“I felt there had to be something different,” said the school’s founder, Candice Hilton, who quit her job as a public school teacher last December after seven years in the system. Her daughter had just started kindergarten that fall and it provided a new lens through which Hilton could view today’s schooling. “Her teacher was amazing,” said Hilton, “but she told me how bored she was doing worksheets.” 

At the same time, Hilton was reflecting on all of the required standardized testing in today’s schools and the pressures it was creating for students and teachers alike. “We tested the kids so many days straight. It was just a sad space to be in for our education system,” recalled Hilton.

After leaving the public school system, Hilton began researching what it would take to homeschool her daughter. It was through that research that she decided to become a microschool founder. She opened Hilton Horizons Academy in a cheerful rented space inside a culinary school with a dozen K-8 students. A hybrid microschool, Hilton’s students attend the mixed-age program two or three days a week for individualized academics and enrichment. Tuition for the three-day program is $4,900 a year. All of Hilton’s students are legally homeschooled, with the vast majority of them new to homeschooling this academic year. “Most of my students are coming from public school. Most of them are first-time homeschoolers,” said Hilton, adding that only two of her current students were previously homeschooled.

At , which opened in Goodyear, Arizona one week after Hilton Horizons Academy, founder Elisa Hernandez’s 14 microschool students are a mix of homeschoolers and those coming from traditional public or private schools. A high school English teacher who taught in the public school system for 10 years, Hernandez quit for reasons similar to Hilton. Post-Covid, she noticed that schools became even more focused on standardized testing, perhaps as a result of more attention being paid to alleged learning loss during pandemic school closures. “There was a shift where we were told to teach to that standardized test. Your worth as a teacher was now tied to that score, or your students’ scores. That was a big shift for me,” recalled Hernandez. 

Last year, she began a small tutoring business on the side while still teaching full-time in the public schools. She enjoyed it so much that she decided to turn the tutoring business into a dedicated microschool, leaving her teaching job at the end of the school year in May. Hernandez wanted to create the type of school in which she knew children would thrive. “I think that learning should be fun and learning should be personalized. If those two things are happening, that can be groundbreaking and world-changing,” she said.

Students attend Hernandez’s home-based program for sixth to twelfth graders up to four days a week at an annual cost of $5,600. She intentionally set her tuition below the approximately $7,000 that all Arizona K-12 students are now eligible to receive under the state’s universal education savings account (ESA) program. “I wanted to make sure that they had enough money left over to do sports, clubs, whatever it is that they want to do,” said Hernandez.

Microschools and similarly creative schooling options gained increased popularity in the wake of the pandemic, and they continue to gain momentum. Not only are new schools and spaces opening across the U.S. but existing ones are expanding. 

New from VELA, a philanthropic nonprofit organization and entrepreneur community, reveals that over 90 percent of the unconventional learning environments it surveyed had more learners last fall than they did at their launch date, and the median compound rate of growth for these programs was 25 percent a year. 

As parent demand for more individualized, innovative education options grows, more everyday entrepreneurs are stepping up to meet that demand, while finding greater personal and professional satisfaction as school founders. Many of them are former public school teachers like Hilton and Hernandez who grew tired of one-size-fits-all standardized schooling and wanted to create an alternative. According to its 2024 sector , the National Microschooling Centers estimates that over 70 percent of today’s microschool founders are current or former licensed educators.

“I’m not a business person. I’m an English teacher,” Hernandez says, acknowledging that she initially felt intimidated by the idea of starting a school. She, like Hilton, decided to join the program earlier this year to gain support and mentorship before, during, and after launch. Started by Amar Kumar, founder of the national microschool network, KaiPod Learning, the Catalyst program provides business startup support and ongoing operational assistance to school founders. The cohort-style program is free to participants, with a small revenue-sharing agreement if they decide to launch a school following the program.

