America’s School Choice Programs Ranked by Participation, 2017 Edition
Which of America’s school choice programs has the most participants? Which has the least? The latest edition of The ABCs of School Choice gives the most up-to-date information we have on program participation. Here, we’ve ranked 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, and the top five appear in the same order as last year.
Eligibility, regulations and funding also play important roles in how people and schools interact with school choice programs. Stay tuned to our blog this week for more rankings and our annual superlatives post, where we assess programs holistically and provide our readers states to watch in 2017.
1. Illinois’s Tax Credits for Educational Expenses (1)
Individual Tax Credit | 285,972 tax returns
2. Minnesota’s Education Deduction (2)
Individual Tax Deduction | 209,963 tax returns
3. Iowa’s Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit (3)
Individual Tax Credit | 133,310 tax returns
4. Louisiana’s Elementary & Secondary School Tuition Deduction (4)
Individual Tax Deduction | 106,549 tax returns
5. Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (5)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 97,826 students
6. Indiana’s Private School/Homeschool Deduction (7)
Individual Tax Deduction | 53,174 tax returns
7. Minnesota’s K–12 Education Credit (6)
Individual Tax Credit | 52,046 tax returns
8. Wisconsin’s K–12 Private School Tuition Deduction (8)
Individual Tax Deduction | 38,500 tax returns
9. Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (9)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 34,826 scholarships
10. Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program (10)
Voucher | 34,645 students
11. Florida’s John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (11)
Voucher | 30,392 students
12. Arizona’s Original Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (13)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 30,049 scholarships
13. Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (12)
Voucher |28,188 students
14. Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (14)
Voucher | 22,892 students
15. Arizona’s Low-Income Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (18)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 16,573 scholarships
16. Arizona’s “Switcher” Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (16)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |16,493 scholarships
17. Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program (15)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 14,987 scholarships
18.Georgia’s Qualified Educational Expense Tax Credit (17)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 12,917 scholarships
19. Iowa’s School Tuition Organization Tax Credit (19)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 10,848 scholarships
20. Indiana’s School Scholarship Tax Credit (20)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 9,424 scholarships
21. Ohio’s Cleveland Scholarship Program (21)
Voucher | 8,594 students
22. Ohio’s Income-Based Scholarship Program (24)
Voucher | 7,840 students
23. Florida’s Gardiner Scholarships (26)
ESA |7,463 students
24. Louisiana Scholarship Program (22)
Voucher |7,110 students
25. Maine’s Town Tuitioning Program (25)
Voucher | 5,727 students
26. North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships (31)
Voucher |5,317 students
26. Ohio’s Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program (23)
Voucher |4,635 students
28. Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program (27)
Voucher | 4,185 students
29. Alabama’s Education Scholarship Program (28)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 3,646 students
30. Vermont’s Town Tuitioning Program (29)
Voucher | 3,350 students
31. Ohio’s Autism Scholarship (30)
Voucher | 3,325 students
32. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (33)
ESA | 3,129 students
33. Wisconsin’s Parental Choice Program (Statewide) (32)
Voucher |3,061 students
34. Wisconsin’s Parental Private School Choice Program (Racine) (34)
Voucher |2,532 students
35. Maryland’s Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program (NEW)
Voucher | 2,447 students
36. Virginia’s Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program (36)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |2,419 students
37. South Carolina’s Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (35)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |2,100 students
38. Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarships (38)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |1,366 students
39. Washington D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarships Program (37)
Voucher |1,166 students
40. Utah’s Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship (40)
Voucher |905 students
41. North Carolina’s Special Education Scholarship Grants for Children with Disabilities (41)
Voucher |828 students
42. Arizona’s Lexie’s Law for Disabled and Displaced Students Tax Credit Scholarship Program (46)
Tax-Credit Scholarships | 808 scholarships
43. Louisiana’s Tuition Donation Rebate Program (39)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |776 students
44. Oklahoma’s Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities (45)
Voucher | 553 students
45. Nevada’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (42)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 551 scholarships
46.Rhode Island’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations (43)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 503 students
47. Louisiana’s School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities (47)
Voucher |342 students
48. South Dakota’s Partners in Education Tax Credit Program (NEW)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |281 students
49. Wisconsin’s Special Needs Scholarship Program (NR)
Voucher | 206 students
50. Mississippi’s Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program (48)
ESA |204 students
51. Kansas’s Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program (52)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 188 students
52. New Hampshire’s Education Tax Credit Program (50)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |178 students
53. Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program (49)
Voucher |159 students
54. Alabama’s Accountability Act of 2013 Parent/Taxpayer Refundable Tax Credits (51)
Individual Tax Credit | 141 tax returns
55. Montana’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations (NR)
Tax-Credit Scholarship | 25 students
56. Arkansas’s Succeed Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities (NR)
Voucher | 20 students
57. Mississippi’s Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (53)
Voucher |0 students
South Carolina’s Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (NR)
Individual Tax Credit | Data not yet available
Tennessee’s Individualized Education Account Program (NR)
ESA | Data not yet available
Nevada’s Education Savings Account (NR)
ESA | Not yet operating
Douglas County, Colorado’s Choice Scholarship Pilot Program (44)
Voucher | Not currently operating
