Are Montessori Schools Public or Private? How to Find Tuition-Free Options

Most Montessori schools in the US are private and charge tuition, but several hundred are public and tuition-free from kindergarten. NCES estimates 2,378 private Montessori schools in 2023-24 (NCES, Table C-1), and in June 2026 the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS) counted 596 public Montessori schools and programs in 43 states and Washington, DC (NCMPS). Public programs often admit by lottery, and some charge for the preschool years.

How Many Montessori Schools Are Public?

Of the 596 public schools and programs NCMPS counted, 366 are district schools, including 85 magnet programs, and 230 are charter schools. Together they serve just under 200,000 children. They are spread thin. NCMPS found 118 district schools that are the only Montessori program in their district, while the 12 districts with five or more programs account for 62 schools between them.

What Kinds of Public Montessori Schools Are There?

A district school may be Montessori from top to bottom, or it may run Montessori classrooms alongside conventional ones in the same building. Magnet schools are district schools built to draw families from across the district, usually through an application. Charter schools get public money but are run independently under a charter, and NCMPS reports that almost all of the 230 Montessori charters are stand-alone programs.

All of them follow state rules. Teachers generally need a state teaching license, children take the state’s standardized tests, and the calendar follows the district or the charter. Montessori training for teachers is a separate question, so ask about it for your child’s class.

Is Public Montessori Really Free?

From kindergarten on, there is no tuition. The preschool years are where costs creep in. Montessori primary classes start at age 3, while most state-funded pre-K starts at 4, and districts often have to find money for the extra year. Shaw Montessori, a district school in Phoenix, began charging $500 a month for 3-year-olds in 2025 (The 74, November 2025).

A 2021 Child Trends study of 288 public Montessori pre-K programs found that only about a third were free for all children (Child Trends, March 2021). Local preschool money sometimes fills the gap, and our cost guide shows one example along with the tax help that applies to preschool. Before and after school care can carry its own fee too.

How Do Public Montessori Lotteries Work?

When more families apply than there are seats, many programs pick by lottery. In the same Child Trends study, about half of the programs used some form of lottery and most had a waitlist in a typical year. Most also gave certain children priority, such as siblings of current students, children of staff or families in the neighborhood.

Each district writes its own rules, so read them for the year you are applying. Look for these details.

• Who can apply, by home address, attendance zone and age on the district’s cutoff date
• Which preferences apply, and in what order
• When the application window opens and closes, often many months before school starts
• How offers go out, how long you have to accept and what happens to the waitlist
• Whether a child already in the school’s preschool keeps a seat for kindergarten
• Whether the program continues past kindergarten or you will need to apply again later

Our guide on what age to start Montessori explains how cutoff dates work.

How Can I Find a Tuition-Free Montessori Program Near Me?

Start with the Montessori Census, a searchable database of public and private Montessori schools in the US run by NCMPS. Then check your school district’s magnet or school choice page and your state’s list of charter schools, since those pages hold the application rules, the deadlines and the preferences that decide who gets a seat.

Our directory lists public and private schools side by side. Open your state from the US locations page, pick a city and use the Program filter for the age you need.

For ages 3 and 4, ask your state pre-K office or local preschool program which Montessori schools take part.

How Do Public and Private Montessori Schools Compare?

	Public Montessori	Private Montessori
Tuition	None from kindergarten, sometimes charged at age 3 or 4	Charged at every age, with aid at some schools
Admission	Zone, district application or charter enrollment, lottery when full	Application and visit, rules set by the school
Ages	Usually from 3 or 4, a few programs through high school	Set by the school, some from infancy
Teachers	State license required, Montessori training varies	Set by the school, Montessori training varies
Testing	State standardized tests	Depends on the school and the state

Private schools set their own calendars and ages. Some stop at 6, and others run through middle school. Any school can use the Montessori name in either sector, so the classroom visit matters more than the label. Our guides on accreditation and AMI vs AMS explain the outside checks.

What Should I Ask Before Applying?

• Is the whole school Montessori, or only some classrooms?
• Do classes mix three ages, or are children grouped by grade?
• How long is the uninterrupted work period each morning?
• Do lead teachers hold Montessori training for this age level?
• What does the preschool year cost, and is before or after care extra?
• When does the application window close, and which preferences apply?
• What is the last grade offered, and where do most children go next?
• If we are waitlisted, how long does the list stay open?

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