“We started KaiPod Catalyst because we saw tens of thousands of educators looking for alternative career paths in many of the same communities where families were looking for alternative education options,” Kumar told me, adding that applications for the fall cohort are now open.

The new school founders I spoke with say the support from KaiPod Catalyst has been invaluable as they move from their role as teachers to teacher-entrepreneurs. “I think that something that stopped me from starting a microschool earlier was the lack of mentorship,” said Amanda Lucas, who taught in private and charter schools throughout New York City for about a decade. She also participated in a KaiPod Catalyst cohort earlier this year. “I didn’t have any mentors, and I didn’t have anyone to go to and to help me get through the tough times and answer questions,” added Lucas. 

Her microschool, , launches on September 4th in a leased, home-like space in Old Bridge, New Jersey. She currently has 10 enrolled students, ages 6 to 13, with two additional teachers. Her full-time program costs $15,000 a year, with various part-time enrollment options. 

Lucas expects to expand in the coming months given the increased number of inquiries she has been receiving from interested families, but she plans to remain a microschool for homeschoolers, rather than become a recognized private school. “Private schools, like charter schools, don’t give you all of the freedom that a microschool does,” said Lucas. “I want full autonomy, and I want absolute freedom in education. I also really believe in homeschooling and if we have too many students, I won’t be able to tailor the education the way that I want to,” she said.

As the new school year begins, new schools are sprouting across the country, offering the personalization, freedom, and flexibility that enable both students and teachers to flourish.

Disclosure: Stand Together Trust provides financial support to Vela Education Fund and ����Ӱ��.

“I thought I would be out of my element,” Moore told me when I met him earlier this month at the school, where he has worked since last fall. “I quickly became a convert. This fits what kids need. Parents are making this choice to meet the needs of their kids because public schools can’t do it anymore. I’m absolutely sold on what happens here,” he added.

What happens is deep, joyful learning tied to student interests that blends academic and social-emotional skills in a relaxed, nature-based setting. 

Founded in 1970 by a group of parents looking for a more holistic educational approach for their children, School Around Us operated as a state-recognized K-8 private school until 2020 when the school leaders decided to shift away from a traditional schooling model to a learning community serving homeschoolers. 

It’s part of a growing trend, both in Maine and nationally, of new schools and spaces offering smaller, more individualized, more flexible learning options that parents and teachers desire. Many of these programs, including School Around Us, are part of the that supports alternative education environments across the U.S. with grants and entrepreneurial resources.

Converting to a homeschooling community has enabled School Around Us to serve the rapidly growing population of homeschoolers in their area. According to the new Johns Hopkins University , homeschooling numbers now hover around six percent of the total K-12 school-age population, a dramatic increase from pre-pandemic estimates. Maine has seen its homeschooling numbers high since 2020. 

“We have doubled in size since before the pandemic and our numbers keep climbing,” said Amy Wentworth, a Maine certified teacher who attended School Around Us as a child and has taught there for over 20 years. School Around Us now serves 43 students with both full-time and part-time enrollment options. Wentworth says that since 2020, parents are looking to be more involved with their children’s education and appreciate more personalized learning options — especially immersive ones like School Around Us that embrace Maine’s natural beauty and abundant community resources. 

“It’s reinvigorated me in my teaching,” said Wentworth about her program’s shift from operating as a private school to a homeschooling co-learning community. “I feel rejuvenated with excitement and huge possibilities for the future.”

Ning Sawangjaeng feels similarly rejuvenated. A longtime teacher at an established Montessori school in Maine, Sawangjaeng was eager for a new opportunity. She joined the in Camden as its founding Lead Guide when the program launched in September 2023. “The core of Giving Tree is that kids can be happy and be themselves,” Sawangjaeng told me during my visit, adding that the hours the children spend each day outside and in the forest trails surrounding the center are crucial to their overall learning and growth.

Jessica Mazur, along with Isabella Wincklhofer, cofounded Giving Tree to meet the needs of their children and others in their community. 

