Arizona ESA: the Empowerment Scholarship Account
The Arizona ESA is an education savings account. About $7,000 to $8,000 for most students (2025-26 figures).
- Award
- About $7,000 to $8,000 for most students (2025-26 figures)
- Read
- Who qualifies
- Any Arizona resident eligible to enroll in public school from kindergarten to 12th grade, or in a public preschool program for children with disabilities.
- Read
- School list
- The state publishes no list of participating schools.
- Application window
- Applications are accepted year-round and funding is paid quarterly.
- Read
Deadlines by state Homeschooling in Arizona All 302 private schools in Arizona
How ESA works
Checked against the program's own pages on
| What you get | About $7,000 to $8,000 for most students (2025-26 figures). We could not confirm the 2026-27 amount from the state. By law the deposit is 90% of the state funding the student would bring to a charter school. Students with disabilities receive far more. |
|---|---|
| Who qualifies | Any Arizona resident eligible to enroll in public school from kindergarten to 12th grade, or in a public preschool program for children with disabilities. There is no income limit. A public school student may apply, but must leave the public or charter school before the first money arrives. |
| How full it is | More than 100,000 students, at a cost past $1 billion a year, the Arizona Capitol Times reported on February 1, 2026. The Department of Education’s own counts sit on azed.gov, which blocks automated reading, so we do not quote them. There is no cap and no waitlist. |
| When to apply | Applications are accepted year-round and funding is paid quarterly. |
| How the money moves | The state deposits funds each quarter into a parent-controlled ClassWallet account, and the parent pays the school. |
| What it covers | Private tuition and fees, textbooks, curriculum, tutoring and testing. Therapies are allowed only for students with a qualifying disability, uniforms only when bought from or through the school, and transportation only by public transit or ride service between home and school. |
| Federal tax credit, 2027 | Arizona was not on the IRS opt-in list for the federal scholarship tax credit as of September 14, 2026. Gov. Hobbs vetoed the legislature's opt-in bills (SB 1106 in January and SB 1142 in April 2026), saying she wants federal guidance first. |
Worth knowing: A proposed ballot measure that would have added a $150,000 income cap did not qualify for the November 2026 ballot: it fell short of the required signatures after an August 18, 2026 Arizona Supreme Court ruling. The program continues unchanged.
We read this on from: Arizona Capitol Times, February 1, 2026; EdChoice, Arizona ESA (funding formula); Arizona Capitol Times, August 18, 2026, measure fails to qualify; Arizona Department of Education, ESA; A.R.S. 15-2401.01, qualified student; A.R.S. 15-2402, award formula, leaving public school, allowed expenses. Rules change when the legislature meets, so check the official program site before you count on a number.
Is there an income limit for ESA?
Any Arizona resident eligible to enroll in a public school in kindergarten through grade 12, or in a preschool program for children with disabilities, qualifies; the law sets no income test and no priority order. Source.
Apply for the Arizona ESA: how it works
- Apply to the Arizona Department of Education ESA program (start at azed.gov/esa); the department accepts applications from July 1 to June 30 each year.
- The department issues an award letter within 30 days after it receives a completed application and all required documents.
- Sign the ESA agreement, in which you agree not to enroll your child in a district or charter school, not to take a school tuition organization scholarship the same year, to spend the money only on approved education expenses, and to teach at least reading, grammar, math, social studies and science.
- If your child is in a public or charter school, withdraw before any ESA money is received; you do not have to withdraw before applying.
- The department transfers the money to your account each quarter, and you pay the school, tutor or other approved provider from it.
- Renew the account every year; the department re-checks that your child still qualifies.
Go to the official application
Steps and limits read on from: Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2401.01, universal eligibility; Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2401, definitions; Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2402, ESA agreement, uses and funding; Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2403, administration, applications and transfers; Arizona Department of Education, ESA (not readable by script, see notes). Limits change each year with the federal poverty guidelines, so confirm on the official site before you apply.
Which schools take it
Arizona does not register participating schools. Any qualified private school can be paid from an ESA, so ask the school whether it accepts ESA payments.
Browse private schools in Arizona
- Private schools in Phoenix (70 nearby)
- Private schools in Tucson (48 nearby)
- Private schools in Laveen (45 nearby)
- Private schools in Paradise Valley (34 nearby)
- Private schools in Scottsdale (33 nearby)
- Private schools in Tempe (28 nearby)
- Private schools in Glendale (27 nearby)
- Private schools in Chandler (26 nearby)
- Private schools in Mesa (23 nearby)
- Private schools in Oro Valley (20 nearby)
- Private schools in Fountain Hills (19 nearby)
- Private schools in Gilbert (17 nearby)
- Private schools in Peoria (17 nearby)
- Private schools in Goodyear (11 nearby)
- Private schools in Cave Creek (8 nearby)
- Private schools in Yuma (5 nearby)
- Private schools in Cottonwood (4 nearby)
- Private schools in Prescott (4 nearby)
Related programs
Run your own numbers
What would you pay?
Enter amounts of $0 or more.
