Worth Fighting · Education & parental rights
Compare ESA, Voucher and Education Tax-Credit Programs
Research baseline: October 10, 2026 · Version 18.1.0 · Selected-state audit
Choose two to four programs. The first two records are selected initially. Unknown values remain visible. All comparisons use the October 10, 2026 baseline; statutory authority and agency guidance are distinguished in each full record.
2 of 4 selected.
| Feature | Texas — Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) | Iowa — Students First Education Savings Accounts | West Virginia — Hope Scholarship | Alabama — Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education (CHOOSE) Act | North Carolina — Opportunity Scholarship | North Carolina — Education Student Accounts (ESA+) | Arizona — Empowerment Scholarship Accounts | Arkansas — Education Freedom Accounts | Florida — Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) | Florida — Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) | Florida — Personalized Education Program (PEP), Florida Tax Credit Scholarship | Tennessee — Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) | Utah — Utah Fits All Scholarship | Wyoming — Steamboat Legacy Scholarship | New Hampshire — Education Freedom Accounts | Idaho — Parental Choice Tax Credit and Advance Payment | Ohio — EdChoice Expansion Scholarship | Indiana — Choice Scholarship Program | Louisiana — Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR) | South Carolina — Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) | Oklahoma — Parental Choice Tax Credit — private-school pathway | Georgia — Georgia Promise Scholarship | Pennsylvania — Educational Improvement Tax Credit — school scholarships | Pennsylvania — Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program type | ESA | ESA | ESA | Refundable tax-credit ESA | Voucher | ESA | ESA | ESA | ESA | ESA | Tax-credit scholarship | Voucher | ESA | ESA | ESA | Refundable tax credit | Voucher | Voucher | ESA | ESA | Refundable tax credit | ESA | Tax-credit scholarship | Tax-credit scholarship |
| Eligibility model | Broad eligibility; priority tiers and limited funding | Broad eligibility; accredited nonpublic enrollment required | Broad eligibility; age, residency and participation rules remain | Income-targeted in 2026–27; broader eligibility scheduled for 2027–28 | Broad eligibility; income-tiered awards and funding priorities | Disability-targeted | Broad eligibility; distinct disability categories | Broad K–12 eligibility | Broad K–12 eligibility | Disability-targeted | Broad eligibility with program-specific capacity rules | Broad eligibility with priority/funding allocation | Broad eligibility; current allocation rules not fully audited | Broad K–12 eligibility; separate income-targeted preschool | Broad eligibility with priority groups and capacity | Nonpublic education; eligibility details partially audited | Income-linked award; exact current eligibility not fully audited | Current income/entry rules not fully reconciled | Phased / targeted in 2026–27 | Targeted; current income threshold not verified | Broad private-school pathway; income-tiered award and priorities | Geographic and prior-school targeted with income priorities | Income-targeted via scholarship organizations | Geographic and income-targeted |
| Current award | 2026–27: $10,474 private school; up to $30,000 with qualifying IEP; $2,000 other education. | $8,148 full 2026–27 year; $4,074 spring half-year. | Expected full 2026–27 award $5,435.62; later applications receive 75%, 50% or 25%. | $7,000 participating-school award; $2,000 home education per student, capped at $4,000 per family. | 2026–27 maxima: tier 1 $7,942; tier 2 $7,148; tier 3 $4,766; tier 4 $3,574. | $9,000 base; $17,000 for designated disabilities. | Student-specific; no single statewide flat award verified. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | $7,530 for 2026–27. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Up to $7,000 annually. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Up to $5,000; up to $7,500 with qualifying disability. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Agency FAQ lists $7,634 for 2026–27 (direct-access limitation noted). | $5,000–$7,500, subject to qualified expenses and applicable income tier. | Up to $6,500 for 2026–27; quarterly allocation. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit |
| Approved uses | Approved tuition, curricula, texts, tutoring, assessments, transportation and therapies; hardware/software limited to 10% of award; private-school meals under program rules. | Tuition first, then approved materials, tutoring, educational technology, assessments and qualified therapies through Odyssey. | Participating-school tuition, approved IIP curricula, tutoring, educational services and other expenses under §18-31-7. | Approved tuition, curricula, textbooks, tutoring, therapies, assessments, education software and approved online instruction. | Required private-school tuition and fees. | Approved tuition, therapies, tutoring, curricula and technology; art/music tutoring added for fall 2026 subject to category rules. | Qualified tuition, curricula, texts, tutoring, online learning, exams, approved technology and disability therapies under §15-2402. | Approved private tuition, home curricula, tutoring and therapies. | Private-school scholarship pathway; consult current SFO purchasing rules for any other approved use. | Tuition, online learning, tutoring, college expenses and approved customized services/materials. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Qualified tuition, tutoring, curricula, technology, exams, therapies and approved transportation/services. | Tuition, tutoring, classes, online programs, supplies and technology under approved-use rules. | Qualifying tuition/curriculum, texts, core-subject tutoring, transportation and specified assessments. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Tuition, tutoring, therapies, curricula/textbooks, dual enrollment and uniforms subject to approval. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Private-school tuition and fees for this pathway. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit |
