The Language of School Choice

News and Insights

The Language of School Choice

December 23, 2025

"School Choice" is a concept that is commonly used but not necessarily fully understood, particularly by those of us who have to make decisions about our children's education. The intent of school choice is to better serve individual student needs and create better learning outcomes through system-wide innovation and competition. The aim is the overall improvement of the quality and accessibility of education and learning for all students.

The most significant policy changes driving school choice today have occurred at the state legislative level. Following charter schools, the most rapid growth involves states creating or greatly expanding Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Currently, 18 states offer access to ESAs: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

There is some variation across states in what ESAs offer or include-with some providing universal access to all K-12 students, and others that factor in limits to eligibility like family income, students' special needs or residency in school districts identified as low performing. A recent shift is the push for these programs to be universal. Proponents aim to create more standardized, universal access to ESAs, meaning every student-regardless of family income-can apply to use the funds. Other elements of the school choice environment, like charter, magnet and virtual schools, often exist within public school districts; however, some have become privatized through networks or organizations that franchise across regions or nationally. Since the 2020 pandemic, the U.S. has seen a rise in families electing to homeschool and/or start microschools.

The narrative and policies surrounding school choice continue to evolve as demographics, cultural norms and economic realities shift.

• Charter Schools:Tuition-free public schools that are publicly funded but independently managed and exempt from some regulations governing traditional public schools.
• Education Savings Accounts (ESAs):ESAs deposit tax funds earmarked for public education into government-authorized accounts for parents to use for approved educational expenses. These can include private school tuition, tutoring, curriculum and sometimes transportation. Often described as "Vouchers Plus" because they cover more than just tuition.
• Homeschooling / Home Education:Education provided at home by a parent, co-op or by a hired educator under the direction of a parent/guardian.
• Magnet Schools:Public schools of choice, typically criteria-based entrance and organized around a specialized theme (like STEM or the arts), designed to attract students from across a district.
• Microschools / Learning Pods:Small, community-based schools or groups of students taught together, often by a tutor or teacher. These gained particular visibility and popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Open Enrollment:A policy that allows students to attend a public school other than their assigned neighborhood school. This can be Intradistrict (within the same district) or Interdistrict (in a different district).
• Scholarship Tax Credits / Tax-Credit Scholarships (TCS):Programs that give individuals or businesses a tax credit for donating to organizations that provide private school scholarships.
• Virtual Schools / Online Learning:Schools that offer most or all of their coursework over the internet; can be public or private; offer live and/or asynchronous instruction.
• Vouchers / School Vouchers / Private School Vouchers:These are government-funded certificates parents can use to cover all or part of a student's tuition at a private school (secular or religious).
  

Would you like to talk more about school choice, or about any education-related issues? Email us-we'd love to hear from you.

This content initially appeared on the FINN Global Education Partners LinkedIn channel.

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POSTED BY: Jacqui Lipson, Kate Johnson