{"id":2238,"date":"2026-06-18T07:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T07:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2026-06-18T07:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T07:03:29","slug":"esa-voucher-enrollment-data-finds-higher-participation-from-high-income-zip-codes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238","title":{"rendered":"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – New data shows students from high-income zip codes are enrolled in Arizona\u2019s ESA program at a higher rate than students from low-income neighborhoods, according to the new numbers on Empowerment Scholarship Account enrollment.<\/p>\n

Read more Caught on camera: First responders save dogs, turtle from Phoenix house fire<\/a><\/p>\n

According to a recent report, 11.2% of students in high-income zip codes are enrolled in Arizona\u2019s ESA program. That\u2019s in comparison to just 4% of students in low-income zip codes.<\/p>\n

The data suggests a broader trend of school voucher enrollment increasing as student income level does.<\/p>\n

Debate over what the data shows<\/h3>\n

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said zip codes are too large to indicate student economic status. He said the number of students coming from public schools has increased in recent years, which he said indicates growing enrollment from lower-income students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a constant trend where [there are] more public school students and less students coming from private school, to the point where now it\u2019s 60% public school and 40% coming from private school,\u201d Horne said.<\/p>\n

Tucson Education Association President Jim Byrne pushed back and said a recent report from Tucson Unified School District found 80% of ESA recipients in Tucson previously attended private schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless they\u2019ve got a different source of funding, they\u2019ve been able to self-fund, so these are sort of subsidies for families who don\u2019t need it,\u201d Byrne said.<\/p>\n

Legislative battle and potential ballot measures<\/h3>\n

The income debate is at the heart of a battle in the Arizona Legislature as attempts to push forward a voucher reform deal collapsed last week.<\/p>\n

Voters may face competing education-related ballot measures this November, including the Protect Education Act effort by Save our Schools. The anti-ESA proposal would impose several program restrictions, like a $150,000 income cap, which Horne said he doesn\u2019t support.<\/p>\n

Read more Uber driver was allegedly impaired with mother, child in car before Goodyear crash<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all paying taxes. The people with more money are paying more taxes, and if there\u2019s government benefits available, they should be entitled to it,\u201d Horne said.<\/p>\n

Byrne said an income cap would make more people ineligible for the program and free up more tax dollars for public education.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are nowhere close to being fiscally conservative if you\u2019re spending over a billion dollars on people who can afford it. You\u2019re subsidizing families who can afford the education that they\u2019re trying to provide for their kids outside of public schools,\u201d Byrne said, citing the $1 billion price tag for the ESA program. <\/p>\n

Horne said he\u2019s hopeful voters won\u2019t be faced with any ballot measures aimed at reforming the program, adding that he\u2019s asked the Governor to convene a special session in the coming weeks to revisit the failed deal. <\/p>\n

He said income caps would not be included in that deal, but said it would include additional money for increased account spending oversight and ESA program employees.<\/p>\n

Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n

Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live<\/b><\/u><\/i>.<\/p>\n

Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple<\/b><\/u> and Google<\/b><\/u>. <\/p>\n

If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n

Read more Community hosts rally for Karla Toledo, husband as they face deportation<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here<\/b><\/u><\/i>.<\/b><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New data reveals participation gap as voucher debate intensifies. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New data reveals participation gap as voucher debate intensifies.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T07:03:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T07:03:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238\"},\"wordCount\":585,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/19589ed845904b59e5e0c1994aaf73e8.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238\",\"name\":\"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes - Tucson Moving Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/19589ed845904b59e5e0c1994aaf73e8.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T07:03:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/19589ed845904b59e5e0c1994aaf73e8.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/19589ed845904b59e5e0c1994aaf73e8.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2238#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tucson Moving Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes - Tucson Moving Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes - Tucson Moving Report","og_description":"New data reveals participation gap as voucher debate intensifies.","og_url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238","og_site_name":"Tucson Moving Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-18T07:03:29+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"headline":"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes","datePublished":"2026-06-18T07:03:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238"},"wordCount":585,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19589ed845904b59e5e0c1994aaf73e8.avif","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238","name":"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes - Tucson Moving Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19589ed845904b59e5e0c1994aaf73e8.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-18T07:03:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19589ed845904b59e5e0c1994aaf73e8.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19589ed845904b59e5e0c1994aaf73e8.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2238#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ESA voucher enrollment data finds higher participation from high-income zip codes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/","name":"Tucson Moving Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}