An edited version of this interview aired on the Friday morning broadcast of KAWC's Arizona Edition on February 16, 2024.
Nearly two years into the expansion ofEmpowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), heralded by a majority Republican state legislature and former Governor Doug Ducey, what does the data show about how and who they are working for?
Today, at more than 72,000, there are more ESA recipients than there are students in the largest public school district in the state – the Mesa Unified School District serves about 58,000 students.
So, how does the ESA program work? What kind of flexibility, or choice, do parents have in how they spend ESA funds? What does school choice look like in rural Arizona?
And who's minding the store?
With competing narratives from Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, and a looming state budget deficit Hobbs pins on ESA expansion – how does the politics influence the policy?
Dave Wells is Research Director at the Grand Canyon Institute.Research by the organization is focused on what the data shows, good or bad, about how the expansion of ESA programs in Arizona is working, and where.
Also, what data is not available to take a deeper look at outcomes and cost – and how the Arizona Legislature could help.
