Grand Canyon Times

In 2011, Arizona became the first state to create an Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program that “allows parents to opt their children out of public district or charter schools and receive a portion of their public funding deposited into an account for defined, but multiple, uses, including private school tuition, online education, education therapies, private tutoring or future educational expenses,” according to EdChoice.org. 

That program expanded to a universal ESA program through a law signed by then-Gov. Doug Ducey (R) in July 2022. 

Steve Smith, Arizona state director of the American Federation for Children, told the Grand Canyon Times that, "The ESA program is designed to provide education equality to all students as they receive the same amount of funding. This is a dream come true to so many low-income and minority families [who] have typically been those disenfranchised the most." 

In February 2023, the Grand Canyon Times reported that newly-elected Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs' (D) proposed budget included repeal of the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program.

Just one month later, the Arizona Department of Education reported that the number of Arizona students participating in the ESA program surpassed 50,000.  

In March 2023, the Grand Canyon Times reported that the Arizona Department of Education expressed support for the state's school choice program and said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is "committed to growing" the program. 

"ESAs give parents the ability to send their children to the school that best suits them," said the department. "Superintendent Horne’s administration is committed to growing this program and helping all students receive a quality education!  

In April 2023, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne expressed his support for the ESA program on an interview on the “Students Over Systems” podcast, reported the Grand Canyon Times. 

“Competition’s good for everyone,” said Horne. “If a school is complaining that the fact that they have competition from a private school means that a student may leave, the solution to that is for them to do a better job academically, get better results academically, so the parent will want to keep the student there.”

On April 28, 2023, the Grand Canyon Times reported that Florida became the latest state to create an ESA program, making Arizona one of 11 states with ESAs. 

In May 2023, a Grand Canyon Times analysis of tweets by Gov. Hobbs’ withdrawn candidate for the Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments showed a history of advocacy for the repeal of the state’s ESA program. 

Despite her proposed budget's repeal of the ESA program, in May 2023, Hobbs signed a budget that did not include a repeal.

On May 26, 2023, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee (R) criticized Hobbs after the governor declared a $50 million school choice grant for all-day kindergarten "illegal and invalid." 

“Governor Hobbs has just denied thousands of Arizona kids access to kindergarten through this politically driven and belligerent decision," said Yee. "As has become the norm for this governor, my office first learned of her action through a press release prior to receiving the letter, and we have yet to receive any communication from the Governor or her team on this matter other than the letter. Our legal team is currently reviewing the lawfulness of the governor’s move and determining next steps.”