School Vouchers and What the Evidence Shows

What Is a School Voucher

A school voucher is public money a family can spend on private school tuition instead of sending a child to a public school. EdChoice, a group that supports these programs, describes it as a family using “all or part of the public funding set aside for their children’s education” at a private school, religious or not (EdChoice). Education savings accounts and tax-credit scholarships work toward the same goal through different routes, and many people call all three “vouchers.”

If You Are Deciding Whether to Use One

Find your situation

Open the one closest to yours. Each gives the rule that applies and a next step.

I am thinking about using a voucher or education savings account

1. Find your state's program on its education department or treasurer's site. Check who qualifies, the award amount, the deadline, and whether a lottery decides who gets in.
2. Ask each private school how it decides whom to admit. Private schools set their own admission rules, and a voucher does not guarantee a seat.
3. Ask what tuition and fees cost beyond the award. An award may cover part or all of tuition.
4. Ask which tests the school gives and whether it reports results. Not every program requires testing.

Rules vary by state. In the 27 programs GAO reviewed in 2017, 18 required academic testing for participating schools (GAO-18-94).

My child has an IEP or a disability

1. Know what changes. When parents place a child in private school, the child has no individual right to the special education services they would get in a public school.
2. Ask your school district what "equitable services" it offers private school students and get the plan in writing.
3. Ask the private school, in writing, which services, therapies and accommodations it will provide, and at what cost.
4. Read the disability rights explainer on what the ADA and Section 504 still cover.

Status: federal regulation. 34 CFR 300.137 says a parentally placed private school child "has no individual right" to those services. In 2017, GAO found 83% of students in programs built for students with disabilities got no information, or inaccurate information, about these changes.

I live in Texas

1. Texas Education Freedom Accounts pay $10,474 per child for an approved private school in 2026-27, up to $30,000 for a child with a disability and an IEP, and $2,000 for a homeschooled child.
2. If applications exceed funding, a lottery decides. Children with disabilities in households at or below 500% of the poverty line come first, then households at or below 200%.
3. Apply and track your award through the state program site.
4. Our Texas school vouchers guide covers the lottery tiers, who got funded in the first year, and the 2027 budget fight.

Status: law. Senate Bill 2 (2025) created the program with $1 billion, and the first year is 2026-27.

I want to donate for the new federal tax credit

1. The credit applies to tax years ending after December 31, 2026, so gifts count starting in 2027.
2. Give to a scholarship granting organization on your state's approved list. The credit is up to $1,700, and a state tax credit for the same gift reduces it.
3. Check whether your state opted in. Students in states that do not take part cannot receive these scholarships.

Status: law. Section 25F of the tax code, added by the 2025 budget law.

Vouchers, Education Savings Accounts, and Tax-Credit Scholarships

The three programs differ in where the money comes from and what a family can spend it on. A voucher pays tuition. An education savings account puts money in an account a parent can spend on tuition, tutoring, therapy or supplies. A tax-credit scholarship is funded by private donors who get a tax break for giving.

“School choice” is a wider term. It also covers public options such as charter and magnet schools. This page covers the programs that pay for private school.

The Maine Case That Opened Vouchers to Religious Schools

Maine is the most rural state in the country, and fewer than half of its 260 school districts run a high school of their own. For decades the state paid tuition for those students at a public or private high school their parents chose. Since 1981, it paid only for schools it called “nonsectarian” (Carson v. Makin).

Two families wanted to use the money at Bangor Christian Schools and Temple Academy. Both schools were accredited, but both were religious, so the state said no. The families sued the state’s education commissioner.

On June 21, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 for the families. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that Maine paid tuition at private schools only if they were not religious, and added: “That is discrimination against religion.” The rule the Court applied came from an earlier case: “A State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented. “What a difference five years makes,” she wrote. “Today, the Court leads us to a place where separation of church and state becomes a constitutional violation.” Since the ruling, a state that funds private schools cannot leave out religious ones. How the religion clauses work is covered in the separation of church and state explainer.

