Frequently Searched

Arizona Ranks 1st in Education Choice in Back-to-Back Years

November 13, 2023

Arizona is leading the nation in freeing families from a failing public education system thanks to the Goldwater Institute’s work. For the second consecutive year, Arizona is the #1 state for education choice in America and the #2 state for overall education freedom, according to the Heritage Foundation’s annual Education Freedom Report Card.

Arizona’s impressive ranking comes as more than 70,000 students have taken advantage of the state’s universal Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program—the most expansive program of its kind in America. Universal ESAs, which the Goldwater Institute enacted last year as the gold standard for school choice after pioneering the nation’s first ESA program in Arizona more than a decade ago, give every family in the state the opportunity to customize their child’s education experience to best meet their unique needs. As the Heritage Foundation notes:

For the second year in a row, Arizona ranks #1 for education choice. Arizona does exceptionally well in giving families the freedom to choose among private, charter, and district schools as well as other learning environments. Arizona offers K–12 education savings accounts (ESAs) that all families can use to customize the education of eligible students. Arizona also generally respects the autonomy of homeschooling families.

That’s not all: Goldwater’s work to make universal school choice in Arizona a reality sparked a national movement. In 2023, Goldwater and our coalition partners expanded school choice in more than a dozen states, giving families universal school choice in six states.

So how can Arizona build on its successes and overtake Florida on as the #1 state for education freedom in next year’s rankings? It can start by adopting the Goldwater Institute’s Academic Transparency reform, which protects parents’ right to know what their children are learning in taxpayer-funded schools by requiring public school districts to post a list of their learning materials online, as well as Goldwater Institute-led provisions against race-based educational practices.

As Goldwater Director of Education Policy Matt Beienburg wrote in the Arizona Capitol Times after last year’s rankings came out: “Enacting these laws will not only help vault Arizona to the top of the Heritage Education Freedom rankings next year, but will help fulfill the call to action embedded in those rankings: aligning our education systems with the needs and priorities of students and parents.”

Arizona has much to celebrate for its stellar ranking on Heritage’s annual report. Now, lawmakers should get to work on making Arizona the #1 state in the union for education freedom.

Mark Habelt is a Ronald Reagan Fellow at the Goldwater Institute.

 

 

More on this issue

Donate Now

Help all Americans live freer, happier lives. Join the Goldwater Institute as we defend and strengthen freedom in all 50 states.

Donate Now

Since 1988, the Goldwater Institute has been in the liberty business — defending and promoting freedom, and achieving more than 400 victories in all 50 states. Donate today to help support our mission.

We Protect Your Rights

Our attorneys defend individual rights and protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Need Help? Submit a case.

Get Connected to Goldwater

Sign up for the latest news, event updates, and more.

Wait! Don’t close this yet!

We are grateful for your support of the Goldwater Institute’s efforts to advance and defend liberty throughout the United States. For over 36 years, we’ve been defending the rights of Americans to live their lives free from government interference.

And Goldwater is unique in that we direct our efforts to the 50 states where we introduce and advance innovative ideas that expand freedom. And we fight in courtrooms and capitals nationwide to defend individual liberty.

In 2024 alone, we scored over 50 policy and litigation victories defending liberty!

And that’s just the beginning.

Our plans for 2025 include:

  • Stopping pernicious DEI and other woke programs in America’s universities.
  • Ensuring that patients suffering from rare and terminal diseases have access to cutting-edge, lifesaving medical treatments, without having to first seek permission from the government.
  • Defending parental rights across the United States so that parents can send their kids to the school that best fits their needs, free from leftist indoctrination.
  • Eliminating government interference in the fundamental right of individuals to own property and use it as they see fit.
  • And much, much more

We seek to restore the presumption of liberty; that people are free to act without first asking permission from the government.

But we cannot do this without you. Will you join us as we fight to preserve and advance liberty throughout the country? As we seek new and innovative ways to defend freedom in all 50 states?

And there’s great news: Thanks to a generous Goldwater supporter, your donation today will be doubled!

So please, join us in fighting to advance liberty and score real wins for freedom from coast to coast!