However, the scale of that success is much less than it may appear.
Maine and Vermont first adopted town tuitioning programs in the late-19th century, but as you can see in the following chart, most of the growth in the number of private educational choice programs–including school vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and education savings accounts (ESAs), but not charter schools — came in the last five years. Last year alone, seven states enacted eight new choice programs and nine states expanded 13 existing choice programs.
Data Source: Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
In the last decade, the number of students receiving vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, or ESAs has more than tripled. Indeed, the number of students participating in educational choice programs has increased tenfold since 2001.
Data Source: Alliance for School Choice
The growth is impressive, but compared to the enrollment in traditional district schools, it looks more like John Kasich’s delegate count. (Apologies to any stray Ricochetti who are feelin’ the Kasich-mentum.) In 2015, the number of US students participating in private educational choice programs was only 0.7 percent of the number enrolled in district schools. You’ll need your reading glasses to see the small blue slivers representing choice program enrollment in the chart below.
Data Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Nevertheless, opponents of school choice often decry these programs as “the camel’s nose under the tent,” to which I respond: if only! In reality, most private school choice programs are more like a camel’s whisker.
Consider some of the most recently adopted choice programs.