“With the help of state think tanks, or policy organizations that try to improve the lives of the people in their communities, more states are adopting school choice polices in the new year. Here are 10 states to watch in 2023.” – State Policy Network, January 24, 2023

“Last year, Arizona became the first state to offer ESAs to every student. In 2021, West Virginia enacted an ESA policy that’s open to all students switching out of a district school or entering kindergarten. Numerous other states are poised this year to follow their lead, including Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas.” – The Heritage Foundation, January 24, 2023

“Half of all parents considered or are considering choosing new schools for their children.” – National School Choice Week, January 20, 2023

“In Arkansas, families may be able to transfer to a public school of choice outside their neighborhood. The state also offers free, full-time online learning options for students, like Arkansas Connections Academy and Arkansas Virtual Academy charter schools. Additionally, Arkansas offers two state-funded scholarship programs for students in foster care, students with disabilities, dependents of U.S. military, and students from low-income families.” – Arkansas Democrat Gazette, January 18, 2023

“If public schools now have to compete for students and thus obviously the funding that comes with them, they’re either going to get better or they’re going to go out of business.” – Idaho State Journal, January 17, 2023

“Under the governor’s plan, all Iowa families who opt their child out of the public school system would be able to access the state’s portion of per-pupil spending—about $7,600—through an ESA to use for private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, curricular materials, special-needs therapy, and more.” – The Heritage Foundation, January 12, 2023

“The group announced a new ad Monday featuring the governor in a classroom, discussing the need to give parents more choices for their children’s education. One of the governor’s priorities heading into the 2023 legislative session was passing her private school scholarship bill into law, after it failed in the Iowa House the past two years.” – Iowa Capital Dispatch, January 9, 2023

“’This is not about funding the rich children’s education,’ she said. ‘Rich parents are not waiting on a government program to decide where to send their children to school. They’ve already made that choice. What’s happening now is what about the rest of us who don’t have that choice.’” – Virginia Mercury, January 5, 2023

The niche school choice market has grown from 66,627 students (2013)(1) to 109,683 in the 2022-23 school year. Factors contributing to growth include dissatisfaction with public schools deemed ‘failing’ in letter-grade surveys, technology that makes distance learning feasible, and religious affiliations. – Arkansas Policy Foundation, December 31, 2022