Karen Fann: Arizona’s ESA Fight Is a Warning for Other States

Arizona adopted its universal education savings account program in 2022 under then-Gov. Doug Ducey, expanding eligibility to all families instead of limiting the program to certain groups. Former Arizona Senate President Karen Fann said the political environment around the program has changed since then, as the state has shifted from reliably Republican to more politically competitive.

Fann pointed in part to migration from California, arguing that some new residents brought policy preferences that made it harder to preserve the program after it was enacted.

Because Arizona was the first state to adopt a universal ESA program, Fann said it quickly became a major target for opponents of school choice. She argued that if critics succeeded in dismantling the program in Arizona, they could use that victory as a blueprint for similar campaigns in states such as Florida and Texas.

Fann described Arizona as the “head of the snake” in the broader fight over education savings accounts, meaning that defeating the policy there could weaken similar efforts elsewhere.

Legal and Signature Challenges Knock Proposition 212 Off the Ballot

Opponents of the ESA program backed Proposition 212 under the banner of protecting public schools. Fann argued that the measure misrepresented what it would actually do and said the Goldwater Institute challenged it on two separate fronts.

First, the Arizona Supreme Court sent the ballot language back to the Secretary of State after finding that it failed to fully explain the measure’s effects. Fann said the description left out important information and gave voters a misleading picture of the proposal.

The initiative then ran into problems with its petition signatures. According to Fann, officials found duplicate signatures, signatures from people who were not registered to vote, and signatures collected by people who were legally barred from serving as petition circulators. Once those signatures were removed, the campaign no longer had enough valid names to qualify for the ballot.

Fann credited the Goldwater Institute’s legal challenge with helping expose both the problems with the ballot language and the flaws in the signature-gathering process. Together, those issues kept Proposition 212 off the ballot.

Fann Makes the Case for Parental Choice

Fann argued that the central idea behind education savings accounts is simple: Parents should be able to decide what kind of education works best for their children.

Not every student learns the same way, she said, and not every public school is equipped to meet every child’s needs. Some students may need extra tutoring or specialized support that their local school cannot provide, while others may be ready to move faster than a traditional classroom allows.

Under Arizona’s ESA program, families can use state education funds for services such as tutoring and other approved educational expenses.

Fann stressed that the program is not designed to eliminate public schools. Instead, she described it as a way to give parents more flexibility when the standard public school system is not meeting a child’s needs.

For her, the larger principle is that parents should have more control over how education dollars are used rather than leaving those decisions entirely to school districts.

Fann Blames Unions and Institutional Resistance

Fann argued that much of the opposition to education savings accounts comes from teachers unions and other groups invested in maintaining centralized control over education.

She said the debate is not simply about school funding or academic results, but about who should ultimately have authority over a child’s education.

Fann also connected the ESA debate to what she sees as broader ideological changes in education. She pointed to developments in higher education and changes in how history and other subjects are taught, arguing that political and ideological priorities have increasingly shaped the classroom.

Her advice to other states considering similar school-choice programs was to remain persistent and expect organized resistance.

Because Arizona was an early leader in universal ESAs, she said other states should treat its experience as a warning. Even after a program is enacted, opponents may continue trying to repeal or weaken it through ballot initiatives, litigation, or legislation.

Fann framed the larger dispute as a continuing struggle between parental control and institutional control. In her view, Arizona’s experience shows that passing school-choice legislation is only the beginning; supporters also have to be prepared to defend it.

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