Arizona Supreme Court Blocks Union-Backed Ballot Measure Targeting School Choice
The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision that prevents the Protect Education Act from reaching the November ballot, marking the third consecutive failure for the Save Our Schools Arizona initiative.
Arizona's highest court confirmed a trial-court judgment that bars the Protect Education Act from appearing on the upcoming November ballot, effectively ending the third attempt by Save Our Schools Arizona to curtail the state's Empowerment Scholarship Account system. The initiative sought to impose an income cap, add restrictive rules, and divert unused funds away from participating students. Pro-school-choice organizations, led by the Goldwater Institute and the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, exposed extensive irregularities in the petition drive, including tens of thousands of duplicate signatures and submissions by unregistered or criminally convicted circulators.
The court agreed that the lower court had correctly applied the legal standard for validating signatures, leaving the measure well below the required 256,000. Former Governor Doug Ducey praised the ruling, emphasizing broad public support for school choice, while critics accused unions of attempting to deceive voters through massive spending and unlawful signature collection.
Why it matters
The ruling keeps Arizona's school-choice program intact, preserving education options for over 100,000 students.
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