A former operations leader at Apple who now runs her own small consulting business, Mazur explained how the pandemic shifted her views on education. Her oldest child had attended local public schools, but during school closures and the ongoing education disruption of 2020 and beyond, Mazur began to consider alternatives to conventional schooling. As schooling returned to normal, she and several other parents in her community were already hooked on a different vision for education. “Once we saw what education could be, we couldn’t unsee it,” said Mazur.

Like so many entrepreneurial parents, Mazur decided to build what she couldn’t find: a personalized, Montessori-inspired, nature-based learning space for a mixed-age group of homeschoolers ages five and up. Giving Tree now serves 20 learners ages five to 12 with most choosing to attend the center four days a week. Part-time enrollment options are also available, and interest in the program continues to spread through parent word of mouth.

That’s also how in Cape Elizabeth has grown from six kids in the fall of 2020 to 36 K-5 students for the upcoming school year. 

Like Mazur, Roots’s founder, Jaclyn Gallo, realized during the pandemic that she needed to take charge of her children’s education. She opened her state-recognized private school in a yoga studio during its first year, but demand kept growing for her personalized, place-based educational mode where all children are taught by certified teachers. Last fall, Gallo expanded to a new, large building with abundant outdoor space and wooded trails to accommodate continued growth. 

For all 12 of next year’s kindergarteners, Roots will be their first schooling experience. Unlike many of the students in the older grades — including Gallo’s daughter — who left a traditional public school for Roots, the parents of her kindergarteners knew early on that they wanted an alternative to conventional schooling for their children.

“There is a growing awareness by parents that, especially in the early grades, what is being asked of children is not developmentally appropriate,” said Gallo, explaining that the rigidity and standardization of traditional schooling prevents a more individualized, play-filled, organic approach to learning and child development. “It’s the system not the kids,” said Gallo, adding that many parents — including her and her husband — moved to this town specifically for the 

public schools. “Many of us want to believe in the public schools ideologically, but it’s just not working for some kids.” Still, Gallo is committed to forging relationships with the local public elementary school and finding ways to collaborate.

Gallo expects to grow her school to a maximum of about 60 or 70 kids over the coming years, retaining the microschool model that she thinks is so crucial to learning. She hopes to help other entrepreneurial parents and teachers open microschools similar to Roots in their own neighborhoods. “Being super big defeats the purpose of what we’re doing. I like knowing each kid and their families. The family relationships are so important,” she said.

About 100 miles north, in rural Appleton, Adrienne Hofmann is also focused on creating an intentionally small, relationship-based, outdoor-focused learning community. 

A former public school teacher in Texas who is also a certified teacher in the state of Maine, Hofmann became more familiar with homeschooling and alternative education during the pandemic. She began formulating her vision for , a newly-licensed, forest-filled early childhood program. “Before this venture, nearly every program I worked for didn’t feel quite right, leaving me yearning for something more fulfilling,” Hofmann told me when I visited her program’s lovely yurt site. “This journey inspired me to create a supportive and nurturing environment initially designed for homeschooling families and now geared toward those seeking a nature and play-based experience, reminiscent of our own childhoods.” 

Located on an off-the-grid, 18-acre parcel, Nature Play All Day will open this fall, enabling children from ages two to six to spend all day outside, playing freely, with no top-down impositions on their learning. Access is crucial for Hofmann, and Maine’s child care subsidies will enable more families to choose her program.

Like all of the founders and educators I met during my Maine visit, Hofmann believes that we are only at the beginning of a growing movement toward smaller, simpler, more holistic educational models. Prompted by the pandemic, more parents and teachers are now seeking and building homespun alternatives to conventional schooling. 

“I like to think that one of the best things to come out of COVID is just how simple things can be,” said Hofmann. 

Small is scalable.

