PHOENIX — Voters will soon decide who will lead the Arizona Department of Education and elect the superintendent of public instruction.
Overseeing the Arizona Department of Education has become a different job in the last four years — as the U.S. Department of Education is dismantled, as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts have boomed and as diversity equity and inclusion policies are scrutinized.
The four candidates running for superintendent all want to talk ESAs, most want to regulate who can use them and how the funds are used.
Incumbent Republican Tom Horne, who engineered the ESA program in 2012, is running for his second consecutive term (and third overall) against Republican challenger Kimberly Yee, who is Arizona State Treasurer and not running again this go around.
Mental health worker Brett Newby and former Glendale Community College president Teresa Leyba Ruiz will face off in the Democratic primary.
The election is July 21 with early voting beginning June 24. The top candidates from each party will run against each other in the Nov. 3 general election.
At the end of Tom Horne’s second term as Arizona’s superintendent of public instruction in 2011, the Grand Canyon State became the first in the country to create the Empowerment Scholarship Account voucher program.
ESAs redirect taxpayer money to private education with an average voucher of about $7,400 per student. Expenses under $2,000 were automatically approved in 2024.
For the school year ending in 2025, there were 1.1 million public and charter school students in Arizona, according to the Arizona Department of Education. At that point, about 87,000 students were enrolled in the ESA program.
As of June 15, the number of ESA students was 100,713. In 2022, it was about 12,000 students.
The ESA program allows a student to use taxpayer funds for anything they need, including private school tuition, tutoring, homeschooling or education materials. The program was created 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.
Voting FAQs
Here’s what you need to know to participate in the primary election in Arizona in 2026.
Key dates
June 22 — Voter registration deadline
June 24 — Early voting begins
July 10 — Last day to request ballot by mail
July 14 — Last day to mail back ballot
July 17 — Last day to vote early in-person
July 21 — Election Day
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You must have registered to vote by June 22 to participate in the primary election.
Get a ballot
On June 24, ballots are mailed to eligible voters on the Active Early Voting List and other eligible voters who have requested a one-time ballot by mail.
July 10 is the last day to request a ballot by mail — go to the Arizona Voter Information Portal. If you’re in Pima County, you can request a ballot by mail from the county recorder’s office. Find links for all counties.
Mail back your ballot by July 14. You can also drop off a mail-in ballot to be counted on primary election day.
Find a polling place
You can vote early in-person June 24 – July 17. See early voting locations in Pima County.
You can also vote in-person on primary election day, July 21. Use this tool to find a polling place using your address and remember to bring ID.
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. Attorney General Kris Mayes is investigating.
About 76 school choice programs exist in 35 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Nearly a year ago, Congress passed the first national school voucher plan as part of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill. States must opt into the program, which will begin in January 2027. 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. “Any time you are committing to funding two different education systems, it’s going to be more expensive than just running one education system.”
What’s at stake?
The future of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts and their universal access is under scrutiny.
Lingering questions:
• Could ESAs revert to the 2022 model, which restricted who can use them?
• Could the amount for each student vary according to a family’s income?
• Should items labeled as an “educational tool/purpose” be more scrutinized and/or restricted?
Important for Southern Arizona voters is the access for students with special needs who rely on these funds to get services. After the closure here of the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, some students were sent to enroll and find services at other schools. They can use ESAs to do this.
DEI crackdowns — Diversity, equity and inclusion in classrooms and teaching materials was the focus of an executive order from the White House in the last year. The Arizona State Board of Education voted in December to examine state teaching standards, taking the first step towards stripping DEI language. We will know where this is headed by September, when the board considers the draft material proposed by committees. Failure to remove the language could result in withholding an estimated $866 million in federal funds, Horne says.
Dismantling of Department of Education — Is Arizona equipped to deal with the dissolution of the Department of Education as those who most rely on federal money (students with disabilities and who are low-income and those in rural areas) could be most affected by the shutdown? Sweeping changes likely include policy shifts and funding cuts, while the Department of Labor will manage big funds for schools, including Title I money for low-income students.
The capital funding gap — A judge ruled last year that Arizona schools were underfunded by almost $3 billion between 2009 and 2022. The yearslong court battle showed crumbling, moldy schools and aging school buses as examples of inadequate and unconstitutional underfunding for Arizona’s public schools — which, according to the court, requires the Legislature to pay more money to school districts for building maintenance, purchasing adequate equipment and more. As of this month, the Republican-led Legislature appealed to delay the court-required funding — when it said a plan and funding should be in place by November. If the state does not provide a constitutionally acceptable plan, the state treasurer could be blocked from distributing funds to all schools and shut down the K-12 system, the Arizona Capitol Times wrote earlier this month.
Those stakes and that responsibility are why Arizona Luminaria built this guide to serve voters who want to know more about the candidates as they campaign to be the person overseeing public education in this state.
We’ll continue to listen to what voters want to know, so please reach out with questions and story ideas: sconner@azluminaria.org or info@azluminaria.org
What does the Superintendent of Public Instruction do?
The Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction is part of the executive branch of state government and is elected to head the Department of Education. Superintendents are limited to two consecutive terms and serve four years for each term.
Their job is to enforce the State Board of Education’s policies and create and achieve state standards (think testing) for all Arizona public schools, distribute state education funds to counties, certify teachers, determine the course of study and instruction, budget for school transportation, audit school officials accounts with the auditor general and issue school materials and supplies.
Every state has a chief official who heads K-12 instruction and the title varies by state. Only 12 states elect their superintendent. The other 38 appoint the position. Arizona pays its superintendent the least in the country — about $85,000 a year. Maryland is the highest at $337,000 as of 2023.
Who are the candidates?
Tom Horne was the superintendent of public instruction from 2003 to 2011 and then was Arizona’s attorney general. In addition to starting and growing Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, he also advocates against critical race theory and says diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are an extension of critical race theory by another name.
Horne, 81, is also defending a lawsuit challenging a state law that prohibits biological boys from playing on girls’ sports teams. The case is still working its way through the courts.
He says he “is the only state official fighting for the normal against the crazy,” according to paperwork his campaign filed earlier this year with the secretary of state.
Kimberly Yee has been Arizona treasurer since 2018. She was the first Asian-American woman to serve in the Arizona Legislature, where she was in the House and then the Senate from 2010 to 2018.
A native Arizonan, Yee is 52. She supports oversight of the ESA program and would like it to remain universal. She is moving toward exploring other vendors of the ESA program after asking for a request for information to assess the market and improve ESA operations after poor auditing and misspent funds came to light.
In the Republican debate last month, Yee cited an Arizona Auditor General report, which revealed little oversight of the program for private and home-school families. The Department of Education automatically processed about $654 million in ESA transactions since December 2024.
Brett Newby, 43, is a father of two school-age daughters in Phoenix-area public schools.
He is a native Arizonan who began his career working with special-needs students and says he sees the need for ESAs for those students. He is a board certified behavior analyst and works in mental health.
Newby supports the original intent of the ESA program and says he would like to see it help families who most need it.
Full-day kindergarten is a priority and expanding Proposition 123 — education funding from the sale of state land — is also a focus for him.
Terry Leyba Ruiz is the only superintendent of public instruction candidate with a current state teaching license. She has worked in education for 35 years — first as a math teacher and most recently as president of Glendale Community College.
A third-generation Arizonan, she is a parent of two daughters in their 20s. Both her parents graduated from Pueblo High School.
Leyba Ruiz says she would regulate the ESA program — reverting to its original intent before it was universal and calls for more transparency with an ESA dashboard to track spending, end the automatic approval of expenses under $2,000 and ask for a program audit.
She would immediately create an office of rural and small schools for a direct connection with the superintendent’s office, she said. She supports universal pre-K and wants to retain more teachers through higher pay and increased educational access, expanding post-secondary education and training, saying education drives economic growth.
Where the candidates stand
To help Pima County voters differentiate between the candidates in a crowded race, Arizona Luminaria asked each of them key questions.
Democratic candidates Brett Newby and Terry Leyba Ruiz sat down for interviews with Arizona Luminaria. Republican candidate Kimberly Yee agreed to an email interview only and confirmed she answered the six questions submitted to her via email. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne did not respond to five emails, two texts and two phone calls requesting an interview, including two emails with six questions.
Their responses were edited for length and clarity.
Do you support universal access for ESAs? What do you see as the future of this program?
Terry Leyba Ruiz — Our own Auditor General’s Office has said, “You know, there’s no internal controls. There’s no documented process.” Which means they’re not doing what Tom Horne says. They’re not auditing on the back end. This technology already exists. This isn’t new. We would simply take a system and implement something that other agencies are already using. So, that’s something we can do right away: Protect taxpayer resources. Any dollar that’s not being spent on education for our children is a dollar misspent. And we’re very serious about that. As the president of Glendale Community College, I was responsible for a very large budget. I know how to be transparent. I know how to be responsible and accountable. I’m accountable to taxpayers and the public with public resources. That’s missing right now at the Department of Education.
Brett Newby — I would say that we would need to dial it back to the original foundation of the ESA and work to figure out — is it plausible? Is it affordable? Right now it’s not, but is the original emphasis in the money and funds that went to it? Is it still an appropriate thing to fund? And are there better resources and better things that we can do now? And I think that’s something as superintendent, that would be one of my main platforms to look at: Is it feasible for the future?
Or do we need to make those changes and work with the Legislature to make those changes in those sort of things and really looking at can we build it better for the future so that it’s long staying and it’s localized for the kids that need it versus having to bus the
Kimberly Yee — School choice allows parents to choose the best education setting that fits their child’s unique and individual needs. I support all schools, including district public schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschools and tribal schools. As a former member of the Legislature, I was a prime sponsor of the first legislation creating Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) for students with disabilities. I later helped expand ESAs to support low-income families, foster care families and military families. Universal ESAs give families the opportunity to have school choice, with about half of the funding per child that is given to each public district school child. As State Superintendent, I would ensure better management of the ESA program, both fiscally and operationally, using more updated technology for the financial platform that provides the educational marketplace for ESA families — creating a user-friendly system for participating ESA families while ensuring accountability of our taxpayer dollars.
