School choice scholarship boom benefits kids already in private school
Posted/updated on: June 18, 2026 at 3:07 am
FORT WORTH (AP) — Soon, half of all American schoolkids will live in states that offer public money for a private education. Texas is the latest to join in, budgeting $1 billion to spend this fall on private school scholarships or homeschooling expenses. Next year, the federal government will start incentivizing private school scholarships in states that have never offered them before. In theory, these programs are supposed to give children an educational opportunity they wouldn’t otherwise have. In reality, students already in private school are most likely to benefit, an analysis by The Associated Press shows.
More families across the country are experimenting with private school as states — and soon the federal government — use taxpayer-supported scholarships to encourage them to leave public school. Soon, half of all American schoolkids will be able to apply for state money to finance a private education, and many states will offer the scholarships even to families with high incomes.
In theory, these programs are supposed to give children an educational opportunity they wouldn’t otherwise have. In reality, students already in private or home school are most likely to benefit, an analysis by The Associated Press shows.
The reasons are complicated. In some cases, public school families don’t know about these scholarship programs, known as vouchers or education savings accounts. They may lack transportation to get their kids to private school. Some worry their child won’t survive in a more strict disciplinary environment. Sometimes, as in Texas, the latest state to join the already $10.5 billion private school choice movement, the law is written to benefit families who know how to navigate complicated education systems.
Texas’ monumental program launches this fall, offering around $1 billion of public money to help families with private school or homeschooling expenses. The program funds education savings accounts — a type of scholarship that goes beyond just tuition, giving families money for everything from textbooks and music lessons to transportation and tech.
Republican-led states such as Indiana, Florida and Arizona have long offered taxpayer-funded scholarships for students attending private school or studying at home. But the movement to privatize education has surged under President Donald Trump, who has capitalized on growing skepticism of public schools.
For years, Texas had resisted launching a voucher program, as Democrats and rural Republicans blocked efforts they feared would divert money from public schools. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, fast-tracked the creation of Texas Education Freedom Accounts last year with an assist from Trump. The president himself called GOP lawmakers to urge them to pass this part of his education agenda.
To get the votes, Texas Republicans abandoned a provision that would have awarded 80% of Freedom Accounts in the first year to students leaving public schools.
Without such a provision, evidence from other states is clear: The majority of scholarships will be used by students already in private or home schools.
In the end, the Texas legislation prioritized students from any type of school who have documented disabilities, plus their siblings. Those students, as long as their families earn less than $165,000 for a family of four, would be first in line when Texas awarded its Freedom Account scholarships this spring.
Next, the state prioritized lower-income children, whose families earn less than $66,000 for a family of four.
Today, nine states have taxpayer-funded scholarships to help students with special needs attend private school or learn at home.
But leaving the public school system is risky for many of these students, and special education advocates have long warned against it. Private schools aren’t legally required to admit students with special needs. Contreras was surprised to learn private schools also aren’t obligated to offer services to help kids with disabilities, as public schools are.
Despite decades of research on school choice, academic scholarship hasn’t kept pace with states targeting vouchers to students with disabilities. How those students are faring academically in traditional private schools is unknown.
