School choice gains ground nationwide despite resistance in some states

State lawmakers continued advancing school choice in 2026, with states such as Texas, Tennessee and Missouri launching or expanding their programs.

EdChoice, a leading school choice advocacy organization, compiled a roundup of major state actions affecting education freedom.

At least three states added funding to existing programs.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey more than doubled the state’s school choice budget to $250 million, enough to accommodate the record 50,000 students who applied. That surpassed the program’s first-year total of 36,000 applications.

Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature added $10 million to the MoScholars program, bringing total state funding for the tax-credit scholarship program to $60 million. Gov. Mike Kehoe is expected to sign the budget bill.

In Oklahoma, lawmakers increased funding for the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit from $250 million to $275 million in response to rising demand.

Two states broadened eligibility, while Texas rolled out its new school choice program.

Tennessee added 5,000 seats to its Education Freedom Scholarship program to help reduce a waiting list, bringing total participation to 30,000 students.

South Dakota raised the income threshold for its Partners in Education Scholarship from 150% to 200% of federal free- and reduced-price lunch eligibility. The state also allowed scholarships to cover up to 100% of per-pupil public school spending, or roughly $5,000 per student.

Texas Education Freedom Accounts launched with strong demand. The state received 274,000 applications and awarded nearly 100,000 scholarships during the first year of the $1 billion program, which could expand in future years.

Several states revised programs to improve access.

Idaho reopened applications for its refundable tax credit program to distribute a remaining $7 million. Lawmakers also approved changes allowing students to qualify for school choice at any point during the year and letting participants join public school activities, sports and online courses.

New Hampshire’s Legislature passed a bill ensuring Education Freedom Account participants can access local district programs. The measure awaits the signature of Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a school choice supporter.

Iowa updated its education savings account program, strengthened charter schools and expanded independent instruction by lifting limits on unrelated students participating in homeschool co-ops or microschools. The state also added a December application window allowing students to enter school choice programs midyear.

School choice also continued winning in court. The supreme courts of Idaho and Wyoming recently ruled in favor of school choice programs, decisions advocates hope will influence ongoing legal challenges from teachers unions and choice opponents in Wisconsin, Utah, Ohio and Florida.

“We’ve gotten quite a few wins lately, so I think certainly the tide is in favor of school choice,” Melinda Hudson, an attorney with EdChoice, told The Lion in April. “And hopefully those wins just continue to compound and make it clear that that choice is constitutional.”

Not all developments were positive, however.

Louisiana lawmakers again failed to expand the LA GATOR program. Despite support from Gov. Jeff Landry and the House, the Republican-led Senate stripped increased funding from a budget bill.

The Mississippi Legislature again rejected a broad school choice proposal, leaving Mississippi the only state south of Kentucky without a broad choice program.

The Kansas Legislature passed a measure doubling its tax-credit scholarship program from $10 million to $20 million but failed to override a veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. Lawmakers did override Kelly’s veto to join the new federal school choice program next year. Kentucky lawmakers did the same following Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto.

In Minnesota, legislation establishing education savings accounts reached a House committee, marking a significant step even though it did not receive a floor vote.

Utah passed a bill that classifies online and virtual schools as vendors rather than private schools, so families receive lower awards. But the legislation grants school choice students access to public school extracurricular activities.

Arkansas’ school choice program faced renewed opposition as critics revived a previously defeated “Educational Rights Amendment” they hope to place on the ballot.

In Arizona, two groups are pursuing ballot initiatives to restrict the state’s school choice program, one of the nation’s largest. Advocates accuse organizers of spreading misinformation and are urging voters to “decline to sign” either petition.

School choice supporters in Vermont are also suing to block planned restrictions to the state’s Town Tuitioning program, the nation’s oldest school choice system.

Cooper Conway, a research assistant at EdChoice, said the year’s bright spots included the new federal school choice program known as the Education Freedom Tax Credit. Thirty states have indicated they will participate when it launches in January, with several others considering it when program rules are released this summer.

“While no new educational choice programs are expected to be created this year, multiple states increased funding and eligibility, allowing more families to access the educational options that work for them,” Conway told The Lion in an email.

At least two participating states, New York and Colorado, would create their first school choice programs through the federal initiative, leaving just 13 states without any form of school choice.

EdChoice continues to advocate for universal school choice.

“We look forward to continuing to defend and strengthen existing programs while working to establish new, truly universal programs for states that do not yet have them,” Conway said.

More than 1.5 million students nationwide participated in school choice programs this year across 35 states.