America’s School Choice Programs Ranked by Participation, 2017 Edition

Which of America’s school choice programs has the most participants? Which has the least? The latest edition of The ABCs of School Choice gives the most up-to-date information we have on program participation. Here, we’ve ranked the programs by how many participants they have, based on the most recent data available for each program at the time of this writing. Last year’s rankings are in parentheses following each program name, and the top five appear in the same order as last year.

Eligibility, regulations and funding also play important roles in how people and schools interact with school choice programs. Stay tuned to our blog this week for more rankings and our annual superlatives post, where we assess programs holistically and provide our readers states to watch in 2017.

1. Illinois’s Tax Credits for Educational Expenses (1)
Individual Tax Credit285,972 tax returns

2. Minnesota’s Education Deduction (2)
Individual Tax Deduction209,963 tax returns

3. Iowa’s Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit (3)
Individual Tax Credit133,310 tax returns

4. Louisiana’s Elementary & Secondary School Tuition Deduction (4)
Individual Tax Deduction106,549 tax returns

5. Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (5)
Tax-Credit Scholarship97,826 students

6. Indiana’s Private School/Homeschool Deduction (7)
Individual Tax Deduction53,174 tax returns

7. Minnesota’s K–12 Education Credit (6)
Individual Tax Credit52,046 tax returns

8. Wisconsin’s K–12 Private School Tuition Deduction (8)
Individual Tax Deduction38,500 tax returns

9. Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (9)
Tax-Credit Scholarship34,826 scholarships

10. Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program (10)
Voucher34,645 students

11. Florida’s John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (11)
Voucher30,392 students

12. Arizona’s Original Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (13)
Tax-Credit Scholarship30,049 scholarships

13. Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (12)
Voucher |28,188 students

14. Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (14)
Voucher22,892 students

15. Arizona’s Low-Income Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (18)
Tax-Credit Scholarship16,573 scholarships

16. Arizona’s “Switcher” Individual Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (16)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |16,493 scholarships

17. Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program (15)
Tax-Credit Scholarship14,987 scholarships

18.Georgia’s Qualified Educational Expense Tax Credit (17)
Tax-Credit Scholarship12,917 scholarships

19. Iowa’s School Tuition Organization Tax Credit (19)
Tax-Credit Scholarship10,848 scholarships

20. Indiana’s School Scholarship Tax Credit (20)
Tax-Credit Scholarship9,424 scholarships

21. Ohio’s Cleveland Scholarship Program (21)
Voucher8,594 students

22. Ohio’s Income-Based Scholarship Program (24)
Voucher7,840 students

23. Florida’s Gardiner Scholarships (26)
ESA |7,463 students

24. Louisiana Scholarship Program (22)
Voucher |7,110 students

25. Maine’s Town Tuitioning Program (25)
Voucher5,727 students

26. North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships (31)
Voucher |5,317 students

26. Ohio’s Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program (23)
Voucher |4,635 students

28. Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program (27)
Voucher4,185 students

29. Alabama’s Education Scholarship Program (28)
Tax-Credit Scholarship3,646 students

30. Vermont’s Town Tuitioning Program (29)
Voucher3,350 students

31. Ohio’s Autism Scholarship (30)
Voucher3,325 students

32. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (33)
ESA3,129 students

33. Wisconsin’s Parental Choice Program (Statewide) (32)
Voucher |3,061 students

34. Wisconsin’s Parental Private School Choice Program (Racine) (34)
Voucher |2,532 students

35. Maryland’s Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program (NEW)
Voucher2,447 students

36. Virginia’s Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program (36)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |2,419 students

37. South Carolina’s Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (35)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |2,100 students

38. Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarships (38)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |1,366 students

39. Washington D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarships Program (37)
Voucher |1,166 students

40. Utah’s Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship (40)
Voucher |905 students

41. North Carolina’s Special Education Scholarship Grants for Children with Disabilities (41)
Voucher |828 students

42. Arizona’s Lexie’s Law for Disabled and Displaced Students Tax Credit Scholarship Program (46)
Tax-Credit Scholarships808 scholarships

43. Louisiana’s Tuition Donation Rebate Program (39)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |776 students

44. Oklahoma’s Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities (45)
Voucher553 students

45. Nevada’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program (42)
Tax-Credit Scholarship551 scholarships

46.Rhode Island’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations (43)
Tax-Credit Scholarship503 students

47. Louisiana’s School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities (47)
Voucher |342 students

48. South Dakota’s Partners in Education Tax Credit Program (NEW)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |281 students

49. Wisconsin’s Special Needs Scholarship Program (NR)
Voucher206 students

50. Mississippi’s Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program (48)
ESA |204 students

51. Kansas’s Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program (52)
Tax-Credit Scholarship188 students

52. New Hampshire’s Education Tax Credit Program (50)
Tax-Credit Scholarship |178 students

53. Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program (49)
Voucher |159 students

54. Alabama’s Accountability Act of 2013 Parent/Taxpayer Refundable Tax Credits (51)
Individual Tax Credit141 tax returns

55. Montana’s Tax Credits for Contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations (NR)
Tax-Credit Scholarship25 students

56. Arkansas’s Succeed Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities (NR)
Voucher20 students

57. Mississippi’s Nate Rogers Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program (53)
Voucher |0 students

South Carolina’s Refundable Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children (NR)
Individual Tax CreditData not yet available

Tennessee’s Individualized Education Account Program (NR)
ESAData not yet available

Nevada’s Education Savings Account (NR)
ESANot yet operating

Douglas County, Colorado’s Choice Scholarship Pilot Program (44)
VoucherNot currently operating