| Private-school tuition | Yes, at approved participating private schools. | Yes; tuition and required fees must be paid before other eligible expenses. | Yes, at participating schools. | Up to $7,000 per student at a participating school. | Yes; required tuition and fees at a registered Direct Payment School. | Yes at approved schools, subject to the relevant payment arrangement. | Yes at a qualified school. | Yes at participating schools. | Yes. | Yes. | Full-time private-school attendance is a different scholarship pathway. | Yes; tuition and fees first. | Permitted under program guidance. | Yes. | Yes. | Full-time K–12 nonpublic tuition qualifies. | Participating private school. | Eligible participating nonpublic school. | Yes. | Participating education service providers; confirm each approved school and expense. | Yes, eligible private-school tuition and fees. | Yes at participating schools. | Approved scholarship use at eligible schools. | Eligible private or out-of-district public school scholarship. |
| Home education | Permitted under the $2,000 other-education category; not the private-school award. | Home-only instruction does not qualify. A former homeschool student may enroll full-time at an accredited nonpublic school. | Permitted through an individualized instructional program (IIP), a distinct compulsory-attendance exemption. | Up to $2,000 per child; $4,000 maximum per family for home education. | Home-only instruction is not this tuition scholarship pathway. | Permitted, including eligible home/private/co-enrollment arrangements. | Home instruction permitted under an ESA agreement; legally distinct from the homeschool-affidavit exemption. Do not file a homeschool affidavit for an ESA student. | Permitted subject to EFA requirements. | Use the separate PEP pathway for eligible personalized education; do not treat FES-EO as a home-only award. | Customized education outside full-time public school permitted subject to FES-UA rules. | PEP is a distinct statutory education option, not interchangeable with traditional registered home education. | Home-only eligibility not established by this private-school record. | Permitted nonpublic educational uses; detailed current rules need verification. | Nonpublic instruction permitted under subject and assessment requirements. | Nonpublic customized educational uses under EFA agreement. | Qualifying curriculum covering English, math, science and social studies may qualify; verify student's full eligibility. | Not verified for this tuition scholarship. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Expense flexibility exists; exact home-only participation requirements not fully extracted. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Separate homeschool credit/return process exists; this record does not treat it as the private-school award. | Eligible home-study participation permitted. | Not verified; no ESA-style home account is assumed. | Home education is not the scholarship attendance pathway described by the agency. |
| Application timing | 2026–27 window February 4–March 31, 2026; closed. A 2027–28 interest list is not an application. | Full-year April 16–June 30, 2026. Half-year October 15–November 15, 2026. | New applicants March 2–June 15 full award; June 16–September 15 75%; September 16–November 30 50%; December 1–February 28 25%. | Renewals opened December 15, 2025; new applications January 2, 2026; both closed March 31, 2026. | Next 2027–28 application begins first Monday in February (February 1, 2027). Exact 2026–27 closing window not reconciled here. | Next cycle starts first Monday in February 2027; program instructions describe priority through first Monday in March. | Applications accepted July 1–June 30. Completed applications after March 31 enroll on or after July 1; not retroactive current-year funding. | March 9–June 1, 2026 regular window. Late applications may be submitted but those after June 29 are not processed pending funding. | Step Up 2026–27 new applications February 1–November 15; renewals February 1–April 30. | Step Up new applications February 1–November 15, 2026; renewals closed April 30. | Step Up new and renewing PEP applications February 1–April 30, 2026. | Renewals December 9, 2025; new January 13, 2026; closed February 6 at 4 p.m. Central. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | 2026–27 applications closed August 6; agency indicates first-quarter funding in early September. | Rolling; verified by July 15 for full-year funding. Prorated applications through February; exact final day not specified in reviewed text. | Tax-year and advance-payment cycles differ. Second-period advance payment by November 14, 2026 is a payment date, not an application deadline. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Apply through participating school; current family deadlines not verified. | New and renewal applications March 1, 2026 at 9 a.m.–March 16 at 11:59 p.m. Central. | Closed after reaching statutory 15,000 capacity; exact closure day not verified. | March 16–June 15, 2026 for 2026–27 private-school applications. | Final 2026 student windows August 1–31 and November 1–30. October 1–31 is a provider-school window, not the parent window. | Organization-specific family calendars; business credit deadlines are not parent deadlines. | Apply to approved scholarship organizations; no single statewide family deadline verified. |