We could not confirm this year’s ESA amount, so type in the figure from your award letter. An award can never be more than the school actually charges. This is arithmetic, not a quote.
Put the next ESA window in your calendar
Most programs open once a year, and several ran out of money or seats in 2026. Pick your state's program to add its next dated window to your own calendar, with the official link, or subscribe to every program's dates.
No new ESA application dates are posted yet. How ESA works.
Every program's dates in one calendar that updates when we confirm new dates: subscribe in Google Calendar · subscribe in Apple Calendar or Outlook · all deadlines
Free. Nothing to sign up for: the calendar file is made in your browser and nothing is sent to us. Dates can change, so confirm on the official site.
Questions parents ask
Answers with a source line are short summaries of the program document named under them. Follow the link for the full wording.
How much does ESA pay in Arizona?
About $7,000 to $8,000 for most students (2025-26 figures). We could not confirm the 2026-27 amount from the state. By law the deposit is 90% of the state funding the student would bring to a charter school. Students with disabilities receive far more.
Who is eligible?
Any Arizona resident eligible to enroll in public school from kindergarten to 12th grade, or in a public preschool program for children with disabilities. There is no income limit. A public school student may apply, but must leave the public or charter school before the first money arrives.
Does it cover the full cost of private school?
Not always. The award is a set amount and every school sets its own price. Ask each school for tuition plus fees, then subtract the award. The calculator on this page does the sum for you.
How do I know a school accepts ESA?
Arizona does not register participating schools. Any qualified private school can be paid from an ESA, so ask the school whether it accepts ESA payments.
When do I apply?
Applications are accepted year-round and funding is paid quarterly.
How do I apply for the Arizona ESA?
Apply to the Arizona Department of Education ESA program (start at azed.gov/esa); the department accepts applications from July 1 to June 30 each year. The 6 steps are listed under “Apply for the Arizona ESA” on this page, with the documents to have ready.
Is there an income limit for the Arizona ESA?
No. Since 2022-23 any Arizona resident eligible to enroll in a public school from kindergarten through grade 12 qualifies, whatever the family income.
Is ESA money taxable?
No. State law says money received in an ESA is not taxable income to the parent.
Do we have to renew every year?
Yes. A parent must renew the account annually. An account that is not renewed for three academic years is closed after a 60 day notice, and the remaining money goes back to the state.
Can my child apply while still in public school?
Yes, but the child must leave the district or charter school before receiving any ESA money, and cannot be enrolled in one while the account is funded.
Does the ESA cover pre-K?
Only a preschool program for children with disabilities. Otherwise eligibility starts at kindergarten.
Can I use an ESA and a school tuition organization scholarship together?
No. A parent agrees not to accept a school tuition organization scholarship for the child in the same year the ESA agreement is signed.
How much money goes into the account?
State law sets the deposit at 90 percent of the base state funding and additional assistance the student would bring to a charter school, so the amount depends on the student. The law itself gives no single dollar figure; the Department of Education posts the current amounts.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2402, ESA agreement, allowed expenses and funding, undated page, read October 7, 2026.
When can we apply, and when does money arrive?
Applications are taken all year, from July 1 to June 30. The department must send an award letter within 30 days of a complete application. Applications finished between April 1 and June 30 start on July 1. Money is normally paid into the account each quarter.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2403, administration, applications, transfers and appeals, undated page, read October 7, 2026.
What can the money pay for?
Tuition and fees at a qualified private school that fingerprints its staff, required textbooks, curriculum and supplementary materials, tutoring, online learning programs, test fees, and individual classes or activities at a public school, among other items listed in the law.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2402, ESA agreement, allowed expenses and funding, undated page, read October 7, 2026.
Can we buy a computer or pay for rides to school?
A computer, tablet, printer or similar device is allowed when it is used mainly for school. Televisions, phones and game consoles are not. For travel, only public transit or a ride service between home and the private school is allowed.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2402, ESA agreement, allowed expenses and funding, undated page, read October 7, 2026.
Which private schools qualify?
A nongovernment elementary or high school in Arizona, or a preschool for children with disabilities, that does not discriminate by race, color or national origin. A student living on a reservation may also use a school in a neighboring state within two miles of the border.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2401, definitions, undated page, read October 7, 2026.
Can the account pay for college?
Yes. Tuition and fees at an eligible college or university are allowed. The account closes when the student finishes college, or after four years in a row after high school without college enrollment, and the remaining money goes back to the state.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2402, ESA agreement, allowed expenses and funding, undated page, read October 7, 2026.
Can a school or tutor give some of the money back to us?
No. A school or provider paid from the account may not share, refund or rebate account money to the parent or student.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2402, ESA agreement, allowed expenses and funding, undated page, read October 7, 2026.
What if we disagree with a decision about our account?
You can appeal any decision by the Department of Education, including on allowed expenses, removal from the program or eligibility, to the State Board of Education. You may bring a representative who does not have to be a lawyer.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes 15-2403, administration, applications, transfers and appeals, undated page, read October 7, 2026.
School choice programs in every state: 33 of the 50 states and DC have a program that pays toward private school, compared side by side.