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Arizona Says NO to
Trump’s Federal Voucher Scam
What a week! Thousands of volunteers across Arizona are working tirelessly to rein in our state’s universal voucher program [[link removed]] by collecting signatures for the Protect Education initiative — check out our [[link removed]]
BRING ‘EM BACK Weekend of Action [[link removed]] below, get those petitions returned 🔥🔥🔥
Meanwhile, our state’s leaders have been hard at work defending against Trump’s federal voucher scam 👇
👏 Gov. Hobbs Vetoes Federal Voucher Bill: On Monday, Governor Hobbs vetoed SB1142 , which would have forced our state to opt in to the federal tax credit voucher program in Trump’s HB1. [[link removed]]
This voucher program is designed as a tax shelter for the rich that would transfer untold billions to private schools — doubling down on the massive inequities created by our state’s ESA voucher program and further eroding public education in our state. We’re grateful our state has a leader who prioritizes the public schools that serve over 90% of Arizona students!
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👏 Senator Kelly Launches the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act: Then, on Wednesday, Senator Kelly filed his bill to rescind Trump’s federal voucher program along with 29 other Senate Democrats as co-sponsors.
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Senator Kelly penned an incredible OpEd, [[link removed]] which we hope you will read and share.
I’m a product of great public schools. I believe in the American Dream because I lived it, and I know it starts with a good education. Every child, in every zip code, deserves a fair shot. That’s not a policy position—it’s an American value. But in Arizona, and increasingly across the country, universal school voucher programs [[link removed]] are threatening that promise for millions of families.
Arizona’s experiment with universal school vouchers should be a cautionary tale for my Republican colleagues. It is busting our state budget [[link removed]] and threatens to close public schools [[link removed]] and make it harder for working class kids to get a good education. We should not take Arizona’s failed experiment national, but that is exactly what most Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration did in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act [[link removed]] .
Since 2022, our state’s universal voucher program has diverted and drained money from public schools; last year alone cost Arizona taxpayers nearly $1 billion. Instead of investing in classrooms, special education services, or school safety, lawmakers pushed massive tax giveaways and created a parallel education system that lacks transparency and accountability.
Who benefits the most from Arizona's school voucher program?
Here’s the truth: most working families aren’t benefiting and the program is a magnet for waste, fraud and abuse [[link removed]] . The majority of voucher recipients in Arizona were already in private school before the program expanded. That means taxpayers are now footing the bill [[link removed]] —thousands of dollars per student—for families who were already paying private school tuition. And the wealthiest neighborhoods [[link removed]] use the most vouchers.
Taxpayers are essentially cutting blank checks for things they have no business paying for. In March, the Arizona Attorney General's Office released new data from an audit [[link removed]] that examined a random sample of purchases from December 2024 through October 2025. That data showed that over 20% of purchases [[link removed]] were identified as "unallowed.” Meanwhile, investigative reporters found 18,000 parents spent over $10 million [[link removed]] from the voucher program on things like diamond necklaces, cell phones, jet ski rentals, gaming consoles, a designer purse, Air Jordan sneakers and hotel rooms.
Families of students with disabilities have been hit especially hard. Public schools are legally required to provide special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [[link removed]] (IDEA). Private schools aren’t. That means parents who depend on those protections are often left out entirely.
How can the federal voucher program affect public schools?
Instead of addressing these problems, the Trump Administration is doubling down. Trump’s signature bill included a massive, deficit-increasing, $26 billion national private school voucher program.
We have an opportunity to fix this by passing the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act [[link removed]] , which I introduced April 15. This bill, endorsed by more than 160 education and disability rights organizations, would repeal the federal tax credit voucher program, halting one of the major wrecking balls the Trump Administration has taken to public education.
America’s public schools helped build the strongest middle class the world has ever seen. If we want to keep that dream alive and keep improving education, we must keep public funds in public schools that serve all kids. That’s how we build our children’s future and honor the American promise that hard work, not privilege, determines your path in life. It did for me, and I want to make sure it does for every kid. Let’s strengthen, not abandon, our public schools.
Our kids and our country deserve it.
Senator Kelly’s office released a press release [[link removed]] , which featured SOSAZ’s Director, Beth Lewis, who said, “We proudly support the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act to prioritize funding for our neighborhood public schools, which are accountable to taxpayers and accept all students, rather than Trump’s federal voucher program that is designed to benefit the wealthy few. In Arizona, we’ve watched as our state’s $1 billion universal voucher program, rushed through with no accountability and no cap, has led to skyrocketing costs, massive cuts to teacher salaries and programs, and unprecedented school closures across the state. Arizona’s voucher program has been plagued by countless stories of fraud, waste, and abuse. We are grateful to Senator Kelly for standing up and for rightfully acknowledging that public funds belong in our public schools,” said Beth Lewis, Director of Save Our Schools Arizona.
