During the legislative sessions of 2021, several states passed laws that allow parents to make the best education choices for their children, whether it is a public, private or home school option. These reforms ranged from creating Education Savings Accounts (CES) to expanding education tax credit programs to reforming school funding.

In response to the challenges posed to education by the pandemic, we have seen more education reforms in 2021 than in recent years. Parents are looking for alternatives more than ever because they see that more choice means more possibilities for the children of our country. These policy solutions create resources that would not otherwise exist for low-income and underserved communities so that they can have the same opportunities as richer families to pursue a quality education.

Below is an overview of the reforms adopted during the 2021 state legislative sessions.

ARKANSAS

Arkansas has passed a law which offers scholarships to approximately 250 students whose family income is less than or equal to 200% of the federal poverty line. Individuals and corporations are eligible for tax credits by making donations to organizations that fund these scholarships.

FLORIDA

Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation which dramatically expands scholarships based on the state’s special needs and needs so that more children have access to educational options.

The move would bundle five different K-12 scholarship programs into two, making the application process easier for thousands of Florida families with school-aged children. In addition, the legislation gives families more flexibility in how they can spend the scholarship money.

GEORGIA

Georgia became the first state in the country to ensure families can continue to participate in learning modules, an innovative education option that has exploded in popularity during the pandemic. A learning module is a small group of children who come together to learn and socialize. Thousands of American students participated in the learning modules last year. But as pods became more popular, some policymakers began issuing new regulations for pod operations, potentially limiting pod size or slowing pod growth.

But Georgia didn’t stop at learning modules. The State of Fisheries has also expanded its special needs scholarship program– which provides vouchers to parents of disabled children to attend a private school. the legislation allows more children with physical or learning disabilities to participate in the program. 50,000 additional children would be eligible for the program.

INDIANA

Indiana created a scholarship account (ESA) program for students with special needs. It’s the first ESA program in Hoosier State, and it gives families with children with special needs some of the money that would normally be used to attend the child’s public school to pay for tuition at a private school or for other education-related expenses.

IOWA

The Iowa Legislature has passed numerous pieces of legislation that have expanded access in Hawkeye State, including the expansion of charter schools, the increase in the tuition and textbook tax credit, and the increase in the organization’s tuition tax credit to $ 20 million.

KANSAS

Kansas extended his Low Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which offers tax credits to individuals and businesses who donate to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships for students to attend a private school.

KENTUCKY

The Kentucky Legislature has passed school choice legislation which creates a scholarship tax credit and, separately, allows state funds to track students outside of their constituency. It was the first time the legislature had never presented, let alone adopted, a bill on parental choice. Although the governor of Kentucky has vetoed this landmark school choice legislation, lawmakers in Kentucky overstepped this veto.

More specifically, the bill creates a ESA $ 25 million tax credit program which gives parents money for education expenses, including private school tuition, textbooks or private lessons. The legislation also offers parents the possibility of enrolling their child in a public school district different from the one in which they reside. Additionally, the bill allows students participating in education modules to be eligible to receive grants to pay for expenses related to learning the modules.

MISSOURI

Missouri pass a law which creates the “Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program”. The program allows donors to donate money to non-profit organizations which, in turn, provide scholarships to low-income families and students with disabilities for education-related expenses, including the cost of schooling in private schools.

MONTANA

Montana passed a law that extends state power tax credit program which funds scholarships for students of private schools. The new law increases the income tax credit limit from $ 150 to $ 200,000 per year.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma has passed legislation which increases the size of the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act, a program that offers tax credits to those who donate to organizations that offer private scholarships.

TEXAS

Texas monitoring Georgia has taken the lead and passed a law that protects state learning modules from overregulation.

WEST OF VIRGINIA

West Virginia has spent the largest and most inclusive program of school choice in the nation. Also referred to as the Hope Fellowship, the program is essentially a Education savings account (ESA), or state-supervised funds that parents can use to pay for a wide variety of education options. The Hope Scholarship provides eligible West Virginia families with $ 4,600 per year to pay for tuition, curriculum, special needs therapy, transportation, and more.

Initially, the program is intended to students who have been enrolled in public school for at least 45 calendar days or are of kindergarten age for the 2022-2023 school year. In 2027, the program could Open up to all West Virginia students, regardless of their type of education.

The West Virginia legislature also pass a law to allow fully online charter schools to operate in the state.

Michael Chartier is the Senior Director of Policy Initiatives for the State Policy Network. Michael works with both state think tanks and national partners to advance educational policies that aim to provide every student with the education best suited to their needs.