The school union-backed ballot initiative isn’t about reform. It’s a calculated demolition of the most successful educational freedom program in the nation.
Imagine a family with three children. Two are thriving in their district school. The third is falling behind—struggling with a learning difference that the system was never designed to meet. Thanks to Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program, those parents found a school that finally fits. Their child is reading. Their child is flourishing.
Now imagine someone knocks on your door and asks you to sign a petition that would take that option away.
That is exactly what is happening on street corners across Arizona right now. Under the banner of “reform” and “accountability,” the Arizona Education Association and Save Our Schools Arizona are circulating a ballot initiative designed to dismantle the most successful educational freedom program in the country. Do not be deceived by the slogan. Read the fine print.
The 15% Purge and 25% Lockout
The canvassers will tell you the initiative targets “luxury purchases” and “fraud.” What they will not tell you is that the proposal’s income cap—set at roughly $150,000 in household income—would immediately remove 15% of current students from the program, according to analysis by the Common Sense Institute.
If it made the ballot and was passed by the voters, the anti-ESA measure would also lock out 25% of Arizona’s families with school-age children from having the chance to attend the school of their choice through the program. “The average income of families in Arizona—that’s two parents and kids at home—is about $120,000. The average Arizona income will soon approach $150,000.” — Katie Ratlief, Executive Director, Common Sense Institute
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne put it plainly: this initiative will punish ESA families who are “just trying to ensure their child’s needs are being met.”
The Double Standard
Here is where the initiative’s moral logic collapses entirely.
If a millionaire in Scottsdale sends a child to a public district school, the state pays the full per-pupil cost—no questions asked. The unions cheer. But if a middle-class family uses a fraction of that same funding to choose a private school or homeschool curriculum that actually works for their child, it is suddenly framed as a drain on public resources.
This reveals the real principle at work: it was never about saving taxpayer dollars. It is about where those dollars are spent. If the money keeps a child in a government-assigned seat, the unions approve. If it empowers a parent to leave that seat, they attack.
Funding should follow students, not systems. That is not a radical idea. It is basic fairness.
Burying Families in Bureaucracy
Perhaps the most insidious element of this proposal is how it weaponizes bureaucracy against the very families it claims to protect.
Proponents say they simply want to stop parents from buying televisions and Disney World tickets. But Arizona law and the State Board of Education already explicitly prohibit those purchases. The rare cases of misspending—less than one-tenth of 1% of total ESA funding—are identified quickly, accounts are suspended, and funds are recovered. That is accountability working as designed.
So, what does the initiative actually change? It replaces the state’s current risk-based auditing system—similar to the model the IRS uses—with a mandatory review of every single transaction, no matter how small. The practical effect is devastating. Parents, especially those in lower-income brackets, would be forced to pay out of pocket for basic school supplies and then wait months for reimbursement while bureaucrats review written justifications for the purchase of pencils.
Meanwhile, public school districts are sitting on $7.8 billion in cash reserves—with no comparable transaction-level transparency required. If fiscal stewardship is truly the concern, that is a conversation worth having.
Erasing the Alternative
The initiative does not stop at punishing families. It also targets the schools they choose.
The proposal would force private schools accepting ESA students to adopt the same mandatory state testing regime used in public schools—the same framework that has produced math and reading proficiency rates below 40% statewide. Parents choose private schools precisely because they offer something different. Forcing those schools to teach to the state test does not improve quality. It eliminates the alternative.
Worse, the initiative explicitly leaves the door open for “further regulation,” handing the state a blank check to expand government control over private education. This is not about accountability. It is about control.
100,000 Students. 100,000 Stories
Behind every ESA is a real child. More than 100,000 Arizona students rely on this program today. Twenty percent of them are students with disabilities—a higher proportion than in public schools. These families receive an average of $7,500 per student, roughly half what public schools spend per pupil. And 66% of all Arizonans—including 73% of parents—support the program.
This is not a controversial fringe policy. It is a proven, broadly supported program that is changing children’s lives. The child with dyslexia who finally learned to read. The student escaping relentless bullying who found safety and belonging. The young person with autism accessing therapies no district could provide. These are the stories the union canvassers hope you never hear.
Decline to Sign, Defend the Freedom to Flourish
When a canvasser approaches you at the grocery store, at a community event, or on your front porch, know what they are really asking. They are not asking you to fix a broken program. They are asking you to dismantle a lifeline for 100,000 Arizona families.
Decline to sign. Then warn your friends, your neighbors, and your church community to do the same. Educational freedom is not a luxury. It is a right—and Arizona families are not going back.
Join Us for Life Night and at the Arizona March for Life
As we face this new and more challenging chapter under Prop 139, gathering together at the State Capitol is a powerful way to show that Arizona’s pro-life movement is still here and still active.
On Friday, February 27, CAP will be hosting Life Night Live 2026, a time of worship, prayer, and encouraging messages from pro-life leaders. Please see the event details and registration here.
The next day, the Center for Arizona Policy team will participate in Arizona’s March for Life. We would love for you and your family to join us as we stand together for life. I will be one of the speakers at this year’s March rally. And the rally lineup features the dynamic and encouraging Dr. Bill Lile, the Pro-Life Doc.
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza (Just outside the State Capitol)
- 11:00 a.m. – Pro-Life Rally
- 12:00 p.m. – Arizona March for Life
Looking forward to seeing you there! Let’s take Vice President Vance’s advice to go forth with joy and walk for the unborn right here in Phoenix.
ICYMI
- See why a new guidance from the US Dept. of Ed could cost Arizona Schools public funding
- Read what the American Society of Plastic Surgeons had to say about transgender surgeries for minors
- See when the FDA believes their review on the abortion pill will be complete
- Watch my podcast interview with my former colleagues at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation about the importance of a case that could be heard by the Supreme Court