| Enrollment cap | Funding-limited; >500% FPL group limited to 20% of available allocation. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | 15,000 for 2026–27; agency says cap reached. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit |
| Funding / appropriation | $1 billion initial authorization/appropriation ceiling for the biennium ending August 31, 2027; not expenditure. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | 2025 law initially appropriated $30 million; not verified current expenditure. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Subject to annual appropriation; eligibility is not a guarantee of funding. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit |
| Assessment requirements | Participating private schools administer a nationally norm-referenced assessment annually in grades 3–12. | Accredited nonpublic-school rules apply; exact assessment obligations not separately extracted in this audit. | IIP: annual nationally normed testing with statutory achievement/progress threshold OR certified-teacher portfolio review, reported to county. Nonpublic students meet applicable school requirements. | Participating-school students take approved standardized, norm-referenced or aptitude assessment; disability exception when testing inappropriate. Results to parents annually and school-level results to department. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | No separate universal assessment requirement verified in the reviewed sections; this is not a claim that no other obligation applies. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Statewide or nationally normed achievement assessment. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Statewide assessment and required performance data. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit |
| Participating-school rules | Recognized accreditation, at least two years of operation, participation approval and annual assessments in grades 3–12. | Iowa-accredited nonpublic school; full-time means at least 75% of the full-time schedule under the rule. | Participation notice, annual enrollment notice to county superintendent and applicable nonpublic-school requirements. | Health/safety compliance, occupancy permit where required, child-protection compliance and financial statements or surety bond. | Registered Direct Payment School; fall enrollment requirement by October 1. | Use participating schools/providers; private-school admission is separate from scholarship eligibility. | Qualified-school requirements under statute, including fingerprint clearance for staff as specified. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Participating Category I, II or III private school. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Indiana school, recognized accreditation, tuition, voluntary participation; not charter or resident school corporation. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Participating accredited school registered with OTC. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit |
| Audit / reporting | Annual independent program audit plus state-auditor oversight. | Cross-agency eligibility checks; improper payments recoverable; written appeal within 30 days under Chapter 20. | Random account and provider audits; suspension/removal process with appeal rights. | ALDOR expense/invoice review; school financial assurance and reporting; suspension or disqualification for failures. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | At least $500 in annual eligible core-academic spending; purchase documentation and program account review. | Annual and risk-based/random account reviews; administrative decisions appealable to State Board of Education. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | At least 2% of accounts audited annually under statute. | Academic accountability documents and agreement required; current detailed audit rules not extracted. | All recipients subject to audit; advance reconciled by December 31, 2027. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit |
| Litigation | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | September 8, 2026 Treasury announcement reports a challenge to universal expansion; docket/order not obtained. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | AG reports April 2025 adverse district ruling and permitted interlocutory appeal. | Degenfelder v. WEA, 2026 WY 54. | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit | Unknown/not verified in this audit |
| Last verified | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 | 2026-10-10 |
Update log
October 10, 2026 — Initial audited release. Added current Iowa half-year window, West Virginia prorated application bands and Wyoming preliminary-injunction reversal. Texas and Tennessee calendar conflicts are documented in their source notes. No automatic future-update claim is made.
Related coverage: Parent rights, FERPA and student privacy · Title IX sports and privacy · Education reporting · Local accountability · Religious freedom · Taxpayer accountability. Corrections: send a documented correction.