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (15)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 58% of families with children eligible

16. Nevada’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (18)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 54% of families with children eligible

17. Illinois’s Invest in Kids Program (NEW)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 52% of families with children eligible

18. Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program (14)
Voucher | 50% of families with children eligible

19.Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (27)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 48% of families with children eligible

20. Louisiana’s Tuition Donation Credit Program (21)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 47% of families with children eligible

21. North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships (23)
Voucher | 45% of families with children eligible

22. Iowa’s School Tuition Organization Tax Credit (22)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 44% of families with children eligible

23. South Dakota’s Partners in Education Tax Credit Program (20)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 43% of families with children eligible

24. Rhode Island’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations (25)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 38% of families with children eligible

25. Alabama’s Education Scholarship Program (24)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 37% of families with children eligible

26. Virginia’s Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credit Program (26)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 37% of families with children eligible

27. New Hampshire’s Education Tax Credit Program (30)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 35% of families with children eligible

28. Washington, D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarship Program (29)
Voucher | 34% of families with children eligible

29. Ohio’s Income-Based Scholarship Program (13)
Voucher | 33% of families with children eligible

30. Louisiana Scholarship Program (28)
Voucher | 30% of students eligible

31. Wisconsin’s Parental Choice Program (Statewide) (37)
Voucher | 26% of families with children eligible

32. Maryland’s Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program (31)
Voucher | 25% of families with children eligible

33. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (32)*
ESA | 22% of students eligible

34. Minnesota’s K–12 Education Credit (34)
Individual Tax Credit | 19% of families with children eligible

35. Louisiana’s Elementary and Secondary School Tuition Deduction (38)
Individual Tax Deduction | 17% of students eligible

36.Oklahoma’s Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities (35)
Voucher | 17% of students eligible

37. Indiana’s Private School/Homeschool Deduction (52)
Individual Tax Deduction | 15% of students eligible

38. Arkansas’s Succeed Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities (40)
Voucher | 14% of students eligible

39. Wisconsin’s K–12 Private School Tuition Deduction (36)
Individual Tax Deduction | 13% of taxpaying families with children eligible

40. Ohio’s Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program (39)
Voucher | 13% of students eligible

41. Florida’s John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program (41)
Voucher |13% of students eligible

T42. South Carolina’s Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (42)
Individual Tax Credit | 13% of students eligible

T42. South Carolina’s Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (44)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 13% of students eligible

44. Wisconsin’s Special Needs Scholarship Program (45)
Voucher | 13% of students eligible

45. Mississippi’s Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program (43)
ESA | 12% of students eligible

46. Florida’s Gardiner Scholarship Program (48)
ESA | 12% of students eligible

47. Utah’s Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program (46)
Voucher | 12% of students eligible

48. Arizona’s Lexie’s Law for Disabled and Displaced Students Tax Credit Scholarship Program (49)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 11% of students eligible

49. North Carolina’s Special Education Scholarship Grant for Children with Disabilities (47)
Voucher | 11% of students eligible

50. Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program (50)
Voucher | 10% of students eligible

51. North Carolina’s Personal Education Savings Accounts Program (NEW)
ESA | 10% of students eligible

52. Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (51)
Voucher | 8% of students eligible

53. Kansas’s Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program (33)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 7% of students eligible

54. Louisiana’s School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities (54)
Voucher | 6% of students eligible

55. Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program (53)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 6% of students eligible

56. Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program (59)
Voucher | 5% of students eligible

57. Alabama Accountability Act of 2013 Parent-Taxpayer Refundable Tax Credits (54)
Individual Tax Credit | 5% of students eligible

58. Vermont’s Town Tuitioning Program (56)
Voucher | 4% of students eligible

59. Maine’s Town Tuitioning Program (57)
Voucher | 3% of students eligible

60. Mississippi’s Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (58)
Voucher | 3% of students eligible

61. Tennessee’s Individualized Education Accounts (60)
ESA | 2% of students eligible

62. Ohio’s Autism Scholarship (61)
Voucher | 1% of students eligible

63. New Hampshire’s Town Tuitioning Program (NEW)
Voucher | we cannot calculate eligibility for this program until first-year participation data are available in December 2018

*legislation enacted last year would make this program nearly-universal, but such an expansion is on hold due to a referendum