New research from State Policy Network highlights the challenges parents face when enrolling their children in Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.

The study goes on to offer policy solutions to address these parent concerns and complaints.

Arizona’s ESA Program: A Case Study for Other States

Arizona was the first state to enact an ESA program in 2012. Since then, 15 states have enacted a universal school choice program.

The paper serves as a valuable resource for other states implementing similar programs—helping lawmakers improve ESAs for the students and families that rely on them.

Study author Jenny Clark, State Policy Network’s Visiting Education Fellow, added:

“This paper is intended to help states proactively address some of the challenges with implementing ESA programs. By equipping states with effective program design strategies, we can help them anticipate and avoid these issues altogether, better serving families and students.”

Key Findings

Parents in Arizona expressed frustration with slow processing times, inconsistent approvals, and overly burdensome paperwork. Their concerns fell into five key areas:

1. Long wait times and delays in processing orders.
2. Difficulty contracting ESA department staff.
3. Arbitrary approvals and lack of flexibility.
4. Extensive and burdensome documentation requirements.
5. Operating vendor and payment system issues.

In response to ESA parent comments, the paper proposes several policy solutions for lawmakers and other decision-makers to consider:

1. Use risk-based auditing.
2. Make debit cards available.
3. Allow supplementary educational items with no additional documentation.
4. Remove arbitrary restrictions on allowable expenses.
5. Reinstate quarterly ESA parent surveys.
6. Improve call-in and online help desk services.

The study authors add:

“Applying these policy solutions would go a long way for ADE to address the major concerns and complaints that Arizona ESA parents had with the program in 2024. Further, states seeking to enact and implement ESA programs of their own can learn much from the rollout of Arizona’s universal ESA program and the resulting parent feedback, both the good and the bad.”

Read the full report here.

To schedule an interview with one of the study authors, please contact Camille Walsh at walsh@spn.org.