Reference

Glossary

Plain-English definitions for the most common terms in K–12 school-choice policy.

Education Savings Account (ESA)

A restricted-purpose education spending account, funded by a state, that a family controls on behalf of a K-12 student. Approved categories typically include tuition, tutoring, curriculum, and therapies.

Voucher

A state-funded payment that flows directly from a state agency to a participating private school to cover tuition.

Tax-Credit Scholarship

A scholarship funded by donor contributions to a state-approved scholarship granting organization (SGO); the donor receives a state tax credit equal to most or all of the donation.

Refundable Tax Credit

A state tax credit equal to documented educational expenses, paid through the personal income tax system. The credit is refundable, meaning the family receives the value even if it exceeds their tax liability.

Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO)

A non-profit organization that solicits donor contributions, holds the funds, and awards scholarships to eligible students. SGOs are the funding pipeline for tax-credit-scholarship programs.

Universal Eligibility

A program design in which most or all K–12 students residing in a state may apply, subject to residency and enrollment requirements set by state law. Universal eligibility does not guarantee or promise funding — most programs have appropriation caps that limit awards when applications exceed the budget.

Appropriation Cap

A statutory or annual budgetary limit on the total dollars a state will spend on a program. When a cap fills, late applicants are typically waitlisted.

Priority Order

The order in which oversubscribed programs award funding. Common priorities include prior-year participants, siblings, students with disabilities, and students from lower-income households.

Allowable Use

An expense category that may be paid for with program funds. Allowable uses are enumerated in statute and clarified by administrative rule.

Approved Provider

A school, tutor, therapist, vendor, or institution that has registered with a specific state program and may accept ESA payments from families enrolled in that program. Approval is state-specific — a provider approved in Arizona is not automatically approved in Florida or any other state.

Inside the Funding Formula

Refers to a program funded as part of the state K-12 funding formula. A student who takes an ESA reduces their assigned district’s per-pupil allocation.

Outside the Funding Formula

Refers to a program funded as a separate line-item appropriation that does not reduce the per-pupil allocation flowing to the assigned district.

Microschool

A small, mixed-age learning environment, typically 5–20 students, often operating out of a home, church, or rented commercial space. Microschool fees may be reimbursable in some ESA programs, subject to state program rules, operator registration, and service-category approval.

Spending Platform

The state-managed marketplace through which families spend ESA funds. ClassWallet, Odyssey, and Step Up are the most common platforms in current use.

Rollover

The carryover of unspent ESA funds from one program year to the next. Most ESA statutes permit some rollover, capped at a multiple of the annual award.

Sweep

The reclaiming of unused ESA funds by the state, typically at the end of a student’s K-12 eligibility (high school graduation).

Blaine Amendment

A state constitutional provision, found in roughly three dozen states, restricting public aid to non-public or religious schools. Federal Supreme Court precedent — particularly Espinoza v. Montana (2020) and Carson v. Makin (2022) — has substantially narrowed the practical effect of Blaine-style provisions when it comes to excluding religious schools from otherwise-available public benefits. Individual state courts continue to interpret the remaining scope.

Town Tuitioning

A longstanding mechanism in Maine and Vermont under which towns without a public school at a given grade level pay tuition for resident students to attend approved schools elsewhere, including private schools.