More families than ever are enrolling in school choice programs

School choice programs nationwide are experiencing surges of growth as parents of eligible students seek out the best education for their children.

Enrollment in Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program – which helps low to middle-income students attend private schools – has skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic.

The program had less than 5,000 students when it was launched in 2012. It grew to 35,000 by 2021 and now boasts over 53,000 participants – a 50% increase in just 3 years.

“I think it’s great that Indiana is funding families and giving opportunities to families from across the income spectrum,” said Robert Enlow, president and CEO of EdChoice, an Indianapolis-based school choice advocacy group.

“It’s a really good thing to see this growth in the Choice program, and I expect it to grow even more next year,” Enlow added.

Participation in Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts has also boomed.  

The program, which became universal in 2022, jumped from 10,000 enrolled to 30,000 between 2021 and 2023. 

John Ward, chief auditor for the Arizona Department of Education, estimates the program could have as many as 100,000 applicants by next summer, even leading the president of Arizona’s largest teachers’ union to claim the scholarships would “bankrupt” the state.  

Average Empowerment Scholarships are worth $7,000 per student, which is notably less than the average per-pupil funding in Arizona’s public schools. 

However, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne defended the school choice program.  

“Competition is good for everyone,” Horne said. “That’s the reason the United States was prosperous and the Soviet Union was poor. The competition causes public schools to strive and do better to hold onto the students. They’re no longer a monopoly.” 

Horne also emphasized that parents should have options of where to educate their children.  

“My main duty is to encourage excellence in public schools, and we have a lot of excellent public schools,” Horne continued. “But if their child’s needs are not being met, they need to know that they have a choice.” 

West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship Program is also rising in popularity, receiving over 6,300 applications for the upcoming year.  

State Treasurer Riley Moore told the local media he expects the program to continue a steep trajectory of growth.  

“I think it will increase on the kindergarten side … between 1500 to 2000 students a year,” Moore said. “Then we’ll have additional to that as maybe some others want to leave public schools.” 

Another flourishing program is Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship, which launched in 2019 with 15,000 participants and now serves nearly 85,000 students.  

According to Florida’s Department of Education, nearly half of all the state’s families utilize some form of school choice.