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The paper argues that limited accountability and transparency drive the Grand Canyon Institute’s focus on evidence-based policy evaluation. It synthesizes prior research, adds zip-code analysis, and estimates how many participants do not use ESA funds for private tuition, while analyzing program growth and enrollment patterns by eligibility category.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/paying-for-private-education-who-benefits-in-arizona/587092/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/paying-for-private-education-who-benefits-in-arizona/587092.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Fahsai","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is Arizona’s ESA voucher program and how is it funded?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The ESA program is an empowerment scholarship account that subsidizes private education options, including private schools and homeschooling-related activities. The paper states the subsidies total more than $1 billion annually and come from Arizona’s general fund directly or indirectly through tax credits.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What evidence does the paper present about who benefits from universal ESA participation?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Zip-code analysis shows participants primarily come from higher income areas, with differences declining over time. The paper also presents evidence that a significant number of users do not use allocations for private school tuition, including use as part of homeschooling or extracurricular activities.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How has ESA enrollment grown, and what eligibility factors affected growth?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Enrollment expanded from relatively small targeted categories to rapid growth after universal ESA vouchers began. 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The state has had open enrollment for district schools for 30 years, charter schools for more than 25 years, a private school tax credit program for nearly as long, and was the first state in the country in 2011 to enact direct parent-appropriations through targeted Empowerment Scholarship Account ( ESA) vouchers. Arizona then became the first state to expand its ESA voucher program to be universal. The latter action has been particularly controversial since voters rejected a capped expansion of the ESA program in 2018 and legislators turned around and then made it universal in the 2022 legislative session. In all, Arizona provides more than $1 billion annually in subsidies to private education, both to private schools and variations on homeschooling, all coming from the state’s general fund directly or indirectly due to tax credits.1  \nBecause Arizona has provided no accountability and little transparency for participating private entities receiving public subsidies, the Grand Canyon Institute’s efforts aim to improve accountability and transparency.  \nThis paper will provide both a composite of the past research findings of GCI as well provide anew zip code analysis of users of the program as well as note an estimated portion not using ESA vouchers for private schooling. Overall, GCI estimates that a growing share of universal participants come from charter or district schools, but still nearly three-quarters of those enrolled did not or would not have attended charter or district schools. But about 90% of the new universal entrants in FY2025 did attend a district or charter school.  \nZip code analysis shows that while ESA vouchers primarily enroll children who reside in higher income zip codes. The degree of difference has been declining, which is consistent with the broader participation patterns noted above. GCI also presents here for the first time evidence that a significant number of users of Arizona’s ESA program are not using it for private school tuition, but using the program as part of homeschool or possibly for added extracurricular activities. No more than 40% of students in the total ESA program were using allocations for private school tuition in FY2023. Meanwhile, because parents, especially of special needs students, are allowing their allocations to accumulate unspent awards, GCI estimated by the end of FY2024 that $360 million had accumulated in accounts.  \n1 The Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimates the gross cost of the ESA program to be $872 million in FY2025 and in FY2024 the Arizona Dept. of Revenue reported the cost of the student tuition organization tax credit program as $238 million.  \nContrary to those who believe that ESA vouchers save money, GCI’s analysis indicates that universal vouchers programs are a net cost to the state’s general fund because the primary users never enrolled in public district or charter schools before, costing at least $330 million in FY2024 and $350 million in FY2025.  \nGrowth of the ESA Voucher Program  \nThe ESA voucher program was initially established initially and expanded for targeted categories of students:  \n● Attending a D or F school  \n● Parent is ","cbCaivQnvQhHDLsu","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivQnvQhHDLsu","pdf",821795,15,"English","# Introduction\n# Growth of the ESA Voucher Program\n## Eligibility categories and enrollment trends\n## FY2023–FY2025 participation patterns","[{\"question\":\"What is Arizona’s ESA voucher program and how is it funded?\",\"answer\":\"The ESA program is an empowerment scholarship account that subsidizes private education options, including private schools and homeschooling-related activities. The paper states the subsidies total more than $1 billion annually and come from Arizona’s general fund directly or indirectly through tax credits.\"},{\"question\":\"What evidence does the paper present about who benefits from universal ESA participation?\",\"answer\":\"Zip-code analysis shows participants primarily come from higher income areas, with differences declining over time. The paper also presents evidence that a significant number of users do not use allocations for private school tuition, including use as part of homeschooling or extracurricular activities.\"},{\"question\":\"How has ESA enrollment grown, and what eligibility factors affected growth?\",\"answer\":\"Enrollment expanded from relatively small targeted categories to rapid growth after universal ESA vouchers began. The paper notes growth tapered after universality, and highlights that many categories previously required prior enrollment in public district or charter schools for at least 45 days, except veteran and pre-school disability.\"}]","Paying for Private Education: Who Benefits in Arizona | PDF",1792060697,38]