EdChoice Statement on Arizona ESA Ballot Initiatives 

Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program is the oldest in the nation and remains the gold standard for education freedom, most closely reflecting the vision first articulated by Milton Friedman: a system where all families can choose from all options, supported by flexible, student-centered funding. 

Today, over 100,000 Arizona students participate in the ESA program, with demand continuing to grow each year. Public support for school choice and education savings accounts is strong across demographics, especially among Arizona parents.  

Yet, two separate ballot initiatives have been filed that, if successful, would impose new restrictions on the program. One — led by the teachers’ unions and their allies who have long opposed education choice — would impose harmful income limits for families, force private schools to administer state standardized tests and prevent families from rolling over ESA funds for future expenses. Another — sponsored by some supporters of school choice concerned with recent unfounded criticisms of the Arizona program — would, in the name of “protecting” the ESA program, impose government-approved testing and place limits on the vendors and curricula used by families.  

Imposing income limits and restricting rollovers are unnecessary—indeed counterproductive—because ESA expansion saves money:  More ESA students means fewer higher-cost public-school students. Efforts to impose government-approved curricula, testing, and vendors are likewise unnecessary because Arizona’s ESA program already includes strong guardrails to ensure accountability and appropriate use of funds. Parents are the best judge of a school’s effectiveness, and they sign a legal contract with the state. All expenditures must be approved by the Arizona Department of Education, which has the authority to reclaim funds in cases of misuse. EdChoice’s analysis of ESA transactions confirms that unallowable spending is rare and limited in scope, demonstrating that the program is already working as intended. Adding new restrictions would do little to improve accountability while directly reducing the flexibility that families value most.   

While these efforts come from very different perspectives, EdChoice has concluded that they share a serious, common flaw: both initiatives would undermine a program that already works for over 100,000 students. Arizona’s ESA program should be emulated, not scaled back. 

Milton Friedman’s greatest worry about the implementation of educational choice was the threat of government regulatory overreach. He once famously said, “The state is most dangerous when it claims to protect you.” If Friedman were alive to discuss these referenda, he would warn that, regardless of intent, both initiatives would result in increasing regulations on private schools and limiting choices for Arizona parents. 

No government program is perfect, and the Arizona legislature might undertake careful, proportionate improvements. Sweeping ballot initiatives such as these, however, risk overreacting to high-profile stories and unnecessarily limiting flexibility for families. 

As EdChoice President and CEO Robert C. Enlow explains, “Milton Friedman envisioned a system that trusted families, not systems, to make decisions about their children’s education. It is deeply disappointing to see efforts, well-intentioned or not, that would restrict a program he would recognize as the gold standard for educational freedom. Arizona should be protecting and strengthening its model. It should be doing what Florida is doing in the face of relentless criticism: expanding the program, not placing new limits on it.” 

With education freedom, what families value most are flexibility and customization—the ability to choose what works best for their children. Efforts to place limits or “protect” the program through unnecessary restrictions harm families and undermine the entire enterprise. Education freedom cannot flourish when smothered by homogenizing, burdensome regulations.  

Ultimately, education freedom must be protected from government overreach and allowed to flourish. Arizona’s ESA program is popular, growing, and delivering real opportunities for families. The focus should remain on expanding access, ensuring sustainable funding, and making thoughtful improvements through established processes — not on ballot initiatives that increase government overreach and limit parent choices.  

For these reasons, EdChoice opposes both initiative petitions and urges policymakers, advocates, and stakeholders to work collaboratively to strengthen, not constrain, one of the most successful school choice programs in the country.