In addition to their small size, microschools are also usually low-cost, highly personalized learning programs, often with a creative curriculum and supple scheduling. They were gaining momentum pre-pandemic and took off following COVID school closures and prolonged remote learning. As someone who has been following alternative education trends for years, I suspected microschooling — and its cousin, homeschooling — would remain above pre-pandemic levels even after schools returned to normal. But I have been pleasantly surprised to see a continued acceleration of these programs in many areas of the country.

Tennessee is a case in point. I recently visited five microschools and related learning models around Nashville and Chattanooga. All of them have launched in the past four years and most opened within the past two years. Their enrollment is quickly rising, and some have already hit capacity with long waitlists. Demand for these start-up schools shows no signs of slowing.

The oldest of the programs I visited opened in August 2020. Located on an organic farm in Smyrna, Tennessee, about 20 miles outside of Nashville, began with one teacher and five homeschooled children, including farmer Lauren Palmer’s own five-year-old. By January 2021, the program had 30 children and two teachers. Today, it is a Reggio Emilia-inspired K-5 farm school, with additional parent-child programming for littler ones, that serves 86 children. 

Blending core academics and interest-driven learning, along with abundant outside time and opportunities to help with farm duties, the farm school is currently at maximum enrollment, with dozens of children on a waitlist. All of the children are recognized homeschoolers, with most attending two to three days a week. The full-time, five-day option costs $900/month. “For the majority of our families, COVID was the catalyst to them beginning their homeschooling journey,” said Kaiti Dewhirst, Bloomsbury Farm’s Director of Education. She says now these families don’t want their children in a conventional classroom. “They see the farm school as an opportunity to preserve childhood wonder.” Dewhirst and her team are in the planning stages of determining how to extend their program to middle school and beyond, as well as serve more families on the waitlist.

In Franklin, another Nashville suburb, opened its doors as a recognized private school in fall 2021 with over 40 learners, including toddlers to fifth graders. Today, it has nearly 100 students and 16 staff members. Founders Greg and Jennifer Biorkman never expected to own a school. Both have backgrounds in business and sales and were working full-time jobs when COVID hit and disrupted the education of their two young boys. They decided to create their ideal learning environment with trained Montessori teachers and a focus on child-centered learning. 

“We truly could not find a school we wanted to send our children to,” said Jennifer. “It was simple supply and demand.” Last year, Greg left his corporate job to oversee Harpeth Montessori full time, and is planning to expand the program to middle schoolers in the fall while managing a growing waitlist. 

“This community is very open to alternatives to conventional education but there are not a lot of options,” he said, acknowledging that there is a lot of opportunity for other entrepreneurial parents and teachers to launch small schools.

Further south, the Chattanooga area has some of the newest microschools and related learning models in the state. In fall 2022, Rebecca Ellis opened in Chattanooga with 32 K-6 students. A Charlotte Mason-inspired hybrid homeschool program, Canyon Creek learners attend full-time classes three days a week focused on core academics and deep nature study, while working through curriculum at home on the remaining two days. Today, Canyon Creek Christian Academy has more than 50 learners with five full-time teachers and additional part-time instructors. 

The Academy recently leased additional church space next door to continue to accommodate its growing enrollment. “We are getting more kids trying to pull out of the public school system,” said Ellis, who says her program’s low-stress, child-focused environment is appealing to parents — especially those whose children are growing anxious in test-heavy conventional schools. Canyon Creek’s low annual tuition, currently set at $3,750, is also attractive, costing significantly less than other local private schools.

Just a few miles down the road in Chattanooga, also opened in fall 2022. Founded by Rachel Good, who worked as a public school teacher in Washington and Tennessee for over eight years, Discovery Learners’ Academy, is a state-recognized private school with a personalized educational approach that opened with 21 learners and today has 50 — about 15 of whom attend part-time as homeschoolers. Half of all the school’s students are neurodiverse, a population that Good caters to as a former special education teacher. Indeed, her inability to fully serve special needs students in the conventional school system was one of the reasons she left the public schools. “I was always trying to advocate for these kids and was always hitting a brick wall,” said Good.

