Which Existing School Choice Programs Saw Major Changes In 2025?

As the school choice movement heads into 2026, the focus is shifting from simply launching new programs to strengthening and expanding the ones families already rely on. Funded eligibility will be a major frontier moving forward, for example.

In 2025, lawmakers across the country made significant updates to existing programs. Some states saw significant improvements, such as increased eligibility and funding for education savings account (ESA) programs, while other states saw setbacks, like limits on what can be purchased with ESA funds and vague regulatory language.

This article highlights the most meaningful policy changes to programs over the past year. Rather than cataloging every technical tweak, we focus on the high-level shifts shaping a new phase of growth, access, and program improvement for families nationwide.

Arkansas

Governor Sanders signed Senate Bill 625 in April 2025. The bill mandates that no more than 25% of a student’s annual Education Freedom Account funding may be spent on extracurricular activities or transportation. The bill also reduced the cap that a program manager may use on administrative costs from 5% of the total program appropriation to 2%. It also modified the priority waitlist categories, adding a category specifically for foster children. The legislation also added a clause that allows the division overseeing the program to bar families from participating in this program if they have committed “fraudulent conduct,” without defining that phrase or giving examples.

Oklahoma

Governor Stitt signed Senate Bill 684 in May 2025, which affected the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program. It authorized several of the state’s human services agencies to share information with the state tax commission in order to verify a participant’s status as a recipient of food stamps or Medicaid. It made small changes to the application window (which now runs from March 15 to June 15) and when the credit is awarded. The bill also put in place a requirement that each private school participating in this credit must provide student information to the tax commission by June 15.

South Carolina

Governor McMaster signed Senate Bill 62 in May 2025. In a huge move, this bill removed existing language that had capped the South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund Program at 15,000 students per year. The bill also improved other features of the ESA program — specifically, it raised the family income participation limit from 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to 500%, effective for the 2026-27 school year, and the bill also added school uniforms as an eligible education expense. The legislation also amended a subsection of the law that established the program’s fund as a trust under state law.

Utah

Governor Cox signed House Bill 455 in March 2025. This bill placed ESA fund percentage caps on extracurricular activities and sharply limited the ability to pay for musical instruments and music education. It limits students from purchasing computer hardware or technology more frequently than once every three years. It places more regulatory burdens on the program’s financial administrator, who now must submit monthly reports containing a wide variety of participant information to Utah Fits All’s program manager. The bill also repealed a provision that allowed the per-student ESA cap to follow the trend of a five-year inflationary factor, which would have made a big difference for students whose private schools had to raise tuition in the last couple of years.

Wyoming

Governor Gordon signed House Bill 199 in March 2025. The state legislature expanded its ESA program (which was renamed the “Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act”) to all K-12 students, and to pre-K students from families with incomes at or below 250% of the FPL. It raised the account cap from $6,000 to $7,000, and it now allows students to use their ESA money for online education. The program now has a waitlist system in case demand exceeds the number of available ESAs — siblings of participants are now placed at the front of the line. The state superintendent may now withhold up to 5% of the program’s yearly funding in order to cover all costs incurred for administering the program, and the superintendent may accept outside gifts and grants if they are directed towards the program cost.