A Maricopa County judge dealt a major setback to Republican efforts to shield Arizona's school voucher program from future restrictions, blocking a ballot measure that could have nullified competing voucher reforms even if voters approved them this fall.
The fight could next head to an appeals court.
Judge Joseph Kreamer found that the proposed amendment violated Arizona's Constitution by including more than one amendment for voters to consider, and ordered the measure struck from the ballot.
The ballot measure, House Concurrent Resolution 2048, passed in the final hours of this year's legislative session with little opportunity for public comment. The measure would stop the state from retaking voucher funds carried over at the end of the year from the children
of military families. But a key provision in the text also cancels out any competing ballot measure in its entirety, which includes the Protect Education Act. Public school advocates protested, saying it was an obvious attempt to avoid voucher reform.
The Protect Education Act is a citizen-led ballot initiative that advocates said is needed to rein in Arizona's $1 billion school voucher program, also known as the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. The program allows public dollars to go toward private school tuition, but its critics point to unchecked spending on items unrelated to education, such as luxury goods and lingerie.
Public interest in reforming the state's substantial voucher program has risen in recent years. A poll from August 2025 showed only 7% of Arizonans wanted the ESA program to remain unchanged, per a June 14 statement released by American Federation for Children's executive director, Tommy Schultz. Favorability ratings soured further when people learned more about the program, according to the analysis. The American Federation for Children has stood in staunch opposition against the voucher reforms now headed to voters.
Under the Protect Education Act, families making more than $150,000 per year would not be eligible for school vouchers, excluding children with disabilities. It would also require the schools that receive ESA funds to be accredited or administer an assessment to track learning. The amount of voucher funds a school receives would also become public and unused voucher dollars would no longer roll over year after year.
The coalition backing voucher reform still has to defend its initiative in court after a lawsuit claimed that some of the petition circulators were not adequately registered to be collecting signatures.
Helen Rummel covers state politics and higher education for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at hrummel@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @helenrummel.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Court strikes down Arizona ballot measure shielding school vouchers