At $7,000 a year, Discovery Learners’ Academy is about half the cost of most traditional private schools in the area, and less than the $10,850 a year that the local Hamilton County public schools per student. Even so, tuition is still financially out-of-reach for many families, and the school currently doesn’t qualify for the state’s small education choice program. “It’s so heartbreaking when a parent asks if they can use their voucher here and I have to say no,” said Good, who is supportive of current efforts by Tennessee lawmakers to expand school choice policies.

The newest microschool I visited in the Volunteer State opened in August in Cleveland, just outside of Chattanooga. is a home-based learning pod for homeschoolers that is part of the fast-growing Acton Academy network that includes more than 300 independently-operated, learner-driven microschools, serving thousands of students. 

In spring 2023, Alexis and JT Rubatsky listened to a podcast with Acton Academy co-founder, Jeff Sandefer, explaining the philosophy of learner-driven education where young people are empowered to pursue their passions while mastering core curriculum content. They were hooked, and knew immediately that it was the type of education they wanted for their two boys, ages six and 11. “Our kids weren’t thriving in school, and as a teacher, I saw that there was so much focus on the tests, on shoving information down their throats,” said Alexis, who quit her job teaching high school biology in the local public schools to open Triumph. The year started with five learners, including the Rubatskys’ two boys. Half-way through their first year, enrollment has more than doubled to 11 learners and the founders know it won’t be long before they outgrow their home-based classroom for a larger space.

“I would love for there to be lots of options,” said Alexis, who is encouraged by the growth of microschools and related models in Tennessee and across the U.S. She is already connecting with local founders like Rachel Good, who is working to build community among the entrepreneurial parents and teachers who are creating these new options. Working collaboratively, these small schools can have an even greater impact.

“I want to support these innovative educators,” said Good. “We need to have that variety of options.”

In my semi-weekly , I interview the everyday entrepreneurs who are creating affordable, innovative schools and learning spaces all across the U.S. I reached out to 10 entrepreneurs who recently appeared on the show to see what encouragement or advice they would offer to aspiring founders. Each of their programs is distinct, representing an assortment of educational models and methods; but they share a common commitment to building individualized, low-cost learning solutions that provide an increasingly accessible alternative to traditional schooling. 

If you have been feeling the tug toward educational entrepreneurship, the following insights from these 10 founders may be just the nudge you need to take your own enterprising leap this year:

1. Listen to Families: “Network and learn from families within your community. Build your model in a way that meets needs while also staying true to your vision. Lastly, tap into others who have had success in breaking educational barriers. We are out here to support you and watch you thrive!” (Mercedes Grant is a former public school teacher and founder of , a K-8 microschool in Yorktown, Virginia. She launched her program this fall with over 30 learners and a long waiting list)

2. See Beyond the Existing System: “If you’ve spent any time working in the traditional school system, you’ve seen it fail students simply for not fitting into the required boxes. Consider your values, be bold, separate yourself from that system, and build a new box for some of those young people.” (Josh Pickel is a former public school teacher and founder of , a full-time self-directed learning center for teens in Canton, Illinois)

3. Don’t Ignore Your Instincts: “If you are hearing a voice inside telling you to open a school, whether it’s a whisper or a scream, please listen to it! That voice is the sound of little humans begging for something different; that makes more sense; that prepares them for life (and lets them enjoy it)! They need you — now more than ever. It might not be easy, but it’s worth it! So get to it. I’ll be cheering you on.” (Heather DiNino is a former public school teacher and founder of , a learner-directed PreK-12 microschool in Braintree, Massachusetts)

