This week, thousands of parents in Nevada will drop their children off for the first day of school, many driving by schools they would have chosen to reach the schools they were assigned. For 70 years, a family’s address and zip code picked their child’s school in Nevada. This is the last year that is true.

Nevada’s Education Achievement Crisis

Nevada has long been notorious as one of the states with the poorest education achievement in K-12. Only 47.2% of high schoolers are proficient in English, with the number dropping to 46.4% for elementary students. In math, only 21.1% of high school students demonstrate proficiency and 41.1% in elementary school. Yet, for parents seeking to take their children out of the failing public education system the options are beyond limited.

Limited School Choice Options Today

Nevada’s charter schools enroll around 70,000 students, making them as a group the second largest school district in the state, and the most sought after alternative. However, most charter schools are at capacity with extremely long waitlists, prompting parents to search for more.

Currently, the state’s only private choice program is the Opportunity Scholarship Program. Established in 2015, the Opportunity Scholarship allows businesses with a Modified Business Tax liability to donate to state approved Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) and receive a dollar for dollar tax credit. SGOs, in turn, disperse the funds in the form of scholarships, allowing children from low income families to attend private schools. The available tax credits are capped at $6.6 million annually and attempts to increase the cap have repeatedly failed in the state legislature (in fact, state policymakers have successfully lowered the cap throughout the past 10 years). In 2024, the program serviced 1,556 students, a mere 0.3% of the K-12 population that year.

Although education reform efforts like increasing the Opportunity Scholarship funding or establishing state funded education savings accounts have been unsuccessful, starting in the 2027-28 academic year two important reforms will take effect in the Silver State: One will allow families to choose any school within a public school district and the other would put private school funds within reach.

Open Enrollment Lets Nevada Families Choose Public Schools

Starting in the 2027-2028 school year, students attending public schools in Nevada will be able to apply to attend public schools in their districts for which they are not zoned. The policy, open enrollment, is meant to allow students to remain within their district but attend public schools they prefer. Importantly, schools will not be allowed to exclude students based on academic, artistic or athletic abilities, extracurricular participation, disabilities, English learner status, residential address, or prior disciplinary action. Ahead of every school year, individual schools will be tasked with calculating and publicizing the number of available seats and open an application process for them.

For a state like Nevada, where school districts overlap entirely with county borders, open enrollment can offer a large menu of schools to interested parents. For Clark and Washoe Counties, this means opening more than a hundred schools for selection. For rural counties, the list will undoubtedly be much smaller, yet the opportunity to apply is still worth exploring.

Importantly, Nevada is one of the few states to have dedicated funding for transportation services. Oftentimes, parents don’t consider or can’t afford better schools further from their residence, because of transportation logistics. Hence, the legislature appropriated funds to cover these expenses across the districts, with Nevada Department of Education opening a large grant application for districts. Clark County School District, for example, has announced $1,000 in reimbursements for families using open enrollment.

For the state’s two biggest school districts, the department of education has requested early implementation of the policy targeted at students zoned for one or two star rated schools to attend better performing counterparts. The full implementation of open enrollment with statewide standardized procedures and reporting requirements will be underway ahead of the 2027-2028 academic year, allowing families to explore educational public school options within their own districts.

Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program Brings New Funding to Nevada

Created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, the federal tax credit scholarship program (FTCS) is the first of its kind, implementing education choice at the national level. FTCS allows individual taxpayers to receive up to $1,700 every year in dollar for dollar tax credit when they make cash contributions to approved SGOs. Starting in tax year 2027, Americans can donate to their SGO of choice, and those SGOs will fund the educational expenses of children from households at or below 300% of area median income.

Importantly, scholarships can cover not just private school tuition for students, but also tutoring expenses, career and technical training, books and supplies, and more. Nevada is now one of the 30 states that have opted into the widely popular program, meaning Silver State students will be reaping the benefits from donations nationwide.

As opposed to Nevada’s Opportunity Scholarship, FTCS will not be capped at a certain financial threshold. The Opportunity Scholarship has a ceiling set by the Legislature, whereas the federal program is only limited by how much people choose to give. Although not a guarantee of scale, this structure ensures that there is no bottleneck on the number of scholarships or the number of years that an SGO can provide scholarships. The U.S. Treasury is set to issue more guidelines and policies for families, schools, SGOs, and donors ahead of 2027, before the program officially kicks in for the 2027-2028 academic year.

Why This Matters for Nevada Families

Up until now, most of the “reforms” that the state has invested in directly poured tax dollars into the same dysfunctional system. Meanwhile enrollment and family satisfaction kept declining, as parents have voted with their feet or moved to charter schools. Open enrollment will create a real signal within the districts showing which schools drive more students away and which ones attract students. The Federal Tax Credit Scholarship program will elevate the competition to outside actors like private schools, microschools, and supplemental providers.

Neither program is a verdict on an individual school or a teacher, or the demise of the public education system. Instead, what ends in 2027 is the assumption that a child’s zip code is the best determinant of their education quality. Next August, Nevada parents can drop their children off at a school that is not in the same zip code and give their kids a better chance at life.

Don’t Miss the Next Update on School Choice in Nevada

Open enrollment and the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program are just the beginning. As Nevada rolls out these reforms over the next two years, new deadlines, applications, and opportunities will open up for families across the state. Sign up for education updates and get the latest news on school choice in Nevada sent straight to your inbox.