Two Oklahoma school-choice programs have generated up to $181 million in cumulative savings since their inception, freeing up financial resources to benefit students in traditional public schools, according to a new report.

“Fiscal Effects of School Choice,” a new study authored by Martin F. Lueken, director of the Fiscal Research and Education Center at EdChoice, analyzed 48 private education choice programs in 25 states plus D.C., including two programs in Oklahoma.

The programs in the analysis include five education savings account (ESA) programs, 22 school voucher programs, and 21 tax-credit scholarship programs.

All 48 programs in the analysis were in operation for at least five years through the 2022 budget year, with 31 programs in operation for at least 10 years.

The two programs examined in Oklahoma were the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities (LNH) program, which provides scholarships for students with special needs to attend private schools, and the Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program, which provides a tax credit for donations to private-school scholarship-granting organizations.

According to the report, the LNH program has created between $43.9 million and $71 million in cumulative savings during its existence. For every $1 spent on an LNH student, the Oklahoma state government has saved between $1.89 and $2.44. From its creation to 2022, the LNH program provided scholarships to 6,928 students, according to the report.

During the first 10 years of its existence, the Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program has funded private-school scholarships for more than 16,000 students. The EdChoice report estimated that program has generated between $52.9 million and $110 million in cumulative savings. For every $1 spent on the program, the Oklahoma government has saved $2.71 to $4.56.

The two programs, combined, have benefited 22,933 children during their existence, according to the report, and generated combined cumulative savings of $96.8 million to $181 million for the state. For every dollar spent on the two programs, the Oklahoma government is saving $2.21 to $3.26.

The reason school-choice programs generate such significant savings is that they pay to educate children at a much lower cost than the per-pupil spending for those same children in public schools.

“These savings result from many of the students who exercised choice who would have been enrolled in a public school if these choice programs did not exist—and would have enrolled in public schools at a much larger taxpayer cost,” Lueken wrote.

The report showed that the average per-pupil funding for the two education-choice programs in Oklahoma through the 2022 state budget year was just 29 percent of the per-pupil funding provided for public-school students.

Similar conclusions were reached for all school-choice programs nationwide.

“In FY 2022, the average public funding per student for education choice programs was about $6,000, compared to $17,000 per student for public schools in states where choice programs operate,” Lueken wrote. “That is, students using education choice programs only received around one-third (36%), on average, of the per- pupil funding amount their peers received in nearby public school systems.”

School-choice programs produced savings even if many children who benefit from the programs never attended a public school.

“On average, if at least 57% of students who participate in choice programs switched from public to private schools, these programs saved taxpayer dollars overall,” Lueken wrote. “For programs that have been in operation a long time, this break-even rate may be as low as 36%.”

Overall, the report concluded that the 48 education choice programs examined cumulatively saved state and local taxpayers in those 25 states between $19.4 billion and $45.6 billion from the programs’ inception through 2022.