4. Break the Mold — It Might Be Scary But Will Be So Much More Fulfilling: “There will be days that feel as though this is an experiment and the temptation to return to the status quo is real. That former place may not have been fulfilling, but at the very least, it was more predictable. On days like that, don’t give in. The work you will embark on is breaking generational cycles, and you are a trailblazer in your own right. You will guide, mentor, inspire, learn, unlearn, adventure, discover, and transform the way education is experienced. You will connect and move past your fears, inspiring the next generation of world changers to dream big and take action. You won’t settle for standardized ways of being and will never ‘fit the mold.’ You were never meant to and that is what makes what you’re doing worth it! You have a vision that our kids need. You have a vision that our world needs. Run with it! I’m cheering you on and so are the many other founders who wake up each day knowing that this community belongs to all who are daring enough to dive in!” (Lizette Valles is a former teacher and school librarian who founded in Los Angeles, California in 2021. It is an experiential, learner-centered microschool embracing holistic, trauma-informed educational practices)

5. Be Part of the Change You Want to See: “Traditional education may be the mainstream but our children deserve innovative options. Listen to the calling for education reform! Your unique vision and mission to meet the educational needs of all children will have great rewards.” (Sharon Masinelli is a physician associate and founder of , a K-12 hybrid homeschool program in Kennesaw, Georgia with 120 students who attend full-day classes with hired teachers two to three days a week)

6. Seize This Innovative Moment in Time: “I think now is an energizing moment for visionary education entrepreneurs to push forward on a new frontier in education. The seeds for new ideas in education were planted years ago by strong and relentless school choice advocates in states such as Arizona. As a founder of an all-male microschool, I’m grateful for the waves of support from parents and others in Arizona. The future is here.” (Jack Johnson Pannell founded a public charter school in Baltimore, Maryland before launching a private microschool, , this fall in Phoenix, Arizona)

7. Know Your Limits:“Know your strengths, know your passions, but most importantly, know your limits. When I finally realized that by trying to serve everyone I would only end up recreating the system we are all trying to leave—a system in which the highest priority is efficiency, not quality or the health of the educator—it freed me to create the school I knew I could sustain based on my unique talents, passions, and limitations.” (Devan Dellenbach is a former public school teacher and founder of , a home-based K-12 microschool in rural Abbyville, Kansas that launched earlier this year and continues to expand to meet local demand)

8. Keep Experimenting:“The world is ready for new education models. We know things have to change, and our young people deserve change. Keep experimenting, keep moving things forward, and keep listening to the young heroes.” (Danelle Folz-Smith founded in Venice, California in 2013. Her K-12 school is part of the fast-growing, learner-driven Acton Academy microschool network that began with one school in Austin, Texas in 2009 and now includes more than 300 schools serving thousands of learners)

9. Maintain Confidence While Swimming Against the Current: “A big part of this is actually just the deschooling process from a lifetime spent in the conventional school system. Then there’s also the uneasy feelings you have when you’re stepping out of line, going against the grain, and bucking the system… which is exactly what you’re doing. I’m mid-way through my second year and while I’m much better about all that now, I still regularly turn to all the great literature on self-directed education for reassurance! You’re NOT alone and it’s good, needed, and purposeful work!” (Troy Salazar is a former public school teacher and founder of , a full-time K-12 learning center for homeschoolers in Des Moines, Iowa)

10. Always Remember You’re Helping to Change the World: “A little progress towards building alternative education ends up changing the world.” (Tara Cassidy is a former public school teacher who launched in the Kansas City area as a full-time K-12 microschool that provides maximum curriculum choice and customization within a project-based, collaborative learning environment. Cassidy launched her program in August 2022 and is now at capacity with over 30 students and a long waiting list)

The poll, released late last year by education advocacy group Yes. Every Kid. and conducted in October by WPA Intelligence, surveyed 504 registered voters across the state. Nearly every voter polled (97%) agreed that all students should have access to the best public schools, regardless of race, gender or income.

More than two-thirds (67%) of voters and an overwhelming majority (72%) of parents said students should be able to attend the public school of their choice, regardless of attendance boundaries. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 4.4%.

