In 2026, Biggs intervened in negotiations with the Arizona legislature and the Arizona Education Association over ballot measures impacting school vouchers and union funding. The Arizona Education Association’s ballot initiative would have put income caps and spending restrictions on vouchers, while Republicans had passed three measures that would block further school voucher reforms and effectively defund the teachers union, and potentially all labor unions, including in public safety.
The negotiations were approaching a deal that would have both parties drop their ballot measures in exchange for the legislature passing more moderate school voucher reforms, until Biggs told Republicans it was a bad deal, and they should instead only agree to drop the anti-union legislation. Arizona Democrats and the Arizona Education Association walked away from negotiations, arguing Republicans were not negotiating in good faith, meaning Arizona voters would likely have to vote on all four ballot measures in November.
During fiscal year 2026, the school voucher program, which Biggs wanted to expand, cost Arizona taxpayers more than $1 billion. Additionally, after the program instituted automatic approvals for purchases under $2,000, concerns about fraud grew in response to reports that voucher dollars were used to purchase luxury items including jewelry, vacations, and home appliances.
Biggs Told Arizona Republicans To Only Drop Their Anti-Union Legislation In Exchange For The Arizona Education Association Dropping Their Ballot Initiative. According to the Arizona Daily Star, “But that was before Biggs told Republicans it wasn't a good deal. Instead, he said he preferred a one-for-one trade: no AEA initiative in exchange for dropping the anti-union referendum. GOP legislative leaders fell into line.” [Arizona Daily Star, 6/30/26]
Biggs Said He Was Not “Trying To Stir The Pot” In Introducing The “Biggs Deal” To Resolve Negotiations Between Arizona Republicans And The Teachers Union, But Called For Hobbs To Call A Special Session And “Make That One-For-One Deal.” According to the Arizona Republic, “Biggs said he was contacted by lawmakers and school choice advocates curious about his position on the potential deal, so he put forward what conservative groups and lawmakers have since dubbed the ‘Biggs Deal.’ ‘I wasn't trying to stir the pot,’ said Biggs, a five-term congressman. ‘People were asking me what I thought, and I'll just succinctly say it,’ Biggs said in an interview with The Arizona Republic. ‘I think the governor should call a special session. I think both sides should make that one-for-one deal. And I think both sides, the AEA and the legislators ... the school choice folks would be ... able to walk away on neutral ground and feel pretty happy about that.’” [Arizona Republic, 6/30/26]
Biggs Claimed He Did Not “Insert” Himself Into The Negotiations, But Told Republicans Not To Include “All This Other Stuff” In The Deal After They Asked For His Opinion. According to the Arizona Daily Star, “But Biggs, a member of Congress, said it is a mischaracterization to say he inserted himself into already ongoing negotiations. He said he had been approached by people concerned about the voucher issue and the kinds of deals being considered. ‘I didn't necessarily want to insert myself,’ Biggs told Capitol Media Services. He said all he did was draft a statement. ‘People asked me what I thought,’ he said. And he said the best deal would have been the one-for-one tradeoff: AEA drops its initiative in exchange for lawmakers taking the anti-union measure off the ballot, and not ‘all this other stuff, too.’” [Arizona Daily Star, 6/30/26]
Arizona Democrats And The Education Association Said Republicans Were Not Negotiating In Good Faith And Walked Away After Biggs Told Republicans To Replace Their Initial Deal With “A One-For-One Trade.” According to the Arizona Daily Star, “Still, his statement became public even as bipartisan negotiations were going on, and Republicans started removing some things from the table that they already had promised, Sundareshan said. She said that's why Democrats concluded the Republicans were not negotiating in good faith and that it no longer made sense to try to reach a deal with them. It was also the reason AEA and its allies walked away. ‘After Biggs and his extremist allies intervened, their involvement left the Republican caucus divided and unable to negotiate in a serious or constructive way,’ said a statement released by initiative supporters and unions. ‘As a result, we are no longer willing to participate in what has become a political circus,’ the statement read. ‘If Republican leadership cannot present a unified, credible proposal, there is no basis for further discussions.’” [Arizona Daily Star, 6/30/26]
The Arizona Education Association’s Protect Education Act Would Deny Vouchers To Families That Make More Than $150,000 Per Year And Impose Restrictions On How Voucher Dollars Can Be Spent And Saved. According to the Arizona Daily Star, “Supporters of the initiative, the Protect Education Act, are scheduled to turn in their petitions on Wednesday. If election officials determine they have at least 255,949 valid signatures, the measure will go on the ballot. Its reach is comprehensive. It contains a specific list of things parents could not use voucher dollars to obtain, including admission to water parks, home swimming pools, international travel, lingerie, jewelry, and household appliances. That follows reporting by KPNX-TV that such purchases have been made. It also includes new restrictions designed to keep voucher recipients from saving up unused voucher funds from year-to-year and applying the money for college. And potentially the most sweeping provision would deny vouchers to any child from a family making more than $150,000 a year.” [Arizona Daily Star, 6/30/26]
