10 Statewide Private School Choice Programs You Need To Discover

Private school choice programs help millions of children every year find the school that best fits their needs - and save taxpayers money. While many of the 48 private school choice programs across the country are very popular, others are new or less well-known, like these ones.

Ohio's Autism Scholarship Program

Via edchoice.org

With 5 private school choice programs - the most of any state in the country - Ohio is chock-full of choice. But one of the state's lesser known programs is its Autism Scholarship Program: Any Ohio student between the age of 3 and 21 and on the autism spectrum can apply for opportunity scholarships that help offset tuition at the school that best meets their needs.

Illinois' Individual Tax Credit for Educational Expenses

Via edchoice.org

Illinois provides individual tax credits covering educational expenses for students in any private or public school, including tuition, books, and lab or activity fees. The credit is worth a maximum of $500.

Vermont's Town Tuitioning Program

Via edchoice.org

Similar to the state of Maine, many small towns in Vermont do not operate high schools, and some do not have elementary schools. Students in those towns are eligible for opportunity scholarships to attend the public or private school either inside or outside the state that best meets their needs.

Mississippi's Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship Program

Via edchoice.org

In 2012, Mississippi adopted a program allowing children with dyslexia to receive opportunity scholarships to attend a school that provides programs to help with reading disorders. Participating schools must also be able to provide students with dyslexia therapy.

North Carolina's Opportunity Scholarship Program

Via edchoice.org

One of the newest school choice programs in the country, North Carolina's Opportunity Scholarship Program will empower parents to send their kids to the school that best fits their needs. The program begins in the coming 2014-15 school year.

Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account Program

Via edchoice.org

Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program allows parents to oversee how part of their children's school funding dollars are utilized. In this groundbreaking program, parents can choose to use this portion of funds to offset school tuition, pay for supplemental online education, tutoring, or even save for college.

Louisiana's Tax Credit Scholarship Program For Low Income Families

Via edchoice.org

Louisiana, another pioneer in the private school choice movement, is perhaps best known for its massively successful opportunity scholarship program. But what parents in the state might not know about is the state's tax-credit program. Anyone in Louisiana who donates money toward a scholarship for a child from a low-income family can receive an unlimited tax credit on that donation.

Utah's Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship Program

Via edchoice.org

Utah's first private school choice program, the Carson Smith Special Needs Program, affords more than 700 Utah students access to one of 40 high-performing schools that best meets their needs.

Alabama's School Choice Scholarship Program

Via edchoice.org

Passed and enacted in 2013, the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013 allows individuals and corporations to claim a 100 percent tax credit for contributions to organizations that provide scholarships for low-income students.

Ohio's Income-Based Opportunity Scholarship Program

Via edchoice.org

This brand new program offers low-income Ohio kindergarteners opportunity scholarships to attend private schools of their choice. Each successive year the program exists, students in the next higher grade will become eligible for these scholarships.