Report: Bipartisan support for K-12 open enrollment policy

By Esther Wickham
The Center Square

A new study reveals strong bipartisan support for K-12 open enrollment, yet only 16 states have strong laws enabling it.

The report by Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank, compared open enrollment laws, which allow K-12 students to transfer to a different public school than the one they are assigned to, across all 50 states across seven categories.

Though most states have a K-12 open enrollment law, “most of them are weak or ineffective,” lead author Jude Schwalbach, education policy analyst at Reason Foundation, told The Center Square.

The report noted that 78% of parents support open enrollment policies that allow students to transfer outside of their school district, including 84% of Republicans, 80% of Democrats and 72% of Independents.

About 49 million students are in public schools, but 80% live in states with weak open enrollment laws.

“As of 2025, only 13 states received A or B grades per Reason Foundation’s scoresheet,” Schwalbach explained. “Reason Foundation’s open enrollment best practices offer a roadmap to states so they can improve their policies so more students can attend public schools that are the right fit.”

Only 16 states have statewide cross-district open enrollment, and 17 states have statewide within-district open enrollment.

Only six states — Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia — allow students to transfer, and open enrollment is year-round. The report added that 25 states have no law addressing districts’ transfer windows.

The study highlights that transparency is a key component for these districts in publishing the number of seats available on its website so that families are aware of vacancies before submitting their transfer applications.

Nationally, Oklahoma and Arkansas rank the highest, receiving scores of 99/100 and 98/100 points. While Alaska, Maine, Maryland and North Carolina ranked last, all scoring 0/100 points.

The Center Square reported on Michigan, receiving an F grade on open enrollment and Colorado getting a B+ ranking.

Based on the study’s findings, Schwalbach’s solution is for states to improve its policies.

“More states should strengthen their open enrollment laws – so more students can attend public schools that are the right fit regardless of where they live,” Schwalbach said.