Can Arizona afford its rapidly growing school voucher program?

Arizona's empowerment scholarship account, or ESA, is the most
extensive in the country. Now, students whose families want to send
them to a private school or provide specialized instruction can do
so thanks to a taxpayer-funded voucher. The program helps some
families, but critics say the program's cost will strain the state
budget, and there's no way to gauge the kind of education students
are getting or who's making money off of the program because it
lacks many guardrails. This year, more than 60,000 students are
enrolled in the ESA program, a significant jump from last year's
12,000 students. Issues with administration are also plaguing the
program. In this episode of The Gaggle, The Republic's K-12
reporter, Yana Kunichoff joins hosts Mary Jo Pitzl and Ron Hansen.
Together they discuss how much this rapidly growing program will
cost taxpayers, the data holes in the program, and how Arizona's
ESA program can improve to better serve students. Learn more about
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