FutureEd report provides first comprehensive analysis of universal school choice programs

FutureEd — an independent, solution-oriented think tank at Georgetown University — Tuesday released Early Returns: First Results from the New Wave of Public Funding of Private Schooling.

Researched and written by FutureEd Policy Director Liz Cohen and Policy Analyst Bella DiMarco, it is the first comprehensive analysis of the universal school choice programs that are now up and running in eight states (Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia) to provide families with public dollars for private schooling.
 
“This marks a major change in K12 education policy,” FutureEd Director Thomas Toch said. “It’s the first time this level of public funding has been available to parents in the U.S. to pay for private school tuition or homeschool expenses. And it looks likely to expand further. Enrollment continues to increase where programs are offered; several additional states have legislative proposals in the works; and advocacy organizations continue to push aggressively for expansion.”
 
Nearly 600,000 students in these states were enrolled in these programs for the 2023-24 school year.

“The report is designed to help policymakers, educators, parents and taxpayers understand the implications of the rapid rise of universal school choice programs,” Toch said. “It explores the contours of the new universal choice landscape, their potential consequences for the delivery of elementary and secondary education, and the universal choice movement’s emerging impact on the nation’s commitment to educational equity.”

While the programs share a commitment to providing every student with public funds for private schooling, they vary significantly in their design.

• Some states help families navigate their options by providing information about the performance of private schools; others are more hands off.

• Some states impose budget or enrollment caps, prioritize funding based on need, or provide more dollars to lower-income families; others, like Florida and Arizona, cover all applicants irrespective of family means, without caps on the number of students funded or the amount awarded.

• Some states track student performance in order to hold private-sector providers accountable for academic results and gauge taxpayers’ return on investment; others do not.

The report focuses on several key questions:

• Which children do these programs serve?

• How do universal programs impact state budgets?

• How is the money spent?

• How do students fare?

And the report takes a look ahead at what is likely to be a closely watched and hotly debated K-12 policy topic across the U.S.

Read the full report at https://www.future-ed.org/early-returns-first-results-from-the-new-wave….

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