Program Stats
-
63%
Students Eligible -
878
Participating Students (2020-21) -
$2,276
Average Account Value (2020-21) -
16%
Public School Funding
Program Summary
The program is open to students in grades 2–12 who attended a public district or charter school for at least two years and were enrolled in a public or private school the prior semester. Priority is given to students from families eligible for FRL, those with severe disabilities, gifted students, adopted students, students in shelters or foster care, victims of bullying or harassment, and others, ranked by GPA with preference to lower-performing students. A weighted lottery determines recipients. Special needs students attending private schools via voucher receive Equal Participation Services. Gifted students in dual-enrollment programs must provide a signed certification of talent. The program was capped at 3% of total student enrollment, though the education secretary may lower this based on available funds. Vouchers cover up to 80% of Puerto Rico’s baseline per-pupil funding. Up to 2% of a voucher may be used for administration.
Funding Mechanism: Puerto Rico Department of Education’s general expenses budget
Universal Eligibility: ❌
Universal Usage: ❌
Universal Funding: ✅
Truly Universal: ❌
(Last updated December 16, 2025)
Use of Funds
Qualifying expenses include technological equipment, instructional materials, educational materials, uniforms, and professional services for remedial and/or specialized instruction. Public school students (including both special needs students and general population students) may use a voucher to pay for tuition and monthly fees at a private school. The receiving school may use any remaining surplus to cover the cost of other instructional needs. For talented students taking college courses creditable to both high school and college programs, qualifying expenses include the cost to cover a course each semester, with the voucher being divided equally each semester. The receiving institution may use any remaining surplus to cover the cost of other instructional needs.
(Last updated December 16, 2025)
Program Guidelines
View program requirements for parents, schools, and scholarship granting organizations by clicking on each hyperlink.
(Last updated December 16, 2025)
Governing Statutes
3 LPRA § 9814 and El Reglamento 9290
(Last updated July 31, 2024)
Legal History
On August 9, 2019, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico in Asociación de Maestros v. Departamento de Educación ruled that vouchers are constitutional, overturning a lower court decision. The adverse ruling of the lower court relied erroneously on Asoc. De Maestros v. Sec. De Educación, 137 D.P.R. 528 (1994), a 25-year-old ruling that vouchers were unconstitutional. The Puerto Rico Supreme Court’s 2019 ruling was brief, simply reversing the lower court ruling and dismissing the complaint brought by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) teachers’ union—the national and local Puerto Rico chapter—against Puerto Rico’s Department of Education. The Justices explained their positions in four concurring opinions and two dissenting opinions. On August 22, the AFT filed a Motion to Reconsider, asking the Puerto Rico Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling; the motion was denied. Asociación de Maestros v. Departamento de Educación, 2018 TSPR 150 (2018), Case Number: CT-2018-6.
(Last Updated December 6, 2023)