A program announced by Arizona's Republican governor last month to give private school vouchers to parents who object to campus mask requirements has seen applications surge, with twice as many either started or completed than can be funded with the $10 million in federal coronavirus relief earmarked for the plan.

While efforts to broadly expand Empowerment Scholarship Account, or vouchers, eligibility failed this year, school choice advocates found other reasons to celebrate the legislative session.

Public school advocates’ frustrations with the state budget go beyond Gov. Doug Ducey’s tax plan – the rebirth of zombie bills and expansion of empowerment scholarship account eligibility are an added blow to groups that say the Legislature should prioritize traditional public education.

The Senate’s passage of a massive voucher expansion will test the resolve of two Republican House members who killed the expansion earlier this year.

A small group of Senate Republicans on Tuesday sought to punish one of their GOP colleagues for killing their legislation by voting to claw back one of his bills from the House.

Republican senators gave the go-ahead Monday for what could be a huge expansion in the use of tax dollars to send children to private and parochial schools.

The current, aggressive push to expand Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) does nothing to address the systemic education challenges we face in Arizona.

A Senate panel on Tuesday advanced a school voucher expansion that supporters framed as a civil rights issue and opponents decried as a repudiation of Arizona voters who overwhelmingly rejected universal vouchers two years ago.

The fact that some non-Native politicians at the state Capitol are taking it upon themselves to change the laws around tribal nations and tribal education for Indigenous students is unnecessary, unwelcome and frankly uninformed.

There is a lot of rhetoric from politicians and political activist organizations about ending ESA and sending those funds back to public school. However, they never offer plans about how they will better serve children with special needs and disabilities.