he Arizona Legislature has passed one of the most expansive school-voucher programs in the nation.
In April, Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law Senate Bill 1431, which allows all 1.1 million public-school students to apply for the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. The program gives public funds to students to use on private-school tuition, therapies and other educational services. Republican lawmakers narrowly approved the plan, which allows an estimated 30,000 students to take part in the program by 2022.
Many Republicans hail the plan as a novel way to give students more access to the schools they want. But Democrats and some moderate Republicans say it will take millions of dollars away from public schools to subsidize private and religious education for some families that might already be able to afford it.
Since its passage, there have been unanswered questions about how the expansion will be implemented. The Arizona Republic sought to answer them, but in some instances, state officials said they can’t fully explain how the program will be implemented because it was advanced by the Legislature and signed into law so quickly.
