AZ School EnrollmentAZ School Enrollment

What is an Arizona ESA, how much is it, and how do I apply?

An Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) is a state-funded account a parent uses to pay for private school, homeschooling or other approved education costs instead of enrolling the child in a public school. Any Arizona resident child who is eligible to attend a public school can get one. For 2025-26 the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) listed awards of $7,105 to $10,540 for a student in grades 1 to 12 without a disability; the 2026-27 chart had not been published as of 11 October 2026.

Who qualifies

Since the 2022-23 school year (HB 2853, approved 7 July 2022, which added A.R.S. 15-2401.01), any Arizona resident who is eligible to enroll in a public school is a "qualified student", kindergarten through grade 12. ADE lists "Universal student grades kindergarten through twelve" among its eligibility categories and was accepting 2026-27 applications in October 2026. Categories for students with disabilities, siblings and military families still exist and carry different amounts, but you no longer need to fit one of them.

How much it is

The award is 90% of the base support level plus the additional assistance the student would generate at a charter school (A.R.S. 15-2402), which is why it varies by grade and by add-ons rather than being one number. ADE's "Approximate Annual ESA Funding" chart for 2025-26 (uploaded April 2026 and still the current chart on 11 October 2026) lists:

Category (2025-26)Approximate annual award
Grades 1-12, no disability$7,105 to $10,540
Kindergarten$4,718 to $6,205
K-3 add-on$150 to $200
English language learner add-on$100 to $150
504 plan$7,105 to $9,916
Disability categories$7,247 up to $47,725 (for example SLD, SLI and OHI $8,423 to $12,001; autism, MD and SID $34,121 to $47,725)
Preschool or kindergarten with a disability other than P-SDHalf the listed amount

What families actually received: ADE's FY2026 fourth-quarter report (31 August 2026) says three-quarters of awards fell between $7,000 and $9,000, the most common award was $7,247 and the lowest was $4,718. Press coverage in October 2026 put the average at about $7,400.

2026-27: ADE had published no chart as of 11 October 2026. The state budget for fiscal 2027 funds a 2.0% base-level inflation increase, so awards should run roughly 2% above 2025-26, but that is an inference from the budget, not an ADE figure. Check ADE's ESA support page, where the chart is linked, before you budget.

What you can spend it on

The 2025-26 Parent Handbook (dated 1 July 2025, the current edition; the State Board limits substantive changes to once every three years) allows:

  • Tuition, fees and required textbooks at a qualified private school, and nonpublic online programs.
  • Tutoring by accredited providers; curricula and supplementary materials.
  • Standardized test fees, including AP, ACT and SAT.
  • Postsecondary tuition.
  • Individual classes and extracurriculars at a public school, paid as a tuition-paying student (schools may decline).
  • Required uniforms, and public transportation or rideshare to the school.
  • Computers, tablets, calculators, microscopes and printers.
  • For students with a disability: therapies, aides, evaluations and assistive technology.

Not allowed: televisions, phones and game consoles are named in the handbook, and ADE publishes a separate unallowable list for 2025-26. Room and board at a boarding school is not on the allowed list; see boarding schools.

How to apply, step by step

  1. Create an ADEConnect account and open the ESA portal. Applications are accepted year-round.
  2. Prove Arizona residency. Since 3 November 2025 new applicants also give the last four digits of a Social Security number or ITIN, and residency is re-verified every year.
  3. Wait for processing. ADE says a completed application "will be processed within 30 days".
  4. Sign the ESA contract in the portal. This is the moment the no-public-school rule and the STO rule take effect. The contract is renewed annually.
  5. Set up ClassWallet. A new account takes "approximately 3 weeks" to set up and fund.
  6. Pay the school or vendor from ClassWallet and keep the documentation the handbook asks for.

If you are arriving mid-year, count on 30 days plus about three weeks before money is available, and ask the school whether it will hold a place or defer the first payment. See mid-year enrollment.

When the money arrives: ClassWallet quarters

Funds are deposited quarterly: Q1 covers 1 July to 30 September, Q2 1 October to 31 December, Q3 1 January to 31 March and Q4 1 April to 30 June. The funding windows run from the 15th to the end of July, October, January and April. A student who starts partway through the year is funded from that quarter, so the first year's total is usually less than the annual chart figure.

