Parental School Choice

NCEA supports the concept of full and fair parental choice in education which is supported by tax relief, voucher, scholarships and other aid to parents so they may seek the educational opportunities they want for their children.

Definitions of Parental Choice Options that Include Private School Students

Parental choice in education encompasses a range of options that allow parents to select the type of school they wish for their children. The usual choice options include:

A publicly funded voucher is a payment the government makes to a parent, or an institution on a parent's behalf, to be used for a child's education expenses.
A privately funded voucher is a payment that a private organization makes to a parent, or an institution on a parent's behalf, to be used for a child's education expenses.
A tax credit provides direct reductions to an individual's tax liability. A refundable credit allows for a tax refund if the credit exceeds the liability.
A tax deduction is a reduction in taxable income made prior to the calculation of tax liability.
A private scholarship tax credit allows individuals and businesses to take a tax credit for contributions to a private, nonprofit organization that that provides scholarship aid for children to attend a school of their parents choosing.
An education savings account (ESA) parents withdraw their children from public district and receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized savings accounts with restricted education uses including tuition and fees.

Public School Choice Options

A charter school is a public school that has been established by parents, teachers, community groups and public and private organizations interested in promoting school choice and competition within the public sector. The charters for these schools typically provide for a clear, focused mission, a smaller student population that facilitates creation of community, more innovative teaching practices, greater parental and local community involvement, clear educational and fiscal standards and accountability measures and fewer state and local school board bureaucratic regulations.
A magnet school is a public school that is organized around a specific program or philosophy and enrolls students across the district.
Public school inter-district or intra-district enrollment, allowing student to attend schools outside their attendance zone, within or across district lines, without charge.

Parental Choice Programs by State

(Complete details about each of these programs may be found on the website of EdChoice or American Federation for Children)

State	Name of Program	Type of Program
Alabama	Alabama Education Scholarship Program Alabama Accountability Act of 2013: Parent-Taxpayer Refundable Tax Credits	Tax-credit scholarships Refundable tax credit for educational expenses
Arizona	Arizona Original Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program Arizona Low-Income Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program Arizona Lexie’s Law for Disabled and Displaced Students Tax Credit Scholarship Program Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Arizona “Switcher” Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program	Individuals tax credits for donations to scholarship organizations Corporate tax credits scholarships Scholarship – disabilities Education savings accounts Tax credits scholarships
Arkansas	Arkansas – Succeed Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities	Voucher
Colorado	Colorado Douglas County Choice Scholarship Program	Voucher for public school students to attend private
District of Columbia	District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program	Federally-funded scholarships
Florida	Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program Florida John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program Florida Gardiner Scholarship Program	Tax credit scholarships Voucher – disabilities Education savings accounts
Georgia	Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program Georgia Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit	Voucher Tax credit scholarship transfer from public school
Iowa	Iowa Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit Iowa School Tuition Organization Tax Credit	Parents’ tax credit for educational expenses Tax credit scholarships – individual and corporate
Illinois	Illinois Tax Credits for Educational Expenses Invest in Kids	Individual tax credit Tax credit scholarships – individual and corporate
Indiana	Indiana Private School/Homeschool Deduction Indiana Choice Scholarship Program Indiana School Scholarship Tax Credit	Individual tax deduction for education expenses Voucher Individual/corporate tax credit for donations
Kansas	Kansas Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program	Tax credit scholarship
Kentucky	Education Opportunity Account Program	Education savings accounts
Louisiana	Louisiana Elementary and Secondary School Tuition Deductions Louisiana Scholarship Program Louisiana School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities Louisiana Tuition Donation Rebate Program	Individual tax deductions for education expenses Voucher Voucher – disabilities Tax credit scholarship
Maryland	Maryland – Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program	Voucher
Maine	Maine – Town Tuitioning Program	Voucher – but not for use in faith- based schools – in litigation to include faith-based schools
Minnesota	Minnesota K–12 Education Credit Minnesota Education Deduction	Individual tax credit for education expenses Individual deductions
Mississippi	Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program Mississippi Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program Mississippi Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program	Voucher – disabilities Voucher – speech-language therapy Education savings accounts - disabilities
Montana	Montana Tax Credits for Contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations	Tax credit scholarships
Nevada	Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program Nevada Education Savings Accounts	Tax credit scholarship Education savings accounts
New Hampshire	Town Tuitioning Program Education Freedom Accounts Education Tax Credit Program	Towns without school/grade pay tuition to private schools ESA Tax credit scholarship
North Carolina	North Carolina Opportunity Scholarships North Carolina Special Education Scholarship Grants for Children with Disabilities	Voucher Voucher – special education
Ohio	Ohio Cleveland Scholarship Program Ohio Autism Scholarship Program Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Program Ohio Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program Ohio Income-Based Scholarship Program	Voucher – Cleveland Voucher – state-wide Vouchers: students assigned to under-performing public schools Voucher – special needs Voucher – low-income
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarships Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship for Students with Disabilities	Tax credit scholarship Voucher – special needs
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program	Corporate tax credit scholarship Scholarships for students in low achieving zones
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations	Corporate tax credit scholarship
South Carolina	South Carolina Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children South Carolina Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children	Tax credit scholarship – special needs Refundable tax credit for parents/guardians
South Dakota	South Dakota Partners in Education Tax Credit Program	Tax credit scholarships
Tennessee	Tennessee Individualized Education Account Program	Education savings accounts special needs students
Utah	Utah Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program	Voucher – special needs Individual tax credits for donations to scholarship organizations
Virginia	Virginia Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program	Tax credit scholarships
Vermont	Vermont Town Tuitioning Program	Voucher – not faith-based schools
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (Statewide) Wisconsin Milwaukee Parental Choice Program Wisconsin Parental Private School Choice Program (Racine) Wisconsin – K–12 Private School Tuition Deduction Wisconsin – Special Needs Scholarship Program	Voucher Voucher – low-income Voucher Individual tax deduction for education expenses Special needs vouchers

Types of Parental Private School Choice Programs by State

Vouchers: There are 26 voucher programs in 15 states:

Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana (2), Maine, Maryland, Mississippi (2), North Carolina (2), Ohio (5), Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in Operation

Education Savings Accounts (ESA): There are five ESA programs in five states:

Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, and Tennessee

Tax-Credit Scholarships: There are 21 tax-credit scholarship programs in 17 states:

Alabama, Arizona (4), Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Virginia

Individual Tax Credits or Deductions: There are 9 individual tax credit/deduction programs in 8 states:

Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, South Carolina and Wisconsin

Parental School Choice

Definitions of Parental Choice Options that Include Private School Students

Public School Choice Options

Parental Choice Programs by State

Types of Parental Private School Choice Programs by State

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