Empowerment Scholarship Accounts
Coverage of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts in the Nexus archive.
- Judge tosses GOP voucher measure that would have blocked all future reforms
A Republican-backed ballot measure in Arizona, Proposition 145, was dismissed by a judge for violating the state constitution's Separate Amendment Rule. The measure aimed to protect private school voucher funding for military families but included provisions that would have banned future reforms to the voucher system.
- Why Save Our Schools Arizona is suing to stop the GOP’s trickery aimed at blocking voucher reforms
Save Our Schools Arizona is suing Republican lawmakers over HCR2048, a bill accused of using military families as a pretext to block the Protect Education Act, a voter-approved initiative to reform Arizona's private school voucher program. The lawsuit claims HCR2048 is unconstitutional, violating Arizona's separate amendment rule by linking unrelated provisions to invalidate the voter initiative.
- Voucher oversight fight tilts GOP superintendent primary toward Kimberly Yee over Tom Horne
Kimberly Yee leads Tom Horne in the GOP primary for Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the race centered on oversight of the state's school voucher program. Yee, a former state treasurer, aims to unseat Horne, an 81-year-old incumbent. The winner will face Democrat Teresa Leyba Ruiz in November.
- Voucher oversight initiative turns in 420k signatures, more than enough to make the ballot
A ballot initiative to increase oversight of Arizona’s school voucher program, the Protect Education Act, submitted over 420,000 signatures, exceeding the required threshold for the November ballot. The initiative proposes restrictions on the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, including income caps and prohibitions on luxury purchases, and faces potential opposition from voucher supporters.
- After compromise dies, Arizona GOP rushes through ballot referral to block voucher reforms
Arizona Republican lawmakers rushed through a constitutional amendment to block reforms to the state’s school voucher program after a failed compromise with the Arizona Education Association. The proposed amendment, framed as protecting military families, includes language that would broadly prevent reforms to the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts system, according to Democrats.
- Audit finds Arizona’s universal school voucher oversight is ‘haphazard,’ riddled with gaps
An audit revealed the Arizona Department of Education's oversight of the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) voucher program was haphazard and lacked risk-based auditing processes, leading to automatic approval of unallowable purchases like amusement park tickets and a $1,000 generator. The department prioritized resolving payment backlogs over complying with a 2024 law requiring collaboration with the Auditor General's Office, and nearly 2.3 million sub-$2,000 transactions worth $654 million were automatically processed without required oversight.