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This article is part of 社区黑料鈥檚 EDlection 2024 coverage, which takes a look at candidates鈥� education policies and how they might impact the American education system after the 2024 election.

Despite by Democrats to flip lawmaker seats in Arizona, Republicans have expanded their majority in the state legislature, with the party seeking to grow private school vouchers and their victory casting doubts on the future of public school funding. 

鈥淭his is the most conservative legislature in history. We will continue to deliver a conservative agenda that will protect liberty and promote prosperity,鈥� Senate President wrote on X. 鈥淲ith our expanded majority we will make sure our communities are safe and that our kids have the best educational opportunities possible.鈥�

The swing state鈥檚 legislative prospects garnered the and a flood of campaign spending, with nearly being spent to elect lawmakers across both parties in 13 races. Democrats focused most energy in five close races in suburban Tucson and Phoenix that could have shifted the Republicans鈥� previous two-vote majorities. 

Now with the control of both houses, the Republican party can act on their promise to grow the Empowerment Scholarship voucher program, which sends tax dollars to private schools and reimburses families for homeschooling expenses. 

Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs has ESA growth, stating when she took office it 鈥渨ould likely bankrupt the state.鈥� Arizona is considered an unofficial beacon for school choice, the first in the nation to offer families anything resembling a voucher in 2011.

The ESA program, expanded to all families under Republican leadership past its original design to support kids with disabilities or in underperforming schools, was last year. 

The state鈥檚 schools chief has said it鈥檚 impossible to credit the program, which most recently cost the state about $718 million to support 78,000 students, as causing deficits in the state budget, pointing to an overall surplus in the Department of Education because of declines in projected charter spending. 

Whether or not the state鈥檚 budget will be further strained by Republicans鈥� legislative agenda to expand the program, in its current iteration, it鈥檚 also been criticized for lack of accountability. Parents were able, for example, to reimburse $800 driving lessons in luxury vehicles, golf merchandise, and visits to . 

鈥淲hile you may think this may not be a good use of that family’s ESA funding, at the end of the day, they get a fixed amount of money, and if that’s how they’re going to choose to use it, that’s their prerogative,鈥� ESA director John Ward . 

Today, the nearly 80,000 families enrolled in the program receive about $7,500 for their childrens鈥� educational expenses. According to the , the vast majority of funding went to schools that specialize in serving kids with disabilities, particularly autism, and private, religious schools. 

Roughly are students with disabilities, a higher proportion than the average in traditional public schools statewide. 

A revealed low-income families are using the program far less frequently than families in wealthier enclaves. For families living in poverty, the location of private schools and financial responsibility of taking on additional transportation, research, and meals costs makes 鈥渟chool choice鈥� an unrealized promise. 

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