Which States Have Vouchers and Education Savings Accounts

Eighteen states offer private school funding to all or most students, or have passed laws that will. Ballotpedia lists them as Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, as of April 30, 2026.

18

16

16

• All or most students eligible (18 states)
• Narrower programs (16 states) For example, students with disabilities, low-income families, or one city.
• No private school choice program (16 states)

Source: Ballotpedia, School choice in the United States, as of April 30, 2026. Narrower programs derived as 50 minus the other two groups.

By program type, Ballotpedia counted 21 states with education savings accounts, 20 with vouchers, and 25 with tax-credit or tax-scholarship programs. Many states run more than one kind.

The Federal Tax Credit Starting in 2027

The 2025 budget law created the first federal tax credit for private school scholarships, and each state decides whether its students can use it. Section 25F of the tax code gives a taxpayer a credit of up to $1,700 for cash gifts to a scholarship granting organization. The credit is reduced by any state tax credit for the same gift (P.L. 119-21, Sec. 70411).

The law sets these rules:

• A student qualifies if the household earns no more than 300% of the area median income and the student could enroll in a public school.
• A scholarship organization must spend at least 90% of its income on scholarships and cannot earmark gifts for a particular student.
• A state takes part only if its governor, or another official state law names, elects to and sends the IRS a list of approved organizations.
• The credit applies to tax years ending after December 31, 2026.

The IRS said on June 8, 2026 that 27 states had elected to take part (IRS). By September 15, Ballotpedia counted 31 that had said they would. In North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky, lawmakers opted their states in over the governor’s veto. The governors of Minnesota, Oregon, Hawaii and New Mexico said their states would not take part, and Arizona’s governor vetoed three opt-in bills (Ballotpedia).

What Voucher Studies Found on Test Scores

The strongest recent studies of statewide voucher programs found test scores fell for students who used them, most in math. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which supports school choice, noted that earlier evaluations of city-level programs had found neutral-to-positive results, and called the newer statewide findings “a recent (and, to us, unwelcome) trend” (Fordham).

A standard deviation lets researchers compare changes across different tests. The Louisiana researchers described their result as a substantial reduction. The first-year drop also raised a student’s chance of a failing math score by 50%. The four-year follow-up by Heidi Erickson, Jonathan Mills and Patrick Wolf found “substantial negative achievement impacts, especially in math, that diminish after the first year but persist after four years” (Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness).

The federal evaluation of Washington, D.C.’s program found “no effect on either math or reading achievement” after three years (Institute of Education Sciences). In Indiana, researchers R. Joseph Waddington and Mark Berends found the math loss “persisted regardless of the length of time spent in a private school” (JPAM).

What Universal Eligibility Costs Arizona

Arizona’s education savings accounts grew more than eightfold in the four years after every student became eligible in 2022. The state’s legislative budget office publishes the enrollment and cost figures each year.

Students in Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, by fiscal year

Category	Value
2019	6450
2020	7781
2021	9777
2022	12049
2023	53364
2024	76427
2025	87602
2026 est.	101602

Source: Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee, FY 2027 Baseline, Department of Education, Table 3. FY 2023 is the first year of universal eligibility.

The program has cost more than budgeted two years running. Lawmakers budgeted $822.0 million in fiscal 2025 and the committee’s revised figure was $872.2 million. For fiscal 2026 the figures were $1.0017 billion budgeted and $1.0615 billion revised (Arizona JLBC FY 2026; FY 2027 Baseline).

The 57% figure is the state education department’s estimate through the first quarter of fiscal 2026. It means the other 43% of new students came from private school, home school or elsewhere, where the state had not been paying for their education. For fiscal 2027, the committee projects 113,602 students and $1.216 billion in awards, about $10,701 per student, derived. It calls all projections for the program “highly speculative” until enrollment levels off.

