Arizona families amass $360 million in unspent school vouchers

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A new report says thousands of families with school vouchers have unspent money in their accounts totaling $360 million, and the authors are urging state lawmakers to reclaim the unspent funds.

About 60,000 Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) had some level of unspent funds as of the end of the fiscal year, according to the Grand Canyon Institute. About 2,500 ESA accounts had between $10,000 and $50,000 unspent.

The report’s author, Dave Wells, said these vouchers are intended for education, not accumulation.

“We’re already not funding public schools adequately enough, and to have $360 million just sort of stored away—not being used to educate children—is a lost resource,” he said.

Wells said the amount of unspent funds has more than doubled from the previous year at a time when state lawmakers have made cuts to other programs. This week, ConsumerAffairs ranked Arizona last in public education.

One ESA account held $210,000.

“The amount is evaluated based off what the child’s needs are supposed to be. If the parent chooses that they do not need to spend that much money on their child, then the money ought to be reverting back to the state,” Wells added.

On average, families with an ESA receive about $7,500 annually, allowing them to send their children to private schools or pay for homeschooling expenses, tutoring, and other supplies. Families can roll over any unspent money.

Critics say requiring ESA families to repay unspent vouchers would disproportionately impact children with disabilities, who receive larger award amounts. In some cases, students with multiple disabilities can receive up to $44,000.

“The idea that somehow those funds should be swiped from those students’ accounts when they qualified for those funds— when those funds are only 90% of what the public school was getting— is pretty crazy, because you’re taking money from the students who need it the most,” said Jenny Clark, founder a pro-voucher group Love Your School.

Reclaiming unspent ESA funds would require legislative action.

There are various theories about why families are rolling over their ESA funds. Unused money can be used for college expenses, which supporters praise but critics argue is unfair to families in traditional public schools.

The Grand Canyon Institute is also advocating for more audits and annual reports to ensure families receiving large awards are using the funds appropriately and adhering to an educational plan.

Critics warn that some of these recommendations could impose additional burdens on families.

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