ChoiceFunded What your state pays

How many private schools take the state's school choice money

21 states and DC publish an official list of the private schools taking part in their program. Across them, 5,805 of 10,279 private schools in the federal survey are on the list: 56%. The state figures run from 84% in Iowa to 14% in Vermont.

Share of private schools on the state's list All 21 states and DC: 56%
  1. Iowa 84%
  2. West Virginia 83%
  3. Oklahoma 82%
  4. Florida 81%
  5. Wyoming 78%
  6. North Carolina 76%
  7. Arkansas 75%
  8. Kansas 72%
  9. Alabama 66%
  10. Nevada 64%
  11. Texas 62%
  12. Indiana 59%
  13. Ohio 56%
  14. Wisconsin 54%
  15. District of Columbia 51%
  16. Tennessee 50%
  17. South Carolina 43%
  18. Georgia 40%
  19. Maryland 28%
  20. Maine 25%
  21. Pennsylvania 23%
  22. Vermont 14%

State by state

Click a column heading to sort. "Surveyed schools" are the private schools in the federal survey that we list in the state; "on the list" are those of them the state's own list names.

StateProgramSurveyed schoolsOn the listShareKnown only from the listEntries on the state's listList date
Iowa Students First ESA Education savings account 181 152 84% 93 252
West Virginia Hope Education savings account 98 81 83% 45 199
Oklahoma PCTC Refundable tax credit 138 113 82% 129 257
Florida FES / FTC Education savings account 1,928 1,557 81% 857 2,588
Wyoming Steamboat Legacy ESA Education savings account 27 21 78% 16 47
North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Scholarship 568 429 76% 162 821
Arkansas EFA Education savings account 114 86 75% 32 171
Kansas TCLISS Tax-credit scholarship 162 117 72% 33 149
Alabama CHOOSE Act Education savings account 260 171 66% 79 309
Nevada Opportunity Scholarship Tax-credit scholarship 92 59 64% 42 96
Texas TEFA Education savings account 1,263 788 62% 468 2,765
Indiana Choice Scholarship Scholarship 529 312 59% 113 434
Ohio EdChoice / Cleveland Scholarship Scholarship 880 491 56% 167 672
Wisconsin WI Choice Scholarship 683 371 54% 92 460
District of Columbia OSP Scholarship 49 25 51% 10 36
Tennessee EFS Scholarship 373 185 50% 68 290
South Carolina ESTF Education savings account 276 118 43% 93 210
Georgia Promise Scholarship Education savings account 589 237 40% 121 364
Maryland BOOST Scholarship 516 146 28% 28 178
Maine Town tuitioning Scholarship 102 25 25% 3 33
Pennsylvania OSTC Tax-credit scholarship 1,361 308 23% 76 398
Vermont Town tuitioning Scholarship 90 13 14% 0 18
All 21 states and DC 10,279 5,805 56% 2,727

The median state is at 61%. Download every row: school-choice-participation-by-state.csv (CC BY 4.0).

What the denominator is, and why

  • Surveyed schools are the private schools in the U.S. Department of Education's Private School Universe Survey for 2023-24 that we list in the state. It is the one count that includes a school whether or not it takes part, so it is the fair base for a share. Schools that closed since the survey may still be in it, which pulls a share down. A school that appears twice under two names is counted once.
  • On the list means the state's own participation list names the school. We match by school name and town, or by address or phone where the names differ. A listed school we could not match counts as not on the list, so each share is a floor.
  • Known only from the list are schools on the state's list that are not in the federal survey: schools opened since 2023-24, and some that the survey missed. Every one is on the list by definition, so they stay out of the share and are shown on their own.
  • Entries on the state's list is the count in the file the state published. It can be larger than our matched count: some lists include preschools, child care centres or schools outside the state (the Texas file has many pre-K centres).
  • Programs are not alike. An education savings account, a voucher and a tax credit scholarship, and Maine and Vermont town tuitioning, reach schools in different ways, so compare states with care. Pennsylvania counts only the OSTC list: the EITC program publishes no school list.

States not in the table

  • A program but no state list of schools (9): Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Utah. A family there asks the school, or the program, directly.
  • Only a search tool, no list we can read (1): Virginia.
  • A list published by a scholarship organization, not the state (1): South Dakota.
  • No state private school choice program (18): Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington.

Questions

What share of private schools take part in their state's school choice program?

In the 21 states and DC that publish an official list, 5,805 of 10,279 private schools in the federal survey (56%) are on their state's list. The state figures run from 84% in Iowa to 14% in Vermont.

Which state has the highest share of private schools on its list?

Iowa: 152 of 181 surveyed private schools (84%) are on the Students First ESA list. 7 states are at 75% or more: Iowa, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Florida, Wyoming, North Carolina and Arkansas.

Why is the share low in some states?

Programs differ. A small or capped program, a list that covers only part of a program, or a program built around town tuitioning reaches fewer schools. Pennsylvania's figure counts only the Opportunity Scholarship (OSTC) list; the larger EITC program publishes no school list. Some schools also choose not to take part, and a school we could not match to the list counts as not on it.

Which states have a program but no list of schools?

Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Utah and Virginia have a program but no participating school list we can read, so they are not in the table. South Dakota has a list published by a scholarship organization rather than the state, which is also left out.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes. The full table is a CSV download under CC BY 4.0: cite ChoiceFunded and link to this page.

Sources and reuse

Schools: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Private School Universe Survey 2023-24. Participation: each state's published list, linked from its program page, with the date printed on the list or, for a list that carries none, the day we read it. How each list is read is on our data page. This page is rebuilt whenever a list is reloaded, most recently . Free to cite and reuse with a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). Related: counties with no participating school and Florida and Ohio by county. Questions: hello@choicefunded.com.

What your state pays Find schools