Where School Voucher Programs Stand in 2026

Where Each School Voucher Fight Stands

As of September 25, 2026

• Federal scholarship tax credit Law, starts 2027

  The IRS said 27 states had elected to take part as of June 8, 2026. Ballotpedia counted 31 that said they would by September 15. (source)

• North Carolina opt-in Law, veto overridden

  Lawmakers overrode Gov. Josh Stein's veto on June 3, 2026, opting the state into the federal credit. (source)

• Texas Education Freedom Accounts Law, first year 2026-27

  The state reported 118,000 students with active awards. By August 5, 2026, 20,700 awarded students had given up their funds, according to Dallas Morning News records. (source)

• Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Law, over budget

  An estimated 101,602 students in fiscal 2026, and $59.8 million above the enacted budget. (source)

• Wyoming Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Final ruling, upheld

  The Wyoming Supreme Court unanimously upheld the state's universal account program on May 14, 2026. (source)

• Religious schools in state programs Final ruling

  Carson v. Makin (June 21, 2022) bars states that fund private schools from excluding religious ones. (source)

Source: P.L. 119-21; IRS IR-2026-76; Ballotpedia; Arizona JLBC; Texas Standard; Carson v. Makin

The Debate Over School Vouchers

Supporters say families, not school districts, should decide where public education money goes. EdChoice calls the federal credit a way to give families “additional funding for your child’s educational needs,” and says there are “no sound reasons for a state to reject” it (EdChoice). The Fordham Institute found that Ohio’s public schools improved when they faced voucher competition. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, called opting in to the federal credit a “no-brainer,” according to EdChoice.

Opponents say the programs pull money from public schools that must still serve most students, and send it to schools with fewer obligations. Education Forward Arizona, which opposed the 2022 expansion, reported the state’s estimate that about 75% of the first universal applicants had not been public school students (Education Forward Arizona). Critics also point to the test-score studies above and to the IDEA protections families give up.

The two sides agree more than their slogans suggest on one point: results depend on which schools take part and what rules they follow. Fordham’s report said the negative Ohio results might reflect which private schools joined, differences between state tests and private school curricula, or testing stakes that differ between public and private schools.

What Voucher Studies Leave Out

• The studies cover narrower programs. Each evaluation above studied a program for low-income students or students in low-performing schools. The newer universal programs, such as Arizona’s and Texas’s, serve a broader group, so these results may not carry over.
• Test scores are one outcome. Louisiana’s follow-up found no difference in college entrance, and the D.C. study found students felt safer and more satisfied. Neither shows up in a math score.
• Not every program tests students. Of the 27 programs GAO reviewed in 2017, 9 had no academic testing requirement for participating schools, derived from GAO’s count of 18 that did. Without a common test, results cannot be compared.
• Many account users were already in private school or home school. Those families gain new public money without a change in where the child learns, which changes what a cost figure measures.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are school vouchers and how do they work?

A school voucher is public money a family can use for private school tuition. The state sets who qualifies and how much the award is, and the money goes to the private school the family chooses instead of a public school.

Who qualifies for school vouchers in Texas?

Any Texas child eligible for public school can apply to Texas Education Freedom Accounts. If applications exceed funding, a lottery decides, with children with disabilities in households at or below 500% of the poverty line first and households at or below 200% next. The award is $10,474 for private school in 2026-27.

Can vouchers be used at religious schools?

Yes. In Carson v. Makin (2022), the Supreme Court held that a state that pays for private schools cannot leave out schools because they are religious.

Do vouchers take money from public schools?

It depends on how a state funds them. In Arizona, about 57% of students new to the universal accounts in fiscal 2026 came from a public school, whose funding followed them. The rest came from private school or home school, which added a new cost for the state.

What You Can Do

1. Check your state’s rules before you apply. Find your state’s program on its education department or treasurer’s site, and confirm the award, the deadline and any lottery.
2. Get answers in writing if your child has a disability. Ask the school district which equitable services it provides and ask the private school what it will provide. The Education Department told GAO it lacks the authority to require programs to explain what changes.
3. Ask how your state measures results. Check whether participating private schools take the state test and publish scores. Where they do not, ask your state lawmakers to require it.
4. Tell your governor where you stand on the federal credit. Each governor, or the official state law names, decides whether a state takes part in 2027. Find your elected officials through our letter tool.