Private school choice enrollment exceeds 1M students for first time

More students than ever before — just over 1 million nationwide — are participating in private school choice programs, according to state data analyzed by pro-choice advocacy organization EdChoice. 

If every eligible student actually participated in private school choice, that would add up to 22 million students, or 40% of the K-12 school-aged population, EdChoice said. Still, only 2% of eligible students are currently participating in these programs where taxpayer funds are used for private school tuition.    

Colyn Ritter, a senior research associate at EdChoice, attributed the uptick to an expansion of universal private school choice programs in some states over the last few years. 

“This has never crossed the seven figure mark to date. This was the first time,” Ritter said. In fact, EDChoice said the 1 million mark may even undercut actual participation since some state data lags behind.