School choice in Massachusetts
No state program pays private school tuition.
What exists in Massachusetts
| State program | No state program pays private school tuition |
|---|---|
| What families can use instead | No Massachusetts program pays private school tuition. The state constitution bars public money for schools that are not publicly owned and controlled, and there is no K-12 tuition tax break. |
| Help paying | Tax-favored use of 529 savings for K-12 costs, up to $20,000 a year per student from 2026 under federal law. |
| Coming up | There is no state application. Ask each school about its own financial aid deadlines. |
| Federal tax credit, 2027 | Massachusetts was not on the IRS opt-in list for the federal scholarship tax credit as of September 14, 2026. |
Worth knowing: Two 2025 bills, H.581 (education savings accounts) and S.1984 (a scholarship tax credit), did not advance; S.1984 was sent to a study order in July 2026.
We read this on from: Massachusetts Constitution (Article XLVI as amended); Governor’s FY25 tax expenditure budget, item 1.041 (529 treatment); MEFA, U.Fund; Massachusetts Legislature, H.581; IRS, participating states for 2027 (as of September 14, 2026); DESE, private school approval advisory. Rules change when the legislature meets, so check the official program site before you count on a number.
Private schools in Massachusetts
We list 493 private schools in Massachusetts, with grades, size and affiliation, by city and county.
Browse private schools in Massachusetts
- Private schools in Brookline (94 nearby)
- Private schools in Brighton (93 nearby)
- Private schools in Chestnut Hill (90 nearby)
- Private schools in Watertown (89 nearby)
- Private schools in Cambridge (87 nearby)
- Private schools in Jamaica Plain (87 nearby)
- Private schools in Newton (82 nearby)
- Private schools in Belmont (73 nearby)
- Private schools in West Roxbury (70 nearby)
- Private schools in Dorchester (69 nearby)
- Private schools in Arlington (65 nearby)
- Private schools in Waltham (56 nearby)
- Private schools in Boston (51 nearby)
- Private schools in Milton (47 nearby)
- Private schools in Winchester (46 nearby)
- Private schools in Needham (44 nearby)
- Private schools in Weston (39 nearby)
- Private schools in Dedham (38 nearby)
Questions parents ask
Does Massachusetts have school vouchers or an ESA?
No state program pays private school tuition.
What can families in Massachusetts use instead?
No Massachusetts program pays private school tuition. The state constitution bars public money for schools that are not publicly owned and controlled, and there is no K-12 tuition tax break.
Will the federal scholarship tax credit help in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts was not on the IRS opt-in list for the federal scholarship tax credit as of September 14, 2026.
Other states
- Texas: TEFA
- Arkansas: EFA
- Oklahoma: PCTC
- Tennessee: EFS
- Missouri: MOScholars
- Florida: FES / FTC
- Arizona: ESA
- Iowa: Students First ESA
- Utah: UFA
- West Virginia: Hope
- North Carolina: Opportunity Scholarship
- Indiana: Choice Scholarship
- Ohio: EdChoice
- Alabama: CHOOSE Act
- Louisiana: LA GATOR
- Georgia: Promise Scholarship
- South Carolina: ESTF
- New Hampshire: EFA
- Idaho: PCTC
- Wisconsin: WI Choice
- Maryland: BOOST
- Nevada: Opportunity Scholarship
- Wyoming: Steamboat Legacy ESA
- Kansas: TCLISS
- Montana: SSO tax credit
- South Dakota: Partners in Education
- Rhode Island: RI scholarship tax credit
- Mississippi: ESA
- Maine: Town tuitioning
- Vermont: Town tuitioning
- District of Columbia: OSP
- California: no state program
- Pennsylvania: EITC / OSTC
- New York: no state program
- Illinois: no state program
- New Jersey: no state program
- Virginia: EISTC
- Michigan: no state program
- Washington: no state program
- Minnesota: no state program
- Oregon: no state program
- Colorado: no state program
- Kentucky: no state program
- Connecticut: no state program
- Nebraska: no state program
- New Mexico: no state program
- Hawaii: no state program
- Delaware: no state program
- North Dakota: no state program
- Alaska: no state program