The elimination of attendance zones, commonly referred to as open enrollment, has become a priority for some school choice proponents. In recent years governors in several states, including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, have moved towards eliminating certain enrollment rules and restrictions.

While more than two dozen states specifically allow open enrollment, Virginia is among a handful of states that leaves the decision to school districts, according to the Education Commission of the States.

Craig Hulse, executive director of Yes. Every Kid., said Virginia still retains arbitrary attendance boundaries that haven’t been modified in decades and have long been discriminatory to students. The location of a child’s house often reflects the quality of education they will receive in their school district, disregarding those in underserved communities.

“Because of real estate in the United States, and Virginia specifically, boundaries sort of create haves and have-nots,” Hulse said. “Simply because you can’t afford a bigger, nicer house and a nicer neighborhood with a nicer school, you’re not allowed to go to that school.”

Since its inception in 2019, Yes. Every Kid., which works as part of the wider Stand Together Trust network, has worked to expand open enrollment policies across the country.

Nearly 84% of voters in the new poll agreed that low-income Virginia students should have access to the same public schools as students in high-income households.

The Senate’s Joint Economic Committee reported in 2019 that the average U.S. zip code associated with the highest performing public elementary school has four times the median home price than the average neighborhood associated with the lowest performing elementary schools.

Earlier this month, Virginia Del. Jason Ballard wrote a column in The Roanoke Times announcing that he plans to introduce legislation to eliminate attendance boundaries.

Ballard said the state needs to become a more student-centered education system. “There is no legitimate reason to deny a Virginia student who lives outside of a school’s zoning boundaries from enrolling there if the school has available capacity,” he wrote.

“The current system has proven to be a barrier to quality education and upward mobility, particularly for students in lower-income families.”

The inequalities can be a contributing factor to deepening segregation between schools, according to a 2020 study from Virginia Commonwealth University and Penn State University. This can especially occur in elementary schools, which have smaller and more compact attendance boundaries.

Lindsey Burke, director for the Center for Education Policy with the Heritage Foundation, said the pandemic has been a “punctuation mark” on issues caused by tying housing to education.

“If you were a family with a child in a school district that decided to shut down completely or do long-term emergency remote instruction, and it wasn’t serving you well, you had very little recourse if you weren’t able to move,” Burke said.

Though the pandemic has triggered more states to move in the direction of open enrollment, some states dismantled their boundaries years ago, she said.

Students in Colorado and Wisconsin have been able to cross district lines for more than two decades, according to the Reason Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy research organization.

All schools in Florida are required to offer open enrollment within districts and between districts, according to the foundation. Nearly 273,500 students utilized these options during the 2018-2019 school year.

While advocates say there aren’t many valid reasons for opposing open enrollment, there can be some disadvantages such as transportation. Some districts don’t have enough drivers or buses to transport students who want to go to schools outside of their attendance boundaries.

Students in Virginia’s Richmond Public Schools can apply to three out-of-zone schools, but they won’t receive district transportation, and acceptance can vary depending on building capacity or staffing numbers.

Burke said besides creating more access and equality, open enrollment can help improve low-performing schools.

“You don’t see this mass wave of public schools shutting down,” Burke said. “What you see is more of an impetus for underperforming districts to start responding better to the needs of families.”

Hulse said students who are able to choose the school they want to attend tend to perform better.

Another key data point from the December poll that Hulse says points to public support for breaking down boundaries: Two-thirds of voters disagreed that any child should be forced to stay in a school they don’t want to be in.

“They see how discriminatory it is. If public schools should truly be public, it’s similar to a public hospital — we would never say, ‘You don’t have the right zip code to go to that public hospital,’” Hulse said. “‘You don’t get access to that simply because you can’t afford its neighborhood.’ That sounds so wildly crazy.”

Disclosure: Stand Together Trust provides financial support to ����Ӱ��.