Despite the defeats in referenda, school choice advocates point to the movement’s enduring popularity with voters. Over the past five years, more school choice programs have been enacted nationwide than at any time in history, in various forms and locations, including:
- Arizona’s corporate tax credit program and voucher programs for special-needs and foster children (all operating since 2006);
- the District of Columbia’s voucher program (since 2004-05);
- Florida’s corporate tax credit program (since 2002);
- Georgia’s special-needs voucher program (since 2007);
- Iowa’s personal tax credit program (since 2006);
- Ohio’s voucher program for autistic children (since 2004) and voucher program for students in failing public schools (since 2006-07);
- Rhode Island’s corporate tax credit program (since 2007); and
- Utah’s voucher program for special-needs students (since 2005-06), which was unaffected by the universal voucher vote.
— Karla Dial