Republicans Initially Agreed To Enact Some Voucher Reforms And Drop Measures Requiring Schools To Spend The Majority Of Funds On “Direct Instruction Expenses” And Protect Voucher Funds For Military Families. According to the Arizona Daily Star, “They said they would enact some guardrails around voucher spending — but not the income cap — in exchange for the AEA dropping its initiative. GOP leaders also had been willing to scrap the two other measures aimed at educators that they voted to send to the ballot. One would financially penalize schools that did not use 60 cents out of every dollar received on direct instruction expenses. The average school district spends 52.1 cents in that area, with the rest taken up by everything from utilities and administration to buying gasoline for buses. The other would constitutionally protect voucher funds given to students from military families — but with a poison pill to say if approved, it would override not just the AEA initiative but any future voter-approved restrictions on vouchers.” [Arizona Daily Star, 6/30/26]
Arizona Republicans Passed An Anti-Union Measure Targeting The Arizona Education Association That Would Bar The Use Of School Resources For Union Purposes And Deducting Dues From Employee Paychecks, Which Arizona Police Association Executive Director Joe Clure Warned Could Apply To All Labor Unions. According to the Arizona Mirror, “And if voters in November add the language to the Arizona Constitution, they say it could invalidate all existing labor agreements between public employees and the government, not just those for teachers and other school employees. ‘It’s either disingenuous or deceptive,’ said Joe Clure, the executive director of the Arizona Police Association, which opposed the measure. ‘We can’t take the chance that it might include all of labor, including public safety.’ [...] As it was initially drafted, and as it passed the House in March, House Concurrent Resolution 2040 was focused solely on pushing union activity out of Arizona schools: It would bar teachers from using school email, printing flyers in school libraries or gathering in classrooms during school hours to discuss union goals or recruit new members. Most concerning for the AEA, however, was a provision that sought to defund the union by outlawing school districts from deducting union membership fees from employee paychecks — even though doing so is at the employee’s request.” [Arizona Mirror, 6/16/26]
At The GOP Primary Debate, Biggs Claimed School Vouchers Were Less Expensive Than Public Schooling And Said The Program Should Be Expanded “Fully.” According to the Arizona Mirror, “They both repeated the false statement that the Empowerment Scholarship Account Program saves money compared to public schooling. ‘We should be expanding it fully,’ Biggs said of the ESA program. Exactly what he meant was unclear, however: Republicans expanded the voucher program to be available to every K-12 student in 2022.” [Arizona Mirror, 6/17/26]
FY2026: The Joint Legislative Budget Committee Estimated Awarding $1,061,508,600 In School Vouchers To 101,602 Enrollees. According to the Department of Education FY2027 Baseline Book, “$59,788,600 for higher-than-budgeted ESA enrollment. The enacted budget assumed the ESA program would have 97,905 ESA enrollees in FY 2025. As of December 8, ADE reports actual awardees in FY 2026 of 98,244, or 339 above the budget assumption. We assume an additional 3,358 enrollees will join the program by June 2026, which we estimate would result in FY 2026 yearend enrollment of 101,602 and awards of $1,061,508,600.” [Joint Legislative Budget Committee, Department of Education FY2027 Baseline Book, Accessed 7/2/26]
2024: Arizona’s School Voucher Dollars Were Used To Purchase Luxury Items Including Diamond Rings, Lingerie, Kitchen Appliances, And Plane Tickets After Superintendent Of Public Instruction Tom Horne Allowed Automatic Approval Of Transactions Under $2,000. According to Cronkite News, “That would bring the Arizona voucher program in line with those in other states, said Fortify AZ spokesperson Barrett Marson – and it would address widespread concerns that taxpayer funds have been used to buy diamond rings, resort stays and even lingerie. In August 2025, 12News reported on an internal audit of reimbursements in 2024 showing that families had used ESA funds for those and other luxury items, including iPhones, kitchen appliances, plane tickets and personal trainers. In December 2024, to clear a growing backlog of unprocessed claims, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne allowed automatic approval of transactions under $2,000. Through the end of January 2026, nearly 2.3 million ESA transactions were processed automatically – totalling more than $654 million.” [Cronkite News, 6/10/26]