Open Data for Journalists, Researchers & Advocates
The School Choice Research Hub
Free-to-cite statistics, datasets, and primary-source summaries on K–12 Education Savings Accounts and private-school choice programs across all 50 states. Built for journalists, policy researchers, and advocates who need reliable, sourced figures they can publish and link to.
Published · Dataset v1.1.0
School Choice Statistics 2026: U.S. Enrollment, Participation, and Waitlist Data
Source-audited statistics covering public, charter, private, homeschool, program-participation, state waitlist, and federal tax-credit data — with reference years, evidence classes, and reproducible calculations for every headline figure. Downloadable as CSV and JSON.
10
source-audited tables with reproducible calculations
Published · Dataset 2026-07-31
Education Savings Account Statistics 2026: Programs, Students and Funding by State
Every directly funded and tax-credit K–12 ESA program in the country — 21 direct programs across 18 states, with each state’s latest official metric labeled by type (enrolled, awarded, approved, applied or not reported), award amounts, primary sources, and a full methodology. Downloadable as CSV.
21
state K–12 ESA programs tracked with metric type labels
Published · Dataset v1.0 · 2026-07-31
School Voucher Payments by Private School: Official State Data, 2024–26
An 11-state disclosure audit with amount-type labels for every school-level figure. West Virginia’s complete 161-row payment table (99.0% of program spending attributed to named recipients) alongside Arkansas spring-only data, Maryland accepted awards, Indiana qualified amounts and disclosure status for 7 additional states.
161
WV nonpublic-school payment rows, reconciled to the penny
Published · Evidence Ledger v1.0 · 14 data tables
Private School Tuition Increases After Voucher Expansion: 2026 Data and Study Review
A 15-row normalized evidence ledger mapping every published estimate of private-school tuition after voucher expansion — with evidence classes, design warnings, and original arithmetic. Covers the 11-state 5%–10% synthesis, Iowa’s 21% quasi-experiment, Arizona’s four incompatible measures, North Carolina’s distribution shift, Indiana’s administrative series, and Heritage’s contrary −$925 coefficient.
5%–10%
national short-run synthesis, 11 expansion states (Harris and Olivier)
Published · Dataset version 1.0 · Verified August 5, 2026
Texas TEFA Application and Award Statistics 2026
A source-reconciled Texas dataset separating applications, eligible applicants, award notices, active awards, funded accounts, and the waiting list. Includes dated snapshots, formulas, tier and income tables, district comparisons, and public downloads.
85,344
funded accounts in the July 29, 2026 snapshot
Published · Verified August 8, 2026
Texas TEFA Private School Enrollment Capacity Report 2026-27
Texas does not publish a live open-seat count. This source-audited report examines all 2,785 TEFA roster rows, grade coverage, geography, and the capacity fields the state still does not publish.
Published · Dataset 2026-08-01 · Updated weekly
School Voucher Applications and Waitlists by State (2026)
51-jurisdiction snapshot of 2026–27 application routes, deadlines, and official waitlists. Only four states published any numeric statewide queue tied to 2026–27 — three as current-cycle selection queues. Also proves why subtracting awards from applications overstated Texas’s official queue by exactly 25,400 (16.6%).
152,702
eligible student applications on Texas’s initial waitlist as of May 18, 2026
Published · Dataset v1.0 · 2026-08-01
Percentage of Voucher Students Already in Private School by State
An 18-state source audit of prior-school distributions. Arkansas yields ≈58% renewal-inclusive; Iowa ≈66.3% previously nonpublic. Wisconsin’s benchmark reveals 94.4% of the prior-private group was already in Choice. Includes evidence classification, permitted wording, and source-gate status for all 18 states.
94.4%
of Wisconsin’s prior-private group was already in Choice the prior year
Published · Dataset v1.0 · 2026-07-31
School Voucher Projected Cost vs Actual Spending by State (2026)
An 11-state audit separating valid projection-to-outcome comparisons from invalid ones. Arkansas came in below its fiscal-note projection both years; Iowa came in above it. Explains why Arizona’s four-digit “overrun” and similar claims in Florida and New Hampshire don’t survive an accounting-scope check.
4
valid state-year comparisons out of 11 states audited
Published · Dataset v1.0 · 2026-07-31
ESA Administrator Contracts by State (2026)
A 21-program, 18-state audit separating public authority, applications, account platforms, and named outside entities. Includes normalized Tennessee contract ($636.9M ceiling / 99.23% scholarship pass-through), Arkansas three-way bid record, Iowa Auditor findings, and Utah’s ACE-to-Odyssey transition.
90.5%
of ESA programs use at least one named outside operator or platform
Published · Dataset v1.0 · 2026-07-31
School Voucher Tuition Gap by State: 2026–27 Data
18 current voucher and ESA benchmarks compared with published 2026 private-school tuition in the same state. Seventeen fall short; one (Wisconsin) exceeds. Includes Florida’s full 201-cell county-grade schedule, Indiana participant-level totals, grade and income sensitivity tables, and verified remainder rules.
$3,937
median minimum shortfall across 17 states
Published · State Evidence Audit v1.0.0 · 2026-08-01
Percentage of School Voucher Funds Going to Religious Schools by State
A 50-state and District of Columbia audit that keeps dollar shares, recipient shares, school shares, partial periods, estimates, and unanswered research gaps separate. North Carolina’s approximately 78% is the cleanest current full-program dollar benchmark.
