The handbook governing how parents and vendors use Arizona's school voucher program will remain unchanged next year after the Arizona State Board of Education rejected a proposal that would have introduced new restrictions.
Voucher-holding families told the board on Monday that the changes would harm families and service providers and that they were not given sufficient opportunity to provide input.
John Ward, executive director of the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program, said four major changes would have been made to the handbook under the proposal.
- Voucher holders are prohibited from applying their vouchers only during the summer season. The loophole allowed families to participate in the Empowerment Scholarship Account program after the end of the public school year, receive two-quarters of their funds, and return to public school by the start of the next school year.
- Online voucher accounts are controlled only by parents and not by private schools. Some schools have previously maintained full control of their Family Empowerment Scholarship Account program accounts.
- Students with disabilities who need to remain in the program beyond grade 12 must work with the evaluation team to obtain an educational plan each year. Currently, parents only need to demonstrate the need for an additional annual voucher registration.
- Voucher holders were not allowed to purchase “goods that do not involve a reasonable outlay, such as designer items or items priced at or near the top of the price range for that type of product.”
Ward said voucher holders had recently tried to buy a $15,000 watch, a $5,000 massage chair and a $24,000 golf simulator, which sparked the proposed crackdown on luxury goods. This was a contributing factor.
“The Ministry of Ed wants to be a very good and prudent steward of this program, so when extravagant purchases are made, it puts the program in a very difficult position,” Ward said. said.
Mr. Horne withdraws the proposal and moves to keep the handbook as it is.
The Arizona Department of Education is required to annually produce an updated Empowerment Scholarship Account Handbook that complies with state law. The State Board of Education will then accept or reject the department's recommendations.
Ward said the department's proposal this year was made in communication with Superintendent Tom Horn, who filed a motion Monday to leave the handbook language as is and consider the changes for another year. did. The board voted in favor of Horne's motion, meaning the handbook for the 2024-25 school year will be the same as the 2023-24 school year.
Horn said the state commission should, in the meantime, establish a working group to seek further feedback from Arizona stakeholders.
“I think it's important to give everyone ample opportunity to provide input before a decision is made,” Horn said.
Ward said the department has been holding webinar meetings in past years to get feedback on the handbook. Documenting those comments was difficult, so last fall the department moved to a written format that included monthly emails asking parents of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts for input, he said. The department also solicited feedback at quarterly parent advisory committee meetings.
Mr Ward said these efforts received more than 125 comments and most of the parent feedback was incorporated into the proposals.
Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) praised Horne's decision to reject these changes and delay publication of the new handbook by a year.
“He supports public input and transparency in the process,” Hoffman said.
Parents and lawmakers oppose changes to voucher program
Hoffman, founder of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, held a news conference Monday with dozens of parents who received vouchers and called on the board to reject the handbook. Over the weekend, Hoffman, along with former Empowerment Scholarship Account Program Director Christine Accurso, rallied parents who receive vouchers to protest the handbook's approval.
In a statement regarding X, Mr. Hoffman said: He said there are provisions in the draft handbook. This would limit voucher spending, even though Congress has not placed limits on the materials and services that can be paid for with scholarships.
Parents brought these concerns to board meetings, spoke out during public comment about a “concerted effort to silence ESA parents,” and volunteered to participate in a potential stakeholder feedback group. .
Voucher parent Bonita Scales Jenkins said the restