Parents Know Best—Empower Them!

School choice empowers parents to select the best learning environment for their child. Arizona has led the nation in making

school choice accessible for everyone through Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs). 

Yet this freedom is under attack from an upcoming ballot initiative called the “Protect Education Act” which aims to impose unreasonable regulations on ESAs and deny choice from thousands of families. We’re sharing the truth about ESAs so you know the facts and understand why families need you to DECLINE TO SIGN this petition. 

Just last week, Arizona Department of Education (ADE) released an analysis by a Stanford PhD showing how accountable ESAs are: only about 2% of ESA dollars go toward unallowable items, while actual fraud or egregious misuse stands at a mere 0.3%.  

This data directly counters exaggerated claims of widespread fraud and misuse, and highlights the program's transparency compared to public school spending, where there is no such accountability. 

Our guest blog post is written by Jenny Clark, founder and CEO of Love Your School, which helps families discover and access the best K-12 education options through personalized, one-on-one support. As a long-time ESA user herself, Jenny is a true school choice advocate and supporter.  

Thank you for informing America’s Women, Jenny!  ~ Adrienne Johnson, Director of Education, America’s Women 

Empower Parents to Choose What’s Best for Their Child’s Education 

Guest blog by Jenny Clark, Founder/CEO, Love Your School 

In Arizona, families are choosing a better path for their children’s education. Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) are giving parents the power to decide how and where their kids learn, and thousands of families are already seeing the benefits. 

What exactly is an ESA? 

An ESA stands for an “Empowerment Scholarship Account” and allows families to use a portion of their child’s state education funding, 90% to be exact, for the learning options that work best for them. Instead of being locked into a single system based on a family’s income or zip code, parents can choose the educational environment that fits their child’s needs. This flexibility allows families to build a personalized education or choose options like private schools and microschools, which may not have been a viable option before. 

Contrary to what the local media is saying, over 101,000 kids are on an ESA and there is widespread support for the program. The Arizona Education Association alongside Save our Schools Arizona (aptly named since their focus is NOT about improving education for kids) have long sought to dismantle the Empowerment Scholarship Account program for kids and even opposed the program when it was only for special needs and military families. 

The filing of their most recent ballot initiative will not only kick tens of thousands of families off the program, like hardworking nurses and firefighters who make a combined income over $150k, regardless of their family size, it will seek to create back-door regulations over all private schools in this state. Yes, you read that right! The guidelines of approved expenses are also smoke and mirrors: state law and rules already include disallowed expenses, and the Department of Education should continue to advance their oversight and use of technology to ensure a reduction in the purchase of disallowed items. 

It’s not really about accountability 

The misleading narrative being pushed by the AEA and SOS is that this is about commonsense “reforms” and supposed “accountability” - but we know to never trust their rhetoric. This is another attempt to gain control of Arizona families and snatch scholarships directly from kids who are already benefitting - forcing families to either come up with cash or put their kids back in public schools. 

But let’s not forget - far more wealthy families and their children go to public schools than currently are on an ESA. There is no income test for the public school, and taxpayers spend nearly double on a public school student than a child on an ESA (around $7500 for an ESA and over $15,000 for a public school student). The argument that we shouldn’t fund ESAs for families making over a certain amount of money doesn’t pass the test - since there is no income requirement for public schools. Their argument is pure rhetoric; no substance. 

Protecting ESAs should be the priority of every Arizonan 

For many families, ESAs have opened doors that once were out of reach—better learning environments, specialized support, and the freedom to choose the best educational path. 

But those choices are now at risk with this ballot initiative. The future of our country, and our desire to see parents, and not bureaucrats in control of our children’s education directly rests on having an educated population. Presently, ESAs are a lifeline for families and kids are getting an education that their parents believe is best. It’s time to stand up for school choice once again, and encourage everyone you know to #DeclineToSign the AEA and SOS ballot initiative. 

School choice is giving kids the education they deserve so that Arizona and our country can have an educated citizenry. Let’s continue to battle back against special interest groups whose sole desire is control of our children and their futures.