Public Schools Without Boundaries
Reason Foundation’s “Public Schools without Boundaries 2024” ranks the K-12 open enrollment laws of all 50 states. Open enrollment laws let students transfer from their assigned public schools to other public schools with open seats. Reason’s study grades each state’s open enrollment laws in seven critical areas, including allowing cross-district transfers, inter-district transfers, and making public schools free for all students, which includes not charging transfer students additional fees or tuition.
Current Report
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Public schools without boundaries 2024
Study finds Arizona, Idaho, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia have the best public school transfer and open enrollment laws.
Previous Reports
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Examining every state’s open enrollment policies
Six states, including Arizona and Florida, have implemented four out of five best practices for public school open enrollment, but 34 states have implemented one or none.
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Public schools without boundaries: Ranking every state’s K-12 open enrollment policies
Only 11 states have mandatory open enrollment laws that allow students to easily transfer to other public schools and 26 states allow public schools to charge tuition to public school transfer students.
