Arizona Department of Education Superintendent Tom Horne’s efforts to identify and eliminate fraud within Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program recently scored a major legal victory – a grand jury recently indicted two individuals for allegedly enrolling fictitious ESA students, fraudulently obtaining over $110,000 from the program.

Attorney General Kris Mayes announced that two Colorado residents, Johnny Lee Bowers and Ashley Meredith Hewitt, face multiple felony charges for submitting fraudulent applications for 43 “ghost” children, resulting in misappropriated funds.

On Monday, Superintendent Horne issued the following statement:

“The Department of Education submitted this matter to the Attorney General’s Office and submitted all the other matters currently under criminal investigation, except one, which was discovered by a credit union. As a former Arizona Attorney General, I am determined as Superintendent to eliminate any fraud within the ESA program. Upon taking office, I hired an auditor who had been in the Auditor General’s office for 15 years and is now in charge of the ESA program, as well as an investigator. These two positions did not exist under my predecessor. I am pleased that prosecutions are following in the cases we sent to the Attorney General’s Office.”

The recent indictment has intensified political debates, with Democrat leaders seizing the opportunity to criticize the program’s expansion and oversight. According to the indictment, the fraud began in December 2022, before Superintendent Horne took office and initiated reforms.

Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, addressed the issue, stating, “My Office will not tolerate misuse of school voucher funds, and we are committed to ensuring taxpayer dollars are used responsibly.”

Since taking office, Superintendent Horne has implemented stricter oversight measures, including manual reviews of all ESA expense requests to ensure compliance with state laws. He has also reported multiple instances of suspected fraud to the Attorney General’s Office, underscoring his commitment to maintaining the program’s integrity.

In response to concerns about oversight, the legislature recently introduced measures to enhance accountability within the program, such as mandatory fingerprinting for instructors at private institutions utilizing ESA funds.

Public support for Arizona’s ESA program remains strong across demographics—a WPA Intelligence poll produced for the “Yes. Every Kid” Foundation revealed that 78% of parents and 62% of non-parents favor ESAs. Moreover, after informing respondents about efforts to remove thousands of children from the program, including those with special needs, overall support increased significantly.

Currently, over 72,000 Arizona students participate in the ESA program. However, Arizona’s Governor, Katie Hobbs (D), has opposed the program since taking office. Her first budget proposal in 2023 included an attempt to repeal it altogether.

Democrats have also raised concerns about the program’s financial impact on state spending. However, proponents argue that ESAs save the state money, as ESA students typically receive $7,500 per student compared to the $12,000 the state allocates per public school pupil.

If the state scaled back the ESA program, scholarships would be limited to students meeting specific criteria, such as having a disability, attending a low-performing school, or residing on a Native American reservation.

Proponents emphasize that ESA fraud is a frustrating but relatively rare exception in a program serving tens of thousands of families. They argue that the vast majority of parents use the funds responsibly to provide high-quality educational options for their children, including private schools, homeschool curricula, tutoring, and special education services.

Advocates for ESAs applaud the indictment, touting the system’s ability to root out bad actors. Families across the state have shared their stories of ESAs allowing them to escape failing public schools, afford specialized education for children with disabilities, and pursue unique learning opportunities otherwise unavailable in public schools.