Despite record spending by Democrats to flip Arizona lawmakers’ seats, Republicans have expanded their majority in the state Legislature, with the party trying to grow private school vouchers and their victory casting doubt on the future of public school financing.
“This is the most conservative legislature in history. We will continue to deliver a conservative agenda that will protect freedom and advance prosperity,” Senate President Warren Petersen wrote on X. “With our expanded majority, we will ensure that our communities are safe and that our children have the best possible have educational opportunities.”
The swing state’s legislative prospects brought a national spotlight and a flurry of campaign spending, with nearly $20 million spent to elect lawmakers in both parties in thirteen races. Democrats concentrated most of their energy in five close races in the Tucson and Phoenix suburbs that could have shifted Republicans’ previous two-vote majority.
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With both houses in control, the Republican Party can make good on their promise to expand the Empowerment Scholarship voucher program, which directs taxpayer dollars to private schools and reimburses families for the costs of homeschooling.
Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs has tried to curtail ESA’s growth, saying it would “likely bankrupt the state” when she took office. Arizona is considered an unofficial beacon for school choice, the first in the nation to offer families something resembling a voucher in 2011.
This fall, Arizona voters could turn their ESA program over to Democrats
The ESA program, expanded to all families under Republican leadership and beyond its original intent to support children with disabilities or in low-performing schools, was nearly $100 million over budget last year.
The head of the state’s schools has said it is impossible to credit the program, which recently cost the state about $718 million to support 78,000 students, because it is creating deficits in the state budget, pointing to an overall surplus at the department of Education due to declines in projected charter spending.
Whether or not the state budget will come under further pressure from Republicans’ legislative agenda to expand the program, the current version also faces criticism for a lack of accountability. For example, parents could reimburse for $800 driving lessons in luxury vehicles, golf equipment and visits to ninja warrior training centers.
“While you might think that this might not be a good use of that family’s ESA funding, ultimately they get a lump sum, and if they want to use it that way, that’s their prerogative,” ESA director John Ward told the ABC15 researchers.
Today, the nearly 80,000 families participating in the program receive approximately $7,500 toward their children’s education costs. Through the 2022-2023 school year, the vast majority of funding went to schools that specialize in serving children with disabilities, especially autism, and to private, religious schools.
About 17% of ESA recipients are students with disabilities, a higher percentage than the average in traditional public schools statewide.
A recent ProPublica survey found that low-income families are far less likely to use the program than families in wealthier enclaves. For families living in poverty, the location of private schools and the financial responsibility of taking on additional transportation, research, and meal costs makes “school choice” an unrealized promise.