≈78%
North Carolina 2025–26 full-program dollar benchmark
Published · Dataset 2026-08-01
Education Savings Account Audit Reports by State: 2026 Data
A program-level index of public oversight for 21 directly state-funded ESA programs and three tax-credit ESAs. Separates strict audits, limited reviews, other public reports, and no final report located.
7 of 21
direct ESA programs with public independent audit coverage
Published · Dataset 1.0.0 · August 3, 2026
School Choice Lawsuits by State: 2026 Data Tracker
A 51-jurisdiction review of 16 unresolved K–12 private-school-choice matters across 13 states, with court posture, rulings, appeals, operating status, primary records, and a disclosed scope rule.
16
unresolved matters across 13 states under the published scope
Published · Dataset 1.1 · August 13, 2026
ESA Spending by Provider Category and State 2026: 7 Sources
Seven public sources with exact dollars for schools, tutoring, therapy, curriculum and technology, with every denominator and limitation attached.
7
public category-dollar sources compared
Published · Dataset 1.0-2026-08-03
School Voucher Provider Accountability Requirements by State
Compare provider approval, accreditation, background checks, financial controls, testing, public reporting, and enforcement across 43 programs in all 50 states. Includes a 24-state matrix, program-level detail, codebook, and source log.
43
programs coded across all 50 states
Published · County Dataset v1.0 · 20 data tables
School Voucher Access by County: What 3,144 Counties Actually Show
A 3,144-row county dataset joining the IRS 2027 state advance-election layer, provisional HUD-based income estimates for household sizes 1–8, and NCES 2023–24 private-school geocode counts. Finds 950 participating-state counties (39.9%) with zero recorded school locations, 11 states where more than half of counties have zero rows, and a median county-level minimum estimate of $265,800 for a family of four.
39.9%
of participating-state counties have zero NCES private-school geocode rows
Key statistics at a glance
30+
states with an active private-school choice program
~1.5M
students using a private-school choice program in 2026
~27M
K–12 students eligible for at least one program
$5k–$16k
typical annual ESA award range by state
National estimates based on EdChoice and Education Week reporting. State-specific figures are sourced from official program materials and linked on each dataset page.
Datasets & statistics pages
6 datasets- EnrollmentParticipationTrendsComing soon
Participation & Enrollment by State
Year-over-year ESA and voucher enrollment counts by state, program type, and grade band. Includes waitlist sizes where reported.
~1.5M students
estimated using private-school choice programs in 2026 (EdChoice)
Dataset page in preparation — subscribe for launch notification.Notify me → - FundingAward AmountsComparisonsComing soon
Award Amounts by State & Program
Current annual award amounts for every active ESA, voucher, tax-credit scholarship, and refundable tax credit program. Updated after each legislative session.
$5,000–$16,000
typical annual award range across active ESA programs in 2026
Dataset page in preparation — subscribe for launch notification.Notify me → - EligibilityPopulationDemographicsComing soon
Eligible Population Estimates
How many K–12 students are eligible — by income threshold, disability status, prior public-school enrollment, and universal programs — in each state.
~27M students
estimated eligible for at least one private-school choice program entering 2026 (EdChoice)
Dataset page in preparation — subscribe for launch notification.Notify me → - PolicyHistoryLegislationComing soon
State Legislative Timeline
When each state's program was enacted, expanded, made universal, or challenged in court. The full policy history from 1990 to present.
30+ states
with an active private-school choice program as of 2026
Dataset page in preparation — subscribe for launch notification.Notify me → - ExpensesAllowable UsesComparisonsComing soon
Eligible Expense Categories by State
Which expense categories — tuition, tutoring, curriculum, therapy, technology, transportation — are approved in each state's program, with statutory citations.
6–12 categories
typical number of allowable expense types per state ESA program
Dataset page in preparation — subscribe for launch notification.Notify me → - ProvidersVendorsMarketplaceComing soon
Approved Provider & Vendor Counts
Number of state-approved schools, tutors, therapists, and curriculum vendors by program and state — tracked from official marketplace databases.
Thousands
of approved vendors listed across state ESA marketplaces
Dataset page in preparation — subscribe for launch notification.Notify me →
Methodology & sourcing standards
Every statistic on this site is sourced from primary materials: state statutes, program administrator disclosures, official application portals, legislative appropriations bills, or peer-reviewed policy research. We do not publish estimates that cannot be traced to a named, verifiable source.
When state-reported data is unavailable or lagged, we use the most recent published estimate from recognized research organizations — primarily EdChoice, Education Week, and state-level policy institutes — with explicit attribution and the date of the estimate.
Data pages are updated after each state legislative session. Significant mid-year changes (emergency rules, court orders, program suspensions) are flagged inline.
How to cite this data
All data published on this site is free to use with attribution. No permission email required. Use the format that fits your publication style.
The School Choice Index Editorial Team. (2026). School Choice Research Hub. The School Choice Index. https://theschoolchoiceindex.com/research/
The School Choice Index Editorial Team. "School Choice Research Hub." The School Choice Index, 2026, theschoolchoiceindex.com/research/.
The School Choice Index Editorial Team. "School Choice Research Hub." The School Choice Index. Accessed 2026. https://theschoolchoiceindex.com/research/.
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