Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) is a free government program that gives all Arizona kids the education they deserve. Today, more than 97,000 Arizona students benefit from the program. But nevertheless, ESAs have come under attack from critics who spout rhetoric and misleading claims.
To set the record straight, Goldwater Institute Director of Education Policy Matt Beienburg joined Love Your School founder Jenny Clark for an in-depth, fact-based conversation on ESAs. You can watch the webinar here or below.
“Education debates are often heavy on commentary and light on facts,” Beienburg noted during the webinar. That imbalance has fueled widespread misconceptions about ESAs—misconceptions that Goldwater has been challenging with evidence for years. In fact, in 2024 we published a report, “The Anti-ESA Double Standard,” documenting how many of the most common attacks on the program don’t hold up under scrutiny.
ESAs put families—not government—in charge of education funding. Instead of being stuck in a one-size-fits-all system, parents can direct a portion of their child’s state education funding toward private school tuition, tutoring, special-education, homeschooling materials, and other approved educational expenses. ESAs keep funding tied to students, not systems, and empower families to choose what works best for them.
The webinar reinforced that record by walking through the data point by point:
- Public school funding has increased, not decreased. Since Arizona expanded ESAs universally in 2022, total state and local funding for public schools has risen, and inflation-adjusted funding per student is higher today than before the expansion.
- ESAs are not bankrupting the state. Arizona posted a multibillion-dollar budget surplus in the first year of universal ESAs, and later budget shortfalls were driven by increased state spending—not ESA costs, which largely offset reduced public-school enrollment.
- The ESA program does not primarily benefit the wealthy. ESA families come from across the income spectrum, and taxpayers already fund public education for high-income families without income limits.
- Most Arizona private schools are financially accessible with ESAs. The majority of private schools have tuition near or within the value of the ESA award, opening the door to families of modest means.
- ESAs include strict accountability and guardrails. Families must document purchases, comply with audits, and follow clear statutory restrictions on how funds may be used.
- ESAs are not driving school closures. Critics blame shuttered schools on ESAs. But the truth is, the drop in public school enrollment is driven by lower birth rates and families moving between public schools—often to higher performing public schools. In the Roosevelt Elementary district, for example, only 102 students who previously attended the district left for an ESA, while 8,440 students left for a different public school not operated by Roosevelt.
Sadly, mainstream media coverage of ESAs is often negative and inaccurate. But the truth remains: the ESA program has been a nation-leading success that is allowing Arizona students of all stripes to receive an education that best fits their needs.
“It’s really important that we use our voices and our platforms to get the truth out about Arizona’s ESA program,” Love Your School founder Jenny Clark emphasized during the webinar.
At a time when ESA opponents rely on rhetoric and misinformation, this webinar shifts the debate where it belongs—on the facts.
Watch the full discussion here or below to see the data and learn more about ESAs here.
