What is the Empowerment Scholarship Account program in Arizona?

Nick Sullivan, Arizona Republic
Updated ·1 min read

Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program has exploded in popularity since 2022, when the state Legislature expanded its scope beyond specific groups of students, like those with special needs, to include every kid in Arizona.

Students enrolled in the voucher program can use public money to pay for education expenses such as private school tuition, supplies and tutoring. As of June, roughly 75,000 students were enrolled.

The Empowerment Scholarship Account program — the ESA program, for short — will cost taxpayers an estimated $864.4 million for the upcoming school year, according to the Arizona Department of Education.

Arizona lawmakers expanded the Empowerment Scholarship program, but it will be difficult, if not impossible, to track the increased spending and any improvement in student performance.
Arizona lawmakers expanded the Empowerment Scholarship program, but it will be difficult, if not impossible, to track the increased spending and any improvement in student performance.

The program has garnered criticism from some public school advocates and Democratic lawmakers who say it lacks proper safeguards and siphons state dollars away from an underfunded public school system.

What is ESA in education?

ESA stands for Empowerment Scholarship Account, which is the name of Arizona’s education voucher program.

Funds are disbursed on a quarterly basis to families enrolled in the program. Families can pay for services in several ways:

  • Direct Pay, through which vendors, schools or providers upload invoices to the payment portal and are paid through it;

  • Marketplace, which has a list of preapproved items or services; or

  • Reimbursement, where a family pays out of pocket and then submits a receipt.

Most students receive between $7,000 and $8,000, according to the Education Department, though award amounts have most recently ranged from about $4,600 to more than $44,000. Students with disabilities receive more money on average than their peers who do not have disabilities.

Parents can apply for the program on the department’s website. The application process is annual. Students must meet certain eligibility requirements. For example, students must be 5 years old on Jan. 1 of the year they apply.

Reach the reporter at nicholas.sullivan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What is the Arizona ESA program?