PHOENIX — The Arizona Legislature concluded its 2026 session by passing several controversial ballot measures – including one that would kill a voter initiative to reform the state’s school voucher program.
Lawmakers in the House ended a marathon last day at 4:45 a.m. Saturday, a little more than four hours after the Senate moved to adjourn “sine die.”
House Concurrent Resolution 2048, one of the last bills House lawmakers voted on, would ask Arizona voters to amend the state Constitution to prohibit the state from taking scholarship money back from children of military families. The measure would apply to Empowerment Scholarship Accounts – and it includes a provision that would block a voter initiative to reform the school voucher program, even if voters approve both.
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“It's very clear that it applies to more than just military families, and it seems to be specifically designed to invalidate the Protect Education Act,” said Tyler Kowch, a spokesperson for Save Our Schools Arizona.
The group is part of a coalition backing the effort to overhaul the ESA program with reforms including income caps, restrictions on prohibited items, fingerprint requirements for schools and tutors and testing requirements.
Critics say ESAs don’t have enough guardrails and are rife with fraud, waste and abuse.
HCR 2048 was introduced Friday night after a bill with some ESA reforms failed in the Senate. The reform bill was part of a deal House Republicans reached the Arizona Education Association in exchange for ending the effort to put the Protect Education Act on the November ballot.
The bill passed both chambers, which have Republican majorities, along party lines.
“And I think it’s a shame that we’re actually sitting here in the middle of the night to sneak this in because you couldn’t get a deal,” state Rep. Alma Hernandez said.
Members of Save Our Schools Arizona hit the Capitol to oppose the agreement, which Kowch said didn’t have all of the reforms his group was calling for.
“There's no income cap in this deal,” he said. “There's minimal testing requirements that don't apply to all students.”
Every Democratic senator and two Republican senators voted against the bill, a strike-everything amendment to House Bill 2142.
HCR 2048 was soon introduced in the Senate, and a committee hearing was quickly held to advance the measure. The Senate then passed it on a party-line vote, with supporters saying the measure honors the state’s promises to military families.
“The reality is that there’s absolutely no justification for confiscating the scholarship funds from children of military service members who have faithfully served this nation,” said state Sen. Jake Hoffman, one of the two Republicans who voted against the ESA reform deal.
He told ABC15 he thought the ESA reform bill was bad policy.
The sponsor of HCR 2048, state Rep. Michael Way, said it’s a “simple vote for military families.”
“This amendment would strike down every provision of any measure that treats military families as acceptable collateral damage,” he said.
State Rep. Nick Kupper, a Republican and retired Air Force veteran, said his children began receiving ESAs when he was still on active duty.
“We as a state have given our word to not just my children, but children of all active-duty service members, that is a program for them,” he said.
But Democrats said the proposed constitutional amendment is not about military families, pointing to a line in the legislation that would invalidate the Protect Education Act if voters pass both measures.
"I believe it’s a political ploy to stop the Protect Education Act,” said state Rep. Aaron Márquez, an Army Reserve veteran.
The bill passed the House and Senate, which both have Republican majorities, along party lines.
“And I think it’s a shame that we’re actually sitting here in the middle of the night to sneak this in because you couldn’t get a deal,” state Rep. Alma Hernandez said.
Meanwhile, Kowch said Arizona needs ESA reforms.
“We know the people of Arizona are smart, and they'll see through this measure for what it is, and they'll support Protect Education, and Protect Education will become law in November,” he said.
After the failure of the ESA reform bill, state lawmakers also passed two other education-related ballot referrals: House Concurrent Resolution 2040, which would ban public school districts from supporting unions like the Arizona Education Association and make going on strike a fireable offense for public school teachers and House Concurrent Resolution 2007, which would mandate all districts in Maricopa and Pima counties to spend at least 60% of their budget on instructional costs. HCR 2007 would also apply to public school districts with over 7,500 students.
HCR 2048, HCR 2040 and HCR 2007 are three of 10 lawmaker-referred measures voters will see on their ballot in November.
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