As Arizona Schools Close, Mark Kelly Fights to Keep Federal Money Out of Private Hands

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is pushing Congress to repeal the country's first federal school voucher program, saying that Arizona's troubled experiment proves exactly why it should be dismantled.

Sen. Kelly co-introduced the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act alongside Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) in April, targeting voucher provisions tucked into the monumental One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The program lets individuals claim a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to organizations that fund private K-12 tuition.

"What have universal school vouchers done for Arizona? They’ve set back students’ education, wasted taxpayer money, and taken resources from public schools," Kelly said. "I'm fighting to protect public education, because Republicans' national school voucher program will only make this worse."

Arizona's own voucher program has become its central exhibit as audits revealed more than $10 million in taxpayer funds spent on prohibited purchases.

12News reported the state's nonpartisan Grand Canyon Institute estimates the expanded program costs Arizona roughly $400 million more annually than if it never existed, straining a state already facing a budget deficit.

Recent Closure on Public Schools

The consequences for public schools are tangible. At least 30 Arizona public schools have closed or been repurposed since 2020, with ten shutting their doors just this school year, concentrated heavily in Phoenix suburbs.

District officials point to declining enrollment driven by both falling birth rates and the voucher program's expansion.

Kelly, who describes himself as a product of public education, argues the federal program risks scaling those problems nationwide. Thirty Senate colleagues have signed onto his bill, along with endorsements from more than 160 national and state education organizations.

Republican support, however, remains largely absent, a significant hurdle for legislation that would need to clear a divided Congress.

Additionally, the financial stakes are considerable. The Joint Committee on Taxation put the program's ten-year cost at roughly $26 billion, but independent analysts at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy warn the real figure could climb to $51 billion or more per year if large numbers of eligible taxpayers claim the credit.

Kelly says he isn't backing down. "I feel my role is to fight for every kid in our country to get a decent public education," he said.