An Arizona Department of Education (ADE) study found that a widely reported 20% fraud rate in the ESA program was misleading. That figure came from a risk-based audit, which focuses only on high-risk cases and cannot represent the whole program.
A more accurate random-sample study, conducted by a Stanford researcher, found the actual fraud rate is just 0.3%, with 1.9% in unallowable spending.
ADE and Superintendent Tom Horne criticized 12News for misinterpreting the data and called the reporting irresponsible. They argue the article should be corrected or retracted because it misrepresents the program.