Policymakers are increasingly supportive of public school choice |
Despite the growing number of families choosing private schooling options for their children, 83 percent of K-12 students remain enrolled in traditional public schools, and this trend is unlikely to change significantly in the short term. Strong open enrollment policies, which let kids attend any public school with open seats, can provide families who still depend on the public school system with better choices. Now, data show that policymakers are increasingly understanding the importance of having good K-12 open enrollment policies.
Since 2020, 17 states have strengthened these policies to let students transfer to public schools other than their assigned ones. For example, lawmakers in seven states, including Arkansas and Kansas, improved their cross-district open enrollment laws, ensuring that students can transfer to public schools in other school districts whenever seats become available. As of 2025, 16 states operate robust cross-district open enrollment programs.
Similarly, seven states strengthened their within-district open enrollment laws, allowing students to transfer to public schools inside their assigned district. Just this year, Arkansas,