All of Arizona’s 1.1 million public school students would be eligible for a voucher to attend a private school under a bill approved by Republicans in the state Legislature during the final hours of the session.

Gov. Doug Ducey is expected to sign the measure. Formally known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), they provide roughly $7,000 each; students and families can also use them for micro schools and costs associated with homeschooling, among other expenses. The ESA program has been around for a while, and lawmakers have expanded eligibility over the years.

To learn about this universal expansion, The Show heard from two perspectives.

Matt Beienburg is director of education policy at the Goldwater Institute, which supports the plan. But Beth Lewis, director of Save Our Schools Arizona, opposes this new expansion. Back in 2018, the group collected enough signatures to refer another ESA expansion plan to the ballot, where voters rejected it.

The Show spoke with both of them, starting with Beienburg.

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