Elections create research opportunities for social studies students in Rachael Eggebeen’s class.
The Apollo Middle School teacher presents the class with candidates and issues that directly affect them, she says.
“They do a secret ballot. They vote and then I tally up all my students and the next day, I give them the result,” Eggebeen said. “And then we look as races and decisions are finalized — the ballot measures, votes are finalized.
“We look at where the students agree and disagree with the voters. And we have a conversation about why they might have chosen the same or different,” she told Arizona Luminaria. “I also do not tell students how I vote until after an election is settled.”
With the midterm elections six months away and the moved-up primary on July 21, the conversations — inside and out of the classroom — of who and what will end up on the ballot are happening now.
The rhetoric is vital, education advocates say — especially as campaigns behind dueling ballot measures aim to reform Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program and gather the required 256,000 signatures to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The propositions would instill more oversight over the ESA program — which redirects taxpayer money to private education with an average voucher of about $7,400 per student.
But they vary on program qualification and how they are implemented. As signatures are gathered outside libraries, bars and festivals throughout the state, there’s mounting confusion.
Public education advocates say a second proposition was created to mix up voters.
Yet, accountability and transparency for the nearly $1 billion in public money being directed toward ESAs is key, both educators and reform advocates say.
“It’s hard to meet all kids’ needs. So, I can appreciate that there will be outlier situations in which, yeah, maybe a family does need to use this voucher to pursue services for a student who just really needs individualized care and I can appreciate that,” said Flowing Wells High School teacher Cary Kelly at a proposition rally in March. “But for the system at large, we need accountability. We need to make sure that this public money ensures a certain academic standard. We need to know where it’s going.”
Vouchers/ESA primer
Both vouchers and ESAs redirect taxpayer money to private education. Vouchers typically are used for school tuition, while ESAs are state funds families can use for a broader range of school-related expenses, including tuition.
In Arizona, the ESA program allows a student to use taxpayer funds for anything they need, including private school tuition, tutoring, homeschooling or education materials. As of this week, 102,359 students are in the program, including 1,622 new ones for next school year. For the school year ending in 2024, there were 1.15 million public and charter school students in Arizona, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
Arizona’s ESA program has been flagged by both opponents and supporters who say families abused the system, using the money for lingerie, trips, dirt bikes and more.
“It’s not necessarily that I’m against vouchers. Because yes, sometimes we may not be able to give a student the individual individualized attention they may need. Sometimes they may need to be home schooled or they may need to be in a private school or somewhere where they can get more individualized attention,” Sunnyside Teachers Union President Mari Martinez told Arizona Luminaria. “I have nothing against that. It’s when we’re misusing the money. And worst is we don’t even know where the money is going. Nobody is accountable for it.”
That authorization was less of an issue when the ESA program was created here in 2011. It was intended for K-12 students with special needs, who lived on Tribal Lands, whose parents were in the military, who attended failing public schools or were in the foster care system.
In 2022, about 12,000 students used ESAs when the program expanded to include all students, making Arizona the first state to allow universal eligibility.
This fiscal year, the program is funded at more than $880 million or about 8% of all K-12 funding, Common Sense Institute Arizona says. That means the ESA program was 5% of the total Arizona state budget this year ($17.6 billion.)
About 75 school choice programs exist in 34 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, with just over 1.5 million students enrolled. Last summer, Congress passed the first national school voucher plan as part of President Trump’s domestic policy bill. States must opt into the program, which will begin in January 2027. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill in mid-April that would have made Arizona one of 28 states in that national voucher plan.
“There are fixed costs baked into both (school options),” said Deven Carlson, a University of Oklahoma professor and associate director for education at the Institute for Public Policy Research. “You see (the cost) in the public school sector, but on the private side (the cost) is hidden from taxpayer view.”
“Any time you are committing to funding two different education systems, it’s going to be more expensive than just running one education system,” Carlson told Arizona Luminaria last fall.
Propositions differ
Each ESA reform proposition must get nearly 256,000 signatures by July 2 and if signature requirements are met and verified by the Secretary of State’s Office, the propositions could appear on the ballot in November.
