Arizona's ESA voucher program grew 409%, from 12,127 to 61,689 students, between the 2021–22 and 2022–23 school years, with nearly all growth from the new Universal ESA¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2027: local conditions change quickly
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
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q2 i? ESA enrollment grew 409% from 12,127 students in 2021–22 to 61,689 students in 2022–23, and nearly all of this growth came from students enrolled in the new Universal ESA program. → Griffith 2024
Evidence¶
Griffith 2024¶
Griffith, M., & Burns, D. (2024). Understanding the cost of universal school vouchers: An analysis of Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/682.951
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Enrollment analysis in the report's Discussion section, based on Arizona Department of Education quarterly reports and website enrollment figures. The report states the program "grew from 12,127 to 61,689 students" and reached 72,428 by December 2023.
"Arizona's ESA program grew from 12,127 to 61,689 students between the 2021–22 and 2022–23 school years, an increase of 409%. By the end of december 2023, the number had expanded further to 72,428 students."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- The large majority (71.2%) of Universal ESA users had not previously attended a public school, adding new costs to the state education budget — related
- Total ESA program cost reached about $587 million in 2022–23, a 211% increase over the prior year, equal to 8.8% of Basic Student Aid funding — related
- English learners are strongly underrepresented in the ESA program: 0.6% of ESA students versus 9.2% of public school students statewide — related
- The estimated net cost of the Universal ESA expansion is $242.7 million in 2022–23, rising to $295.2 million in 2023–24 — related
- The Universal ESA amount exceeds per-pupil district funding, so elementary students leaving district schools each add $425 in state cost, while students leaving charter schools save the state $752 each — related
- The state's lack of publicly available ESA data hinders cost estimation; the report recommends publishing enrollment, expenditure, and transfer data — related
- ESA programs have grown rapidly, serving over 326,400 students across 13 states as of the 2023/24 school year
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
arizona-esa-409-percent-growth-universal-expansion |
title |
Arizona's ESA voucher program grew 409%, from 12,127 to 61,689 students, between the 2021–22 and 2022–23 school years, with nearly all growth from the new Universal ESA |
description |
Arizona's ESA voucher program grew 409%, from 12,127 to 61,689 students, between the 2021–22 and 2022–23 school years, with nearly all growth from the new Universal ESA |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2024 |
recheck_by |
2027 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-10 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — griffith-2024 |
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