The no-public-school rule

The contract requires the parent to "not enroll the qualified student in a school district or charter school" (A.R.S. 15-2402(B)(2)). ADE puts it plainly: "In almost all situations, students on ESA cannot be enrolled in a public school (this includes district, charter and public online programs)", and the student must be withdrawn from the public school at the time the contract is signed. The one exception is paying tuition for individual public-school classes as a "Payer Code 2" student, which a school can decline. A tuition-free online charter school counts as public school; see online schools.

ESA and tax-credit scholarships

The contract also requires the parent to "not accept a scholarship from a school tuition organization pursuant to title 43 concurrently with an Arizona empowerment scholarship account for the qualified student in the same year" (A.R.S. 15-2402(B)(3)). ADE calls it a contract violation that can result in termination. A student moving from an STO scholarship to an ESA must repay the STO before signing, and the Department of Revenue says all STO money remitted to the school for that contract year must be returned. A student who later leaves the ESA without renewing becomes "switcher"-eligible for STO scholarships. Details on the tax-credit scholarships page and the paying for school hub.

ESA and homeschooling

Arizona law treats them as separate choices. The compulsory attendance statute (A.R.S. 15-802) lets a parent choose a public, private or charter school, or homeschool, or sign an ESA contract instead. A family using ESA funds for home education does not file the county homeschool affidavit; the Maricopa County School Superintendent's office asks families not to file one for a child who has received an ESA. If you stop the ESA and continue teaching at home, file the affidavit within 30 days. See homeschool.

What changed in 2025-26, and what did not

  • No statutory change. No amendment to A.R.S. 15-2401 through 15-2403 was found from the 2025 or 2026 sessions. The 2026 session ended on 13 June 2026 without ESA reform, and the governor declined to call a special session.
  • No ballot measure. Proposition 212, an income-cap initiative, was kept off the November 2026 ballot on 18 August 2026, and a competing legislative referral was struck, so no ESA question is on the 3 November 2026 ballot.
  • Handbook. The 2025-26 handbook was approved by the State Board on 23 June 2025 with proposed price caps dropped.
  • Oversight. ADE has auto-approved purchases under $2,000 since December 2024, a practice criticised in a May 2026 Auditor General report; whether ADE changed it afterwards could not be confirmed. A July 2026 settlement replaces curriculum-document submission for supplementary materials with a parent attestation by the second quarter of fiscal 2027.
  • Residency checks. New in November 2025: last four digits of an SSN or ITIN at application and annual residency re-verification.
  • Scale. 99,709 students were enrolled in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026; ADE's home page showed 107,859 enrolled for 2026-27 as of 5 October 2026.

Common mistakes

  • Signing the ESA contract while the child is still enrolled in a district or charter school, including an online one.
  • Accepting an STO scholarship and an ESA for the same year, or forgetting that moving from STO to ESA means repaying the STO.
  • Filing a homeschool affidavit for an ESA student.
  • Expecting the full annual amount when starting mid-year; funding is by quarter.
  • Budgeting on the chart's top figure; most awards are near the bottom of the range.
  • Buying from the unallowable list or without the documentation the handbook requires.

Sources and where to verify

Frequently asked questions

How much is the Arizona ESA for 2026-27?

ADE had not published a 2026-27 funding chart as of 11 October 2026. The 2025-26 chart listed $7,105 to $10,540 for grades 1-12 without a disability, and the fiscal 2027 budget funds a 2% base-level increase, so expect figures a little above that once the chart appears on ADE's ESA support page.

Does my child have to leave public school to get an ESA?

Yes. The student must be withdrawn from the district or charter school, including public online programs, when the ESA contract is signed. The only exception is paying tuition for individual public-school classes as a tuition-paying student.

How long does the ESA application take?

ADE processes a completed application within 30 days, and a new ClassWallet account takes about three weeks to set up and fund, so allow roughly two months from application to usable money.

Can I use an ESA and a tax-credit scholarship together?

No, not in the same year. It is a contract violation, and moving from an STO scholarship to an ESA requires repaying the STO first.

Can I homeschool with an ESA?

Yes; home education expenses such as curricula, tutoring and materials are allowed uses. An ESA student does not file the county homeschool affidavit.

Is the ESA amount the same for every grade?

No. It is built from the per-pupil formula, so kindergarten is lower ($4,718 to $6,205 in 2025-26), grades 1-12 are higher, and disability categories are higher again.

Can I use an ESA at a school in another state or online?

Nonpublic online programs are an allowed use. The handbook governs out-of-state providers; check it and ask ADE before paying, since this page could not verify the current rule.

Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Figures change; the sources above are where to check.