The Real Cost of Arizona’s Universal ESA Voucher Program: FY2025

Summary of Findings

• In 2022 Arizona became the first state to pass Universal Educational Scholarship Account (ESA) Vouchers  which allow parents to receive payments to use for their child’s education at their discretion, including private schools and homeschooling.  
• The vouchers are set at 90% of what the state allocates for charter schools students.  The Grand Canyon Institute (GCI) estimates that three-quarters of students never attended or would have attended district or charter schools, so the program primarily ends up funding students who would not otherwise receive general fund support.
• While the total cost of the overall ESA program in FY2025 was $872 million, the net cost of the universal program after adjusting for where universal students would have otherwise attended is $360 million for those in the universal ESA voucher program. This represents a slight increase from the $332 million estimated by GCI in FY2024. The net cost of  universal ESA’s will likely approach $400 million in FY2026.

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About

Dave Wells holds a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Public Policy and is the Research Director of the Grand Canyon Institute. He can be reached at dwells@azgci.org or (602) 595-1025 ext. 2.

Thanks to Curt Cardine, a Grand Canyon Institute Fellow, for his diligent work in assisting with database development on the ESA program.

The Grand Canyon Institute (GCI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to informing and improving public policy in Arizona through evidence-based, independent, objective, nonpartisan research. GCI makes a good faith effort to ensure that findings are reliable, accurate, and based on reputable sources. While publications reflect the view of the Institute, they may not reflect the view of individual members of the Board.

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