You all made this happen!!! Without your tireless advocacy for years, the tide wouldn’t be shifting like this. Let’s keep going, team 🔥💪👏
READ THE FULL WEEKLY EDUCATION REPORT HERE [[link removed]]
LEA EL SEMANARIO EN ESPAÑOL [[link removed]]
Protect Education! Initiative Updates
We have just 11 weekends to collect 256,000 signatures from Arizona voters to qualify the Protect Education Act f [[link removed]] or the November 2026 ballot. We are going to rein in AZ’s $1 billion ESA voucher and redirect saved funding back to Arizona’s public school classrooms — which serve over 90% of Arizona students 🎉🍎🏫🎒
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Do you have any petitions with signatures on hand? It’s time to turn them in! No matter how full your sheet is, Protect Education is asking everyone to notarize and return their petition sheets at their Bring Em Back & Sign Weekend [[link removed]] from Friday April 17 to Monday April 20 !!! There will be events in every corner of Arizona — please check here to find a location near you to sign and check out petitions 👉 bit.ly/pe-bringback [[link removed]] !
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Can’t make it this weekend? That’s okay - here’s how to plug in:
* Pick up petitions at a Depot near you – here’s the Petition Depot list
* Request petitions and get connected locally - here’s the Petition Request form
* Here is the training video, it’s critical that everyone who circulates watches it, no matter how many times you’ve volunteered for petitions. The rules change frequently, and we want all signatures you collect to be counted.
💥 Volunteer Resource Hub: Check out our Volunteer Hub [[link removed]] , which is your one-stop shop for all circulator trainings, FAQs, and more. Make sure to bookmark or save the link! 📌
Legislative Update
⚔️ You Shall Not Pass: After more than three weeks of waiting, Gov. Hobbs announced Monday she would veto all bills sent to her desk [[link removed]] until Republican legislative leaders publicly released their budget numbers. She then followed through, promptly vetoing the bills [[link removed]] Republicans had sent to her anyway. Unsurprisingly, voting action on the House and Senate floors has slowed way down as a result. Leadership also appears to be holding on to the bills they pass (which is constitutionally questionable) rather than advancing them to the governor’s desk for action.
🙄 A Predictable Response: Senate President Warren Petersen (R-14) labeled Hobbs’ move “strong-arming” [[link removed]] and accused her of “a temper tantrum” — language he never would have used in reference to former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who employed the strategy in 2018 [[link removed]] and again in 2021 [[link removed]] (not to mention former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer before him in 2013 [[link removed]] , etc.). As longtime lobbyist Barry Aarons observed [[link removed]] , the move is “not that dramatic” and “really shouldn’t surprise anybody” given Arizona’s divided government. Petersen’s insistence that “it’s fine” and lawmakers are “pretty much done with our work” falls flat given how abruptly he has stopped bills from moving to her desk.
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💰 Budget Details: It could still be several weeks until Republican legislative leaders produce the numbers Hobbs is asking for, since word has it they’re having trouble getting all members of their caucus into full agreement. Their top demand seems to be full tax conformity, a very expensive proposition [[link removed]] at $1.4 billion over 3 years — and one Hobbs has pointed out they don’t have any way to pay for. Republicans are likely also agitating for the federal vouchers she just vetoed by arguing that “full conformity” includes them.
DOA: Regardless of when a partisan budget is introduced, this “veto bait” package of bills (something that unfortunately seems to be becoming [[link removed]] an annual exercise [[link removed]] ) is doomed from the moment of its birth, as any budget must be signed by Gov. Hobbs in order to become law. Lawmakers also still have more than two months before the June 30 budget deadline. Once again this year, we're almost certain to see a frantic flurry of activity on this topic in late June. This will be underpinned by the threat of a first-ever state government shutdown, along with the earlier-than-usual dropping of primary ballots on June 24, which will complicate budget negotiations for every sitting lawmaker with a contested primary ( including the Senate president himself [[link removed]] ).
Speaking of money: This past Thursday, a panel of the state’s top economists delivered grim economic news [[link removed]] . Arizona’s general fund has even less unallocated money than initially projected ($378 million down from $577 million in January), and federal-level chaos is dampening our state’s economy. They warned this will mean “challenges in addressing major budget issues such as tax conformity and ongoing one-time spending” — which is their way of warning that budget negotiations just got that much more complicated.
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READ THE FULL REPORT ON BILLS HERE [[link removed]]
🤓✅ The SOSAZ 2026 Bill Tracker [[link removed]] , a live document with full information about all bills SOSAZ supports or opposes in 2026, gives you up-to-the-minute information on where these bills stand. Bookmark the Bill Tracker [[link removed]] to stay in the know.
Join Us!
📚 Join Save Our Schools Arizona Network’s From Page to Power Book Club TODAY! Our book is “Navigating School Board Politics” by Carrie Sampson. Join us (virtually) for a discussion today, Sunday April 19 at 3:00 pm to connect, learn, and meet new people.
REGISTER HERE [[link removed]]
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🎒 Join author Jennifer Berkshire and SOSAZ’s Beth Lewis on Red Wine & Blue’s national panel to hear more about Trump’s dangerous federal school voucher program that opens the door for states to redirect even more public education funding to private schools. Federal vouchers will be devastating to the public schools that so many of our kids rely on. Tune in to learn what’s coming, why it’s risky, and how you can take action.
REGISTER HERE [[link removed]]
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Contact Us
[email protected]
Save Our Schools Arizona
PO Box 28370
Tempe, AZ 85285
United States
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