Arizona school vouchers: 2 groups working to get their measures on the November ballot

School vouchers: 2 measures could get on ballot

Two groups are taking aim at Arizona's school voucher program, and both groups are working to get their measures on the November ballot. FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez explains.

PHOENIX - Two groups are taking aim at Arizona’s school voucher program, and they want voters to weigh in, come November.

The backstory:

Arizona launched its Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program in 2012 to assist students with disabilities. 10 years later, in 2022, Arizona became the first state in the nation to expand the program to allow all children access to state funds for private school tuition, homeschooling, or other educational needs.

The program costs taxpayers around $1 billion per year, and some, like parent Kathy Boltz, have some critiques of the program, as it currently stands.

"Since universal expansion, the voucher program hasn’t really focused on the students that it was originally set up for, the students with disabilities," said Boltz, who has relied on ESA vouchers to fund her disabled son's online schooling for nine years.

Big picture view:

The teachers' unions are pushing for the "Protect Education Act" to be on the November 2026 ballot. The proposed measure would require all voucher-funded schools to follow academic standards, investigate misconduct, conduct background checks, and ban vouchers for non-educational items. It would also institute a family income cap at or below $150,000.

"You can sign your name and say ‘I want to vote to make sure that my taxpayer money is spent correctly,’" said Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association.

"There have been purchases of things like lingerie. Jewelry, household appliances. It really makes me furious as a taxpayer. It makes me wonder if those kids who parents are spending their education funds that way – are those kids getting an education?" said Boltz.

Meanwhile, a pro-school choice campaign called Fortify AZ is pushing for the "Reform & Accountability Act." The proposal would maintain universal eligibility, while also adding guardrails on how vouchers are spent, as well as requiring background checks on educators.

"The teachers union initiative would gut school choice in Arizona for more than 100,000 kids," read a portion of a statement released by American Federation for Children CEO Tommy Schultz. "We are taking the fight to the unions’ turf and, more importantly, to the voters who are clearly on our side."

What's next:

Both campaigns need to collect around 300,000 signatures to qualify their measure for the ballot.