Initiative to stomp out school choice announced

Summary: Don’t Let Red Tape Smother Arizona’s Successful Universal School Choice Promise.

Please note: EZCIVICS.org does not endorse or oppose items on your ballot. The following is the opinion of the author.

By Amanda Monize, EZAZ.org Grassroots Strategy Director (AKA Grassroots Glow-Up Guru)

OPINION - Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program was designed to be simple: families choose what works best for their children, and education dollars follow the student. That simplicity is not a flaw—it is the feature that made universal ESAs accessible to families across income levels, learning styles, and communities.

A new ballot initiative, the Protect Education, Accountability Now Act (I-06-2026), would fundamentally change that model. While supporters frame the measure as an effort to add “accountability,” the initiative replaces universality with income testing, parental discretion with state control, and flexibility with layers of bureaucracy. This is not a modest adjustment. It is a structural overhaul that would turn a universal school-choice program into a tightly regulated, means-tested system.

The initiative is being advanced by a coalition that includes Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ) and the Arizona Education Association (the state’s teachers’ union), along with allied groups and individuals. Beth Lewis, executive director of SOSAZ, has served as a prominent public face for the effort, which was formally filed in February 2026 under the committee name Protect Education, Accountability Now. The campaign’s website, ProtectEdAZ.com, frames the measure as a parent- and educator-led push for “reform” and “transparency.”

Here is how the changes would play out for the families and educators who actually use the program today.

Impacts for ESA parents

For parents, the initiative replaces broad eligibility with a complex and intrusive screening process.

Beginning in the 2027–28 school year, eligibility for the universal ESA expansion would be capped at $150,000 in annual family income. What is currently a universal program becomes a means-tested benefit, dividing families into “eligible” and “ineligible” categories based on income rather than student need.

Parents would be required to prove eligibility through tax returns or enrollment in other income-based state programs, introducing financial auditing into what was once a straightforward education choice. At the same time, allowable ESA spending is narrowed.

Curriculum and supplementary materials must be deemed “directly and substantially related” to approved curricular content, giving the state broad discretion to deny purchases or demand repayment.

Most concerning, parents found to have “intentionally” violated spending rules could be permanently disqualified from the ESA program, with accounts closed and remaining funds removed. For average working families without lawyers and accountants on speed dial, participation suddenly carries real legal risks.

Taken together, these changes make ESAs harder to access, harder to use, and far more intimidating for average families.

Impacts for public school teachers who tutor ESA students

Many public school teachers supplement their income by tutoring ESA students after school while providing individualized academic support to families. The initiative raises both the cost and risk of that work.

New student and site safety regulations would govern everything from facilities and tools to food service. Tutors would also face quarterly public reporting of how much ESA money they receive and how many students they serve. These layers turn a flexible side gig into a heavily scrutinized, bureaucratic process—likely driving many experienced educators away from ESA families altogether, shrinking the pool of experienced educators available to families.

Impacts for homeschool co-ops

Homeschool co-ops have used ESA funds to offer shared classes, science labs, and enrichment at affordable rates. Under the initiative, accepting those funds would likely classify many co-ops as “qualified schools” or “qualified tutoring providers.” That triggers formal registration, fees, possible accreditation or standardized testing requirements, and public reporting of aggregated scores.

Co-ops would also have to certify compliance with extensive safety rules covering facilities, sanitation, pools, tools, and more. Volunteer-run groups operating in church basements or borrowed spaces would face burdens designed for large institutions. The initiative also weakens existing statutory protections that previously shielded nonpublic educational settings from excessive state control—opening the door to future regulatory expansion.

As a result, many co-ops will face a difficult choice: refuse ESA funds to preserve independence, or accept them and submit to expanding state oversight.

The bigger picture

Across these examples, a clear pattern emerges:

• Increased bureaucracy: Income verification, expanded definitions, registrations, fees, safety rulemaking, and reporting transform ESAs from a simple tool into a complex administrative program.

• Expanded regulation: Tutors, co-ops, and schools are drawn under public-school-style oversight, standardized testing mandates, and open-ended safety rules—with fewer safeguards against overreach.

• Higher barriers to participation: Families risk permanent disqualification, providers face mounting compliance costs, and small, flexible educational options are pushed out.

For supporters of universal ESAs, this initiative does not merely “tighten accountability.” It fundamentally reshapes the program into something narrower, more bureaucratic, and far less accessible.

What happens next—and why it matters now

Signature gathering for I-06-2026 is now underway. If it qualifies, Arizona voters will decide whether to preserve a universal ESA centered on parental choice and flexibility—or replace it with a means-tested, heavily regulated alternative.

Universal programs are popular in principle. They are also easy to dismantle quietly—one income test, one registration requirement, one layer of red tape at a time. Arizonans who value educational freedom should pay close attention to the details before this measure reaches the ballot.

Understanding how government works is the first step to shaping it—and getting involved at the local and state level has never been more important.

About the Author: Amanda Monize, Grassroots Strategy Director at EZAZ.org, is a former teacher and Science Instructional Specialist. She joined EZAZ as an Arizona citizen seeking to understand local government, later volunteering in statewide grassroots campaigns and running for office. She designed and led civic education trainings across Arizona and serves as an elected official. Now leading EZAZ initiatives, she empowers citizens through organizing, education, and advocacy—believing an informed, active citizenry secures liberty.

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