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¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2027: local conditions change quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Total ESA program cost in 2022–23 was just over $587 million, a $399 million (211%) increase over the previous year and a 1,195% increase over the legislature's initial estimate. → Griffith 2024 q2 i? The ESA program's cost represents 8.8% of the $6.7 billion total Basic Student Aid funding in 2022–23, and the report estimates at least $708.5 million for 2023–24. → Griffith 2024 (2)

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

Cost estimate in the Estimating Total Program Costs section, computed from AdE's 4th quarter report: 61,689 participants at an average cost of $9,523 per participant.

"This results in a total cost of the ESA program, including both Targeted and Universal, of just over $587 million in the 2022–23 school year, which is a $399 million increase (211%) over the previous year (see Table 5) and a 1,195% increase over the initial estimate by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee."

Griffith 2024 (2)¶

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

Report's contextual calculation of the program's share of the state's primary K–12 funding formula; the report separately projects a 2023–24 cost of at least $708.5 million based on 72,428 enrolled students.

"The cost of the ESA program represents 8.8% of the $6.7 billion total Basic Student Aid funding in 2022–23."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• 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 — related
• The state's lack of publicly available ESA data hinders cost estimation; the report recommends publishing enrollment, expenditure, and transfer data — 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 large majority (71.2%) of Universal ESA users had not previously attended a public school, adding new costs to the state education budget
• ESA programs have grown rapidly, serving over 326,400 students across 13 states as of the 2023/24 school year — related
• English learners are strongly underrepresented in the ESA program: 0.6% of ESA students versus 9.2% of public school students statewide — related