If elected, what does success look like as state superintendent in two years?
Terry Leyba Ruiz — That educators are seen and respected. That we’re highlighting all of these great things that are happening around our state. I see so many wonderful examples, that we’re really being good stewards with taxpayer dollars by not allowing these expenses to go through that are not educational, that we put an end to that. We’re saving money and we’re able to show that return on investment. So it’s a beautiful combination of ‘Let’s be responsible with taxpayer dollars. Let’s highlight what’s working well. Let’s get the resources to our educators. Let’s improve our reading scores and our math scores’ because under Tom Horne they have declined to turn that tide. And that means that means working closely with our Legislature. Let’s fund public education. Let’s do a mass statewide campaign. Our kids deserve to be in well-funded schools. Right now they’re not. I think that’s success.
Brett Newby — I think the superintendent really needs to be more of that glue, being that collaborative piece. I would be a full advocate of that and be on the gas pedal, but is it going to take years to be able to redo that? Probably. … As the superintendent, I want to build the office as a hub for parents. I feel really as a superintendent of public education for all kids in Arizona, that we need to be the support. Whether you agree with it or not, we can educate folks and give them the tools and resources to make better decisions versus telling them what they should be doing and what they shouldn’t be doing and as a community accepting everybody as a human and as an Arizonan and being able to help them get a quality education with compassion, empathy, and support of their community around them.
Kimberly Yee — We must improve academic achievement in reading and mathematics. Arizona’s reading proficiency scores are at the 25th percentile in fourth and eighth grades, according to the Nation’s Report Card. This is not acceptable. I would promote systematic, phonics-based reading instruction. We need to get back to the basics with traditional mathematics. Success also includes expanding and promoting vocational education and the trades, and bringing back home economics and shop classes to our schools. Teacher retention would be addressed with a strong mentor teacher program through the Department of Education. Teacher shortages would be addressed with alternative pathways to teaching, inviting retired professionals to help teach in shortage areas such as welding. I would continue to be an advocate of parents to listen to their concerns and ideas for improving our schools. Financial resources would be prioritized and directed at the classroom level for teachers and students, where it matters most.
In Southern Arizona, we are facing the school closure of the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind — as the deaf students move to a shuttered elementary school 15 miles away and the blind and boarding students are told to find services with their local schools (across the state). What can these families do to get support and resources from the state? Does the state superintendent have any role in the closure of a state school?
Terry Leyba Ruiz — Well, it feels like the state has a responsibility. This is a state agency. So the state has a responsibility. Again, silence from the superintendent. Nothing. As an educator, we spend our career lifting students and helping students excel. And we do that because we were drawn to making a difference that way. I see serving in the role superintendent as just a continuation. Rather than for my classroom, the whole state. And this current superintendent, I have crickets. He should be shouting about this. We’re talking about children’s futures and they’re not their needs are not going to be met.
And yes, that might have been the original intention of the ESAs, for our special needs (students) But if you’re living in our Tribal Lands or or in our rural communities, there are no other options. And the state has a responsibility. And so I would be advocating at the Legislature. I would be advocating and talking loudly. I would look for help to find a solution for these students and their families.
Brett Newby — I didn’t really know that there was a boarding program and I didn’t know that there were kids from all over the state going there. That’s so terrible. It’s really really tough. Well, I can say that for me as a superintendent, that would be, you know, one of the top things on my list is to be able to be a support for those families.
Especially for the rural families and those areas typically did never had services that were appropriate for those types of students and so that’s why they were sent to and accepted into a program like that and so I I think it really needs to look at “What happened?” How can we fix it? What accommodations could be made to make things better or different?” But I think too for me is really getting the school funding formula fixed and really working with like-minded legislators whether they’re Republican, Independent, or Democrats. But really people that are vested in education of really fixing it because you know when a school closes especially a specialized school like that it’s detrimental for the community it’s detrimental for the families the students and it just should never happen in my opinion and so as a superintendent, I would be a full advocate for that. I want to bring people that are in marginalized areas, in specialized groups and different people that we really need our Department of Education needs to be representative of the people of Arizona.
Kimberly Yee — School choice allows parents to choose the best education setting that fits their child’s unique and individual needs. I support all schools, including district public schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschools and tribal schools. As a former member of the Legislature, I was a prime sponsor of the first legislation creating Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) for students with disabilities. I later helped expand ESAs to support low-income families, foster care families and military families. Universal ESAs give families the opportunity to have school choice, with about half of the funding per child that is given to each public district school child. As State Superintendent, I would ensure better management of the ESA program, both fiscally and operationally, using more updated technology for the financial platform that provides the educational marketplace for ESA families — creating a user-friendly system for participating ESA families while ensuring accountability of our taxpayer dollars.
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