The Protect Education Act aims to reform ESAs, ensure students are safe and learning and trace taxpayer money to make sure it is spent sensibly.
The Act’s primary sponsors are the Arizona Education Association — the union representing teachers and staff throughout the state and Save Our Schools Arizona, a nonpartisan organization advocating for public schools.
This proposal reached 150,000 of its 256,000 required signatures in mid-April.
“Over the last month, I’ve been out in my community collecting signatures to place the Protect Education Act on the ballot and the response has been incredible,” said Kathy Boltz, a Phoenix-area parent at a news conference to celebrate the 150,000 mark. “Arizonans of all walks of life are clearly ready to support this common sense, reasonable initiative that puts the power back in the hands of Arizona voters and protects the benefits of families raising students with disabilities like mine.”
Boltz has used an ESA for her son, who is a high school senior, since 2017. One of the key provisions of the Protect Education Act addresses students with disabilities, who would be exempt from the income cap and test requirement.
The proposition generally includes students enrolled under universal eligibility and directs unused ESA funds returned to public schools. Requirements also include a $150,000 income cap for families, mandated testing of accreditation for ESA-funded schools, fingerprint cards for tutors, service providers and private school teachers. It would ban luxury and noneducational items.
In the first quarter of 2026, the proposition raised nearly $4.6 million.
The second proposal was filed by Fortify AZ, a political action committee formed for this specific purpose and without a website, about a week after the Protect Education Act paperwork was turned in.
The proposition is sponsored by the American Federation for Children, a national school choice advocacy group based in Dallas that supports the universal ESA program.
The key difference between the two is the income cap, which is not part of the Fortify AZ proposition, nor is the directing of unused funds to public schools.
The petitions align broadly on fingerprint cards, some testing and prohibiting big purchases.
Arizona Luminaria reached out twice to the American Federation for Children with questions about the signature drive and proposition language, and to request an interview, but did not receive a reply.
“The teachers union initiative would gut school choice in Arizona for more than 100,000 kids; this pro-school choice initiative makes it durable for generations to come,” American Federation for Children Chief Executive Officer Tommy Schultz said in a statement on its website. “Staying on the sidelines is not an option as one of America’s oldest school choice programs faces an existential threat — we are taking the fight to the unions’ turf and, more importantly, to the voters who are clearly on our side. We will do what it takes to bring this critical measure to the ballot.”
In the first quarter, the second proposition has raised $1.3 million — all from the American Federation for Children.
Previous efforts to rein in the ESA program are complicated: In 2018, Proposition 305 effectively vetoed universal vouchers in Arizona. In 2022, the Legislature overrode that measure and expanded the program to all students. Save Our Schools Arizona attempted to challenge that universal expansion two years later with a ballot referendum but was short of the required signatures.
What’s next
Save Our Schools and the Arizona Education Association are campaigning to “spot the fake” proposition. Supporters say the serial number in the upper right corner is I-09-2026. And the word “voucher” appears in the introductory text.
The competing proposal is a ruse and a decoy, said Save Our Schools Executive Director Beth Lewis.
“We certainly have folks that are confused as to which measure they’ve signed,” she said. “We know that the American Federation for Children is dumping all their money into a fake petition that is just designed to confuse Arizona voters. But luckily because of this incredible coalition, we’ve been able to educate voters that the actual measure looks a certain way.”
But the competing measure means others also see a need for ESA oversight and that is welcome, Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia says.
“We are on track to hit our July 2 (signature) goal, to be able to turn this in and be focused in on what every educator needs in the summer,” Garcia said. “That’s a deep breath, an iced tea and some time with their family.”
Before that, Eggebeen and other teachers have another month or so to work with students — threading the needle to make the connection between their school and home lives, the wider world and the ballot box.
“They have to do the research just like a regular every voter does,” she said. “They’re exploring all sides. And if students come to me and say, ‘Miss, I think we should vote against this initiative or vote for,’ then they have made an informed decision.”
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