Arizona funds families to choose private schools. Its teacher scholarship does not count private-school teaching.
More than 100,000 students use Arizona's ESA. The state's own tuition-free teacher program requires graduates to teach in a public or charter school.
Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program served 102,891 students in early 2026. Families can spend it on private tuition, tutoring and more.
The Arizona Teachers Academy waives tuition for future teachers at ASU, Northern Arizona, the University of Arizona and community colleges, about $15 million a year from the general fund. Recipients must “teach in an Arizona public or charter school” for each year of support. Private-school teaching does not count.
So the state pays for families to choose private schools, and pays for teachers on the condition that they do not work in one. Our October pass of Arizona's universities found the same shape: UA and NAU build preparation with districts, and ASU's choice-sector work sits in its K–12 arm, not its education college.
The limit, first. A scholarship rule does not determine where teachers go after their service ends, and private schools in Arizona can hire uncertified teachers. This note records a design choice in two state programs, not its effect.
Why it matters. Arizona has the largest universal ESA in the country. Its teacher pipeline policy was written before the money became portable, and it has not changed.
Sources
- Maricopa Community Colleges — Arizona Teachers Academy scholarship
- JLBC — Arizona Teachers Academy program summary
- Arizona Department of Education — ESA FY26 Q3 report
Cite as: When Money Follows the Child. Arizona funds families to choose private schools. Its teacher scholarship does not count private-school teaching Field Note 13, October 2026. https://www.whenmoneyfollowsthechild.org/notes/13/ Accessed [date].