America’s School Choice Programs Ranked by Eligibility, 2017 Edition
At EdChoice, our goal for any educational choice program is universal eligibility. We believe that all parents—regardless of ZIP Code, income, or any other factors—should have access to flexible educational options. 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. See my May 2016 blog post for an in-depth look at our eligibility calculations.
It’s important to understand that just because a program has high eligibility doesn’t mean it will have high participation. As today’s participation rankings, 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.
Later this week, we’ll show how important
T1. Ohio’s Cleveland Scholarship Program (T1)
Voucher | 100% of students eligible
T1. Montana’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations (T1)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 100% of students eligible
T1. Minnesota’s Education Deduction (T1)
Individual Tax Deduction | 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. Illinois’s Tax Credits for Educational Expenses (T1)
Individual Tax Credit | 100% of taxpaying families with children eligible
Arizona’s Original Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (7)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 99% of families with children eligible
7. Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts (8)
ESA | 96% of students eligible
8. Arizona’s “Switcher” Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (6)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |95% of families with children eligible
9. Douglas County, Colorado’s Choice Scholarship Program (9)
Voucher | 94% of students eligible
10. Georgia’s Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit (10)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 93% of students eligible
11. Oklahoma’s Equal Opportunity Education Scholarships (11)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 78% of families with children eligible
12. Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (12)
Voucher | 75% of families with children eligible
13. Ohio’s Income-Based Scholarship Program (13)
Voucher | 58% of families with children eligible
14. Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program (14)
Voucher | 54% of students eligible
15. Arizona’s Low-Income Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (18)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 53% of families with children eligible
16. Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (16)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |53% of families with children eligible
17. Wisconsin’s Parental Private School Choice Program (Racine) (20)
Voucher |53% of families with children eligible
18. Nevada’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (17)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 53% of families with children eligible
19. Indiana’s School Scholarship Tax Credit (19)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |49% of families with children eligible
20. South Dakota’s Partners in Education Tax Credit Program (NEW)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |47% of families with children eligible
21. Louisiana’s Tuition Donation Rebate Program (21)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 46% of families with children eligible
22. Iowa’s School Tuition Organization Tax Credit (24)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |43% of families with children eligible
23. North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships (22)
Voucher | 41% of families with children eligible
24. Alabama’s Education Scholarship Program (15)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |39% of families with children eligible
25. Rhode Island’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations (23)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 39% of families with children eligible
26. Virginia’s Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credit Program (27)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |38% of families with children eligible
27. Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (25)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |38% of families with children eligible
28. Louisiana Scholarship Program (32)
Voucher |36% of students eligible
29. Washington, D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarship Program (26)
Voucher | 32% of families with children eligible
30. New Hampshire’s Education Tax Credit Program (28)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 32% of families with children eligible
31. Maryland’s Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program (NEW)
Voucher |25% of families with children eligible
32. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (29)
ESA | 22% of students eligible
33. Kansas’s Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program (30)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 22% of families with children eligible
34. Minnesota’s K–12 Education Credit (31)
Individual Tax Credit | 20% of families with children eligible
35. Oklahoma’s Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities (34)
Voucher | 16% of students eligible
36. Wisconsin’s K–12 Private School Tuition Deduction (45)
Individual Tax Deduction |15% of taxpaying families with children eligible
37. Wisconsin’s Parental Choice Program (Statewide) (33)
Voucher | 14% of families with children eligible
38. Louisiana’s Elementary and Secondary School Tuition Deduction (35)
Individual Tax Deduction | 14% of students eligible
39. Ohio’s Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program (36)
Voucher | 14% of students eligible
40. Arkansas’s Succeed Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities (39)
Voucher |13% of students eligible
41. Florida’s John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program (40)
Voucher |13% of students eligible
42. South Carolina’s Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (38)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 13% of students eligible
43. Mississippi’s Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program (42)
ESA |13% of students eligible
44. South Carolina’s Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (41)
Individual Tax Credit | 13% of students eligible
45. Wisconsin’s Special Needs Scholarship Program (37)
Voucher | 13% of students eligible
46. Utah’s Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program (43)
Voucher |12% of students eligible
47. North Carolina’s Special Education Scholarship Grant for Children with Disabilities (44)
Voucher | 12% of students eligible
48. Florida’s Gardiner Scholarship Program (46)
ESA | 12% of students eligible
49. Arizona’s Lexie’s Law for Disabled and Displaced Students Tax Credit Scholarship Program (47)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 12% of students eligible
50. Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program (48)
Voucher | 11% of students eligible
51. Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (49)
Voucher | 10% of students eligible
52. Indiana’s Private School/Homeschool Deduction (50)
Individual Tax Deduction | 9% of students eligible
53. Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program (51)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 7% of students eligible
54. Louisiana’s School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities (52)
Voucher | 6% of students eligible
55. Alabama Accountability Act of 2013 Parent-Taxpayer Refundable Tax Credits (54)
Individual Tax Credit |4% of students eligible
56. Vermont’s Town Tuitioning Program (53)
Voucher |4% of students eligible
57. Maine’s Town Tuitioning Program (55)
Voucher | 3% of students eligible
58. Mississippi’s Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (56)
Voucher | 3% of students eligible
59. Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program (57)
Voucher | 2% of students eligible
60. Tennessee’s Individualized Education Accounts (58)
ESA | 2% of students eligible
61. Ohio’s Autism Scholarship (59)
Voucher | 1% of students eligible
