Public Schools Without Boundaries
Each year, Reason Foundation’s “Public Schools without Boundaries” grades and ranks the K-12 open enrollment laws of all 50 states. The strongest open enrollment laws allow students to transfer from their assigned public school to any public school with available seats. In the study, Jude Schwalbach assesses each state’s open enrollment laws in seven key areas, including permitting cross-district and within-district transfers, as well as ensuring that public schools are free for all students, which means not charging transfer students additional fees or tuition. He also details how every state can improve its laws to boost student outcomes and provide families with more choice and transparency.
Current Report
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Public schools without boundaries 2025: Ranking every state’s open enrollment laws
Study finds 16 states have statewide cross-district open enrollment and 17 states have statewide within-district open enrollment.
Previous Reports
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Public schools without boundaries 2024: Ranking every state’s open enrollment laws
Study finds Arizona, Idaho, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia have the best public school transfer and open enrollment laws.
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Public schools without boundaries 2023: Ranking every state’s open enrollment laws
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 2022: Ranking every state’s open enrollment laws
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.
