Editorial Note: This episode and its companion series are part of a collaborative project with 13 Arizona newsrooms covering two important topics in education. Funded by the Arizona Local News Foundation and Report for America, all stories in the project can be found here.
In this week's Arizona Edition, KAWC education solutions reporter Sisko Stargazer takes over the program for a special look at Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program.
Arizona became the first state in the country to make ESAs universally available, giving families access to public education dollars for approved expenses including private-school tuition, tutoring, curriculum and therapies.
But what does that choice look like in practice?
Hear from Yuma-area parents about why they turned to ESAs, how the program changed what they could afford and the uncertainty families can still face.
Stargazer also looks at the limits of school choice in Yuma and La Paz counties, including private-school availability, transportation and geography, and examines why lower-income communities participate in the ESA program at lower rates.
And as debate over the program continues, parents, public-school leaders and ESA advocates weigh in on financial and academic accountability.
Hear these perspectives and more on this special Educating Yuma takeover of Arizona Edition.
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This reporting is supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
