Marana, Arizona
Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program is an innovative school choice initiative that allows parents to use state funding that would have gone to their child’s public school to instead pay for approved educational expenses. These expenses include tuition at a private school, online learning programs, special education therapies, textbooks, curriculum, and more.
The ESA program gives parents the flexibility to create a customized education plan tailored to their child’s unique needs. Unlike traditional school vouchers, ESAs allow families to use the funds for a wide variety of approved expenses over multiple years. Parents can roll over unused funds from year-to-year to save up for future expenses.
Importantly, the ESA program does not cost Arizona taxpayers any additional money (even though major media outlets in Arizona have claimed it does). The legislation funding ESAs ensures that the accounts are entirely revenue neutral. With the ESA program, the money that would pay for that student’s education in a neighborhood public school simply follows that student to whichever school option the parents choose for their child. The funding is tied directly to the child no matter what education option the parents select.
Here is a number breakdown – Arizona public school students in fiscal year 2023 were allocated $14,025 per student from multiple sources, while the ESA Program students in grades 1-12 may expect to receive approximately $7,000. Notice the difference of approximately $7,025.00 per student?
By empowering parents to choose the best educational fit for their child without spending any additional public funds, Arizona’s ESA program provides a model for expanding school choice nation-wide. Parents across Arizona have more control over their child’s education while taxpayers do not pay a single cent more. The ESA program is a win-win for families, customization of learning, and responsible use of public funds.
Readers can learn more here: https://www.azed.gov/esa