The Heritage Foundation has released its 2025 Education Freedom Report Card, ranking states on their efforts to expand education freedom for K-12 students and families. The annual report evaluates states based on criteria such as the presence of education choice programs, teacher autonomy, academic transparency, civics education, and return on investment in education spending.
Jonathan Butcher, acting director for the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, commented on the results: “Florida and Arizona have offered choices like these for decades, providing models for other states. With Texas giving its students more opportunities with its ESA program, this is a banner year for education freedom.”
He added: “Our report card does not reward state lawmakers who ask taxpayers to spend more on assigned schools or who put limits on student options. We have highlighted the states where policymakers empower parents to choose high-quality opportunities for their children.”
Florida maintained its top position in overall education freedom for the fourth consecutive year. The report notes that Florida’s broad array of educational options continues to give parents significant decision-making power regarding their children’s schooling. Arizona also retained second place, with over 90,000 students now utilizing an education savings account.
Texas made a notable advance by moving up eight spots to seventh place after adopting a new education savings account option accessible to all children in the state. According to the report, this expansion means that more than half of all U.S. children are now eligible to apply for private learning opportunities.
Louisiana also improved its standing by introducing an education savings account program and ranked fifth overall. The state was recognized for strong performance in both return on investment and teacher freedom categories.
States finishing at the bottom of the rankings included Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Maine—with Maine ranked last in terms of education freedom.
Further details about the Education Freedom Report Card can be found at https://www.heritage.org/educationreportcard/.
