Grand Canyon Times

More than 48,000 students in Arizona now benefit from Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA), according to the Arizona Department of Education, despite plans by Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) to repeal the program.

According to the Arizona Department of Education, the total number was 48,108 students, as of Feb. 21. But Hobbs' recently proposed budget includes a repeal of the ESA program. According to a previous Grand Canyon Times report, Hobbs says the program funnels funds away from public schools, but the Common Sense Institute has said ESAs actually save the state money.

Steve Smith, Arizona state director of the American Federation for Children, says that rolling back ESAs could affect school choices and aid extended to low-income students.

“If the ESA program were to be eliminated, nearly 50,000 families would have their education of choice ripped away from them, including special needs and disadvantaged families,” Smith said, according to the Grand Canyon Times. “Not only that, but in the wake of COVID-19, which has robbed children of their learning due to school closures, now more than ever, parents need choices to help them to recover from the learning loss their children experienced.”

On July 7, 2022, previous Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. According to the Arizona Department of Education, the ESA program expands educational opportunities for eligible students outside of the public school system; provides public funding that can be used for a wide variety of educational expenses; and pays for private school tuition, educational therapies, tutoring, and more.