TYPES OF SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS
“All families, regardless of income, should be able to choose the right school for their children.”
— SHARON CHAVEZ, AFC FELLOW
VOUCHER PROGRAMS
School voucher programs allow education dollars to “follow the child” to the private school of their parents’ choice.
Voucher programs allow education dollars to “follow the child,” enabling parents to select private schools and receive state-funded scholarships to pay tuition. These scholarships are usually targeted to students who come from low-income families, have special needs or currently attend a failing public school. Research has demonstrated that vouchers increase student achievement, boost graduation rates, and help public schools improve. They also lead to high parental satisfaction rates.
Education savings account programs give parents the power to use their children's state education dollars for a variety of educational purposes.
Education savings account programs create personal accounts that store a child’s state education dollars. With ESAs, parents can use education dollars to pay for school tuition and fees, textbooks, tutoring and special therapies and other approved expenses, so a child’s education is truly customizable. Participating families are able to choose the best education for their children through multiple providers.
EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROGRAMS
SCHOLARSHIP TAX CREDIT PROGRAMS
Scholarship tax credit programs give families greater access to high-quality private schools by providing incentives to assist in expanding educational opportunity.
Scholarship tax credit programs create new pools of funding so that children can receive scholarships to attend the private schools of their parents’ choice. Corporations and individuals make private donations to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships to eligible children. In return, the corporations and individuals receive a state income tax credit. There are 21 scholarship tax credit programs operating across the country, and research has demonstrated that these programs are positive for student achievement and save money for state and local governments.
INDIVIDUAL TUITION TAX CREDITS
Individual tuition tax credits give parents a state income tax credit for their child’s approved educational expenses.
Individual tuition tax credits can be used for a child’s educational expenses, including private school tuition, and help families choose educational tools they otherwise could not afford. “Of significant size,” or approximately $3,000 to $6,000 is key to ensuring that the credit is large enough to affect a family’s decision and ability to cover the costs of private school.
PUBLIC CHARTER, MAGNET & OTHERS
Charter schools are public schools that are created by school districts, colleges, nonprofit organizations, or other entities.
These schools are allowed to determine many of their own policies and practices and they are not allowed to charge tuition. 45 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing for the creation of public charter schools. Magnet schools, permitted in each of the 50 states, are public schools operated by school districts (or groups of school districts) that allow kids to focus on a specific learning track, such as STEM, medical science, or performing arts. These schools are free to attend and there are more than 4,000 magnet schools across the country. In some states, there are no freestanding magnet schools, but there are magnet programs available in traditional public schools.
