Arizona
U.S.
Rank
Rank
#2 A
Overall PPI Score: 92%
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Leadership
Your Governor:
Katie Hobbs (D) (75)
First term began in 2023 (two-term limit).
Upon election in 2022, some were hopeful that the new Governor would respect parent power, even if she were opposed to the state’s plentiful education choice options. Hobbs instead began a series of attempts to severely rollback Arizona's popular Empowerment Scholarships program, including making a majority of the state’s families ineligible to have options for their students. When that did not come to pass, her Administration began attacking the program by adding bureaucratic layers, resulting in a frustrating enrollment process for families and often delaying critical payments that challenge schools.
STATE LEGISLATURE:
The pro-education opportunity legislature, along with elected State Superintendent Thomas Horne, serves as a counterbalance against any negative moves by the Governor against parent power. However, both chambers have small, two seat Republican margins - whose leaders are historically pro-education freedom - and elections in November of 2024 will help decide its direction for the future.
Constitutional Issues
"Arizona's constitution contains a Blaine Amendment. The Arizona Supreme Court previously struck down a voucher program. However, that Court later let stand a Court of Appeals decision upholding the Empowerment Scholarship Account program." (Institute for Justice)
Transparency
Arizona’s commitment to transparency is clear and benefits students and families. School report cards are highlighted under the “Parents” tab of the state Department of Education website. Report card data is thorough and comprehensive, including important data such as student enrollment, teacher qualification, student achievement, and per pupil expenditures. Every school is assigned a summative rating based on student academic measures. There is also a helpful feature to compare schools, allowing parents to evaluate their current school against others in the state.
Information about educational options are also easily accessible from the homepage.
School board elections in Arizona align with the general election cycle, empowering parents with greater influence in their decision-making due to increased voter turnout.