ARIZONA

The Arizona Federation for Children seeks to empower families, especially lower-income families, with the freedom to choose the best K-12 education for their children. We are a project of the American Federation for Children

ARIZONA’S SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS:

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL CHOICE IN ARIZONA!

EMPOWERMENT SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNTS PROGRAM

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

Student must: 

  • Be identified as a child with a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or by a school district, or be eligible to receive special education services from a school district under state law and have an individualized education program (IEP); or

  • Attend (or be an entering kindergarten student zoned to attend) a public school or school district that received a letter grade of a “D” or “F” from the Arizona Department of Education; or

  • Have a parent who is an active-duty member of the U.S. military or was killed in the line of duty; or

  • Be adopted from the state foster care system or placed with a family and have a case plan of adoption; or

  • Be a sibling of a current or former ESA student; or

  • Live on a Native American reservation; or

  • Have a parent that is blind or hearing impaired

  • Be in grades K-12 or preschool students with disabilities are eligible if they have a multidisciplinary evaluation team (MET) report or an IEP from an Arizona public school.

  • Student must have attended public school as a full-time student for the first 100 days of the prior school year; have participated in the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program in the previous year; be entering kindergarten; or have parents on active military duty

 

PARENT REQUIREMENTS

Must sign an agreement to:

  • Provide an education in the subjects of reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science
     
  • Not enroll students in a school district or charter school 

  • Release the school district from all obligations to educate the student 

  • Not accept a scholarship under any of Arizona’s tax credit scholarship programs 

  • Use the money deposited in the empowerment account for purposes specified in the law and spend accumulated ESA dollars on basic education subjects.

INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL TUITION ORGANIZATION TAX CREDIT

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

  • For preschool, student must be enrolling or currently enrolled in a private preschool program for students with disabilities and have an IEP or multidisciplinary evaluation team (MET) report from an Arizona public school

  • Additional requirements may be determined by School Tuition Organizations (STO)

  • To participate in the Switcher program, student must meet ONE of the following: 
    • Attended an Arizona public school for at least 90 days or a full semester in the prior school year and transferred to a private school 
    • Currently enrolled in kindergarten 
    • Dependent of a member of the U.S. armed forces who is stationed in Arizona under military orders 
    • Previously received a Corporate or Switcher scholarship in a prior year and has attended private school continuously since.

LEXIE'S LAW - SPECIAL NEEDS TAX CREDIT SCHOLARSHIP

STUDENT MUST

  • Have been placed in foster care at any time before the student graduates from high school or obtains a GED; or
     
  • Be identified as having a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, identified by a school district as a student with a disability, or identified as eligible to receive disability services from a school district; or

  • Have a 504 plan from an Arizona public school.

TAX CREDIT SCHOLARSHIP

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

  • Family income cannot exceed 185% of the amount required to qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program ($90,696 for family of four in 2021-22)

  • Student must be in grades K-12 or preschool students with disabilities are eligible if they have a multidisciplinary evaluation team (MET) report or an IEP from an Arizona public school

  • Student must have attended an Arizona public school as a full-time student for at least 90 days of the prior fiscal year or one full semester and then transferred from the public school to a private school (those students who transfer to a qualified school after the first full semester are eligible to receive a scholarship that same academic year); or

  • Student must be enrolling or currently enrolled in a private school kindergarten; or

  • Student must be enrolling or currently enrolled in a private preschool program for students with disabilities (preschool students must have an MET or IEP from an Arizona public school; a 504 plan does not meet the requirement); or

  • Student received a low-income corporate scholarship under one of the above criteria in a prior year, and the child continued to attend a private school in subsequent years; or 

  • Student must be a dependent of a member of the U.S. armed forces who is stationed in Arizona; or 

  • Student received an individual scholarship in a prior year and continued to attend a private school in subsequent years.

ARIZONA VOICES FOR CHOICE

Hear from parents, students, educators and advocates on the power of school choice in your state.

AFC BOOTS ON THE GROUND

Our team focuses its time and resources on supporting state-level efforts to provide low-income and middle-income families with access to great schools through private school choice.

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