Clashing with Dems’ Education Plan, Republicans Expand Reach in AZ’s Legislature

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This article is part of The 74’s EDlection 2024 coverage, which takes a look at candidates’ education policies and how they might impact the American education system after the 2024 election.

Despite record spending by Democrats to flip lawmaker seats in Arizona, Republicans have expanded their majority in the state legislature, with the party seeking to grow private school vouchers and their victory casting doubts on the future of public school funding. 

“This is the most conservative legislature in history. We will continue to deliver a conservative agenda that will protect liberty and promote prosperity,” Senate President Warren Petersen wrote on X. “With our expanded majority we will make sure our communities are safe and that our kids have the best educational opportunities possible.”

The swing state’s legislative prospects garnered the national spotlight and a flood of campaign spending, with nearly $20 million being spent to elect lawmakers across both parties in 13 races. Democrats focused most energy in five close races in suburban Tucson and Phoenix that could have shifted the Republicans’ previous two-vote majorities. 

Now with the control of both houses, the Republican party can act on their promise to grow the Empowerment Scholarship voucher program, which sends tax dollars to private schools and reimburses families for homeschooling expenses. 

Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs has attempted to curtail ESA growth, stating when she took office it “would likely bankrupt the state.” Arizona is considered an unofficial beacon for school choice, the first in the nation to offer families anything resembling a voucher in 2011.

The ESA program, expanded to all families under Republican leadership past its original design to support kids with disabilities or in underperforming schools, was nearly $100 million over budget last year. 

The state’s schools chief has said it’s impossible to credit the program, which most recently cost the state about $718 million to support 78,000 students, as causing deficits in the state budget, pointing to an overall surplus in the Department of Education because of declines in projected charter spending. 

Whether or not the state’s budget will be further strained by Republicans’ legislative agenda to expand the program, in its current iteration, it’s also been criticized for lack of accountability. Parents were able, for example, to reimburse $800 driving lessons in luxury vehicles, golf merchandise, and visits to ninja warrior training centers. 

“While you may think this may not be a good use of that family’s ESA funding, at the end of the day, they get a fixed amount of money, and if that’s how they’re going to choose to use it, that’s their prerogative,” ESA director John Ward told ABC15 investigators. 

Today, the nearly 80,000 families enrolled in the program receive about $7,500 for their childrens’ educational expenses. According to the 2022-23 school year, the vast majority of funding went to schools that specialize in serving kids with disabilities, particularly autism, and private, religious schools. 

Roughly 17% of ESA recipients are students with disabilities, a higher proportion than the average in traditional public schools statewide. 

A recent ProPublica investigation revealed low-income families are using the program far less frequently than families in wealthier enclaves. For families living in poverty, the location of private schools and financial responsibility of taking on additional transportation, research, and meals costs makes “school choice” an unrealized promise. 

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