72.5 points
is the gap between #1 and #50
THE NWEF SCHOOL CHOICE INDEX
Every state makes its own rules on school choice. We read all of them, scored what matters, and ranked the results, so you don't have to guess where your state stands.
School choice means the freedom to pick the school that fits your child, not just the one assigned to your address. But every state plays by different rules. Some make it easy to transfer, open a charter, or use public funds for private options. Others make it hard. The NWEF School Choice Index turns those rules into one clear score, so you can see how your state compares.
Here's every state, ranked from most to least school-choice-friendly. Search for yours, or sort by score to see who leads and who lags. Click any state for the full breakdown.
No states match your search.
How does your state stack up against its neighbor, or against the national leader? Put any two states side by side and see the differences, measure by measure.
Florida leads, 95 to 90.
Across 17 measures: Florida wins 2, Utah wins 1, 14 tied.
We built each state's score from 17 measures across five areas: open enrollment, charter schools, private options like ESAs and vouchers, homeschooling rules, and online learning. Open enrollment carries the most weight, because it affects the most families. Every point traces back to a specific state law. Scores reflect the laws in place as of [Month Year], and we update them as states change their rules.
School choice laws change fast. Join our list, and we'll tell you when your state's score moves and what it means for your family.
It's the ability to choose the school that best fits your child, whether that's a different public school, a charter, a private school, homeschooling, or online learning, instead of being limited to one assigned school.