Education advocacy groups push for reform of Arizona’s voucher program

Various education advocacy groups are looking to reform Arizona’s universal voucher program, as that reform could end up on voters’ ballots this fall. A recently released ballot initiative seeks income caps and other regulations on the Empowerment Scholarship Account program.

Advocates say the reforms are necessary to pull back on the $1 billion being spent on Arizona’s voucher program. The “Protect Education, Accountability Now” initiative would require all voucher-funded schools to uphold the same rules public schools do. This includes maintaining background checks for all employees, as well as other health and safety standards.

Guidelines would also prevent ESA funds from being used on non-educational materials. While those purchases have already been banned by Arizona law, many reports show automatic approval for transactions under $2,000 that went towards jewelry, lingerie and luxury goods.

The State’s Department of Education recently released new data showing the program had approximately 100,000 students enrolled in 2025, and spent nearly $1 billion. In order to get the initiative on the November ballot, supporters will need to gather nearly 266,000 signatures by July 2.

Beth Lewis, Executive Director at Save Our Schools Arizona, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss this initiative.