While participation in private school choice programs is increasing nationwide, differences in program design could lead to varying impacts on student learning, education equity, and state and local spending, according to an analysis by FutureEd, an education research nonprofit at Georgetown University.
FutureEd examined private school choice programs in eight states — Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia — during the 2023-24 school year. Researchers also looked at programs in North Carolina and Utah that started this school year, as well as programs in Alabama and Louisiana set to begin in 2025-26.
About 569,000 students received public subsidies in 2023-24 under universal private school choice programs in the eight states with established programs. About $4 billion was spent on tuition vouchers, education savings accounts, or scholarships funded by individual and corporate donors who received state tax credits in exchange for their contributions, according to FutureEd.
"Never in the history of American public education has so much money been available to parents to pay for private school tuition or homeschool expenses," the report said.
Here are three highlights from the findings:
The students being served
Under universal private school choice programs, all students are technically eligible to apply, but some states have designed their programs with certain financial or participant restrictions — and plans to expand in the future.
For instance, Oklahoma and Arkansas put a cap on the number of students who could participate. On the other hand, Florida and Arizona opened eligibility to all students.
Some students in the states studied were already part of private school communities, including 64% in Arkansas, 66% in Iowa and 69% in Florida for the 2023-24 school year. This may indicate that many participating students come from families who can already afford private school tuition.
Indeed, in Florida, researchers found that nearly half of students in the state's new universal ESA program come from families earning over 400% of the federal poverty level, or about $125,000 for a family of four. On the other hand, a third of the state's participants come from families eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch.
The status of learning
To measure for student outcomes and school accountability, states administer standardized tests in public schools annually. But when it comes to assessing private school choice participants, states take different paths.
Only Iowa required its ESA participants to take the same state standardized tests as public school students and schools to make academic proficiency and other student outcome results for these cohorts publicly available.
Ohio, meanwhile, permits other approved assessments but has a publicly accessible dashboard that tracks voucher students' performance. Indiana, on the other hand, does not publicly share this information.
For the most part, FutureEd said, comparing private school choice participants' academic achievements with public school students is difficult since private schools conduct a variety of assessments. Likewise, private school and public school classroom learning differs because public schools are required to teach to state standards, while private schools have no obligation to do so.
The report said it's unknown yet if these newer private school choice programs will spark an increase in the number of private schools. However, FutureEd notes the $7,000 to $8,000-per-student support for participants likely won't fuel notable new private school growth in many parts of the country.
The impact on state and local budgets
Six of the eight states with universal private school choice provide 90% or 100% of per-public school student state education aid to participating students or providers. Funding from local property taxes does not transfer to private schools.
Some states, like Utah, capped participation and set a budget ceiling that allows for more fiscal management, FutureEd said. Arizona and Florida have no eligibility caps.
In Arizona, lawmakers had predicted the private school choice program would cost $64 million in 2023-24. But the actual expense ran about $738 million — driven partly by participation of students with disabilities, some of whose scholarship amount exceeds $30,000 a year.
The local impact depends on how many public school students become private school choice participants. For example, communities where many participants already attended private schools and with a wealthier local tax base may not see as big of a financial impact. However, communities with less robust local finances and a higher population of public school students participating in private school choice programs, may face budget challenges.