EDUCATION FORWARD ARIZONA CALLS FOR URGENT ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EMPOWERMENT SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNT PROGRAM
Too many Arizona students and families are being left behind.
Phoenix, AZ – In light of mounting reports of alleged waste, fraud, and a stunning lack of oversight in Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, Education Forward Arizona once again calls for immediate and meaningful reforms that assure accountability and transparency for the outcomes families and the state deserve.
Arizona expects more for our students and communities. Unfortunately, the evidence is clear that ESA dollars are still being disbursed despite the clear lack of adequate performance standards, measurements for student success, and oversight to prevent fraud.
“The Empowerment Scholarship Program, as it currently stands, is failing Arizona’s students and wasting taxpayer dollars,” said Rich Nickel, President and CEO of Education Forward Arizona. “Instead of expanding opportunity, it’s become a taxpayer-funded black hole, channeling public dollars into unregulated spending and private gain, with none of the accountability required of most educational institutions.”
Since the inception of the current ESA program in 2022, the program has grown exponentially in cost and scope while sidestepping nearly every accountability measure that Arizona applies to public districts and, in many cases, charter schools. This includes little to no academic performance reporting, audits, or transparency on student outcomes.
Education Forward Arizona holds ESAs to the same standards it holds for public investments in education—whether in a public school, a charter, or to another school through vouchers. There must be accountability, transparency, and oversight that ensures that Arizona improves the education outcomes that taxpayers agree on—those outlined in the Arizona Education Progress Meter. The current ESA program’s spiraling dysfunction makes it unable to deliver that accountability and offers no clarity on whether it is helping Arizona reach its education performance goals.
We ask all Arizonans to join us in calling on their legislators, the Governor, and the Arizona Department of Education to implement usage controls, academic performance tracking, public reporting, and fraud protections immediately to increase accountability of Arizona’s ESAs.
The urgency is clear. Disruptions to Arizona’s K–12 system are eroding education quality, jeopardizing our goal for every child to read proficiently by third grade—a milestone tied to high school graduation and readiness for college or career training. When we fall short, Arizona’s workforce falls short. Greater accountability for ESAs will mean more students ready for high-skill jobs. Research from Education Forward Arizona and Helios shows the state has billions to gain in potential revenue. To learn more about the value of education, visit everythingtogain.org.