Luke Speier, board member and treasurer of Ville de Marie Academy in Phoenix, said school choice programs and education spending accounts (ESAs) have been beneficial for both parents and students, as Texas considers a similar program this legislative term.
"This expansion to the program has already proven to be extremely helpful to many Arizona families," Speier said in an interview. "The state now helps them educate their children in the best way they see fit. These families now have more of choice how these dollars will be spent; most will remain the public and charter school systems to which the state already pays for that education while some will opt in using those dollars to either attend a private school or enhance their home school curriculum."
Speier said that the program allows many low-income families to have more choices in their child's education, explaining that an ESA "takes tax dollars and gives a certain amount to parents so they can control how those education dollars are spent." According to the Arizona Department of Education, the ESA program "expands educational opportunities for eligible students outside of the public school system, provides public funding that can be used for a wide variety of educational expenses and pays for private school tuition, educational therapies, tutoring and more." Speier said many families in Arizona are now able to afford different types of education thanks to the ESA program.
The ESA "has already proven to be extremely helpful to many Arizona families" by providing more options, Speier said, adding that the ESA program in Arizona has encouraged competition, which causes all schools to raise their level of education.
"Any school that fails to meet the educational expectations of the parents may risk losing those students for other opportunities, so I think it focused all schools to increase their offerings and hold all to higher standards," he said. About 50,000 students in Arizona are using the ESA program.
According to Libby Stanford & Mark Lieberman at Education Week, ESAs are growing in popularity in the United States. The accounts began in Arizona in 2011, and were originally limited to students with disabilities, low-income students and students in failing schools. Since the pandemic, they have grown in popularity with more states opting for universal programs, allowing any student to use them. As of March, 11 states have ESA programs or expansions to previous ESA policies. Arizona offers the most flexibility, with the base amount for its ESA being 90% of the state’s per-pupil spending on public schools.
"For those that attend private school, the vast majority of those ESA funds are going directly to their tuition. Outside of that, there are many approved expenses by Arizona Department of education that can supplement their education," Speier said.
According to the Texas Tribune, lawmakers in Texas are debating Senate Bill 8, which would create an ESA program with $8,000 per student while maintaining a "held harmless" clause for rural districts. Gov. Greg Abbott has been supportive of ESAs, speaking at rallies and attending a "parent empowerment tour" across Texas.
"There are many states across the country that are trying to find ways to implement laws similar to what Arizona has passed so they can also give your families more choice," Speier said. "This has been a passionately debated policy on both sides, but simply stated, if you give families this decision they will work hard to find the best learning environment for their children."