What are charter schools and the ESA program in Arizona?

Arizona has one of the largest charter sectors in the country. Charters are authorised and overseen by the State Board for Charter Schools, which keeps a searchable list with each school’s status; they set their own curriculum and calendar, cannot charge tuition, have no attendance boundaries, and run a lottery when more children apply than there are places [1]. Because they are public schools, they appear on the state report cards with letter grades and test results, so compare them the same way as district schools [2].

The ESA programme, administered by the Arizona Department of Education, became open to every Arizona school-age child in 2022. The state deposits most of the per-pupil funding it would have spent on a public school into an account the family uses for approved expenses: private school tuition and fees, curriculum, tutoring, therapies and some technology. A child on an ESA cannot be enrolled in a district or charter school at the same time, and spending is audited [3].

Which to choose depends on the child: a charter is a free public option with a particular approach, while an ESA funds a private or home-based path and requires parents to manage the money and the paperwork. The education department’s pages set out eligibility, the application cycle and the allowed expenses [3].