Reason Foundation grades most states F on open enrollment policies
On Oct. 13, 2026 the Reason Foundation published a report that assigned failing (F) grades to the open‑enrollment policies of 33 U.S. states, marking the lowest mark for the majority of the nation’s K‑12 public‑school systems.
The findings matter because open enrollment lets families move their children to schools that better match their needs, a benefit backed by a December YouGov poll in which 74% of K‑12 parents said they support such policies. With 49.4 million students enrolled nationwide, the report warns that weak policies affect roughly 39.4 million learners.
"Strengthening these policies would significantly benefit the 49.4 million students enrolled in public schools in all 50 states," senior policy analyst Jude Schwalbach wrote.
Only six states earned grades in the A range: Oklahoma, Arkansas and Idaho received A+, while Arizona and West Virginia earned A and Utah A‑. Florida, Kansas, Colorado and Delaware received B+ scores, and a handful of other states fell between B and C+. Two states were graded D, and the remaining 33 were given F grades.
Reason evaluates open‑enrollment laws against seven criteria, giving the most weight to statutes that require districts to accept transfer students from other districts and to allow transfers within district boundaries. Additional points are awarded for prohibiting tuition charges, preventing discrimination based on disability or academic performance, publishing transfer data, and providing written explanations and external appeals for rejected applications. No state satisfied all seven benchmarks; Oklahoma and Arkansas met six, Idaho and Kansas met five, while several states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin, met four.
Grades do not necessarily reflect how many students take advantage of open enrollment. Texas, despite an F rating, recorded more than 229,000 student transfers during the 2023‑24 school year—about 4% of its public‑school enrollment—while Colorado and Delaware posted the highest participation rates among the states.
The report also notes recent legislative activity: Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and Vermont strengthened their policies in 2026, and lawmakers in 17 states introduced at least 36 bills aimed at expanding open‑enrollment opportunities.
As the school year progresses, education officials and advocacy groups are expected to use the report’s findings to push for reforms that could lift grades and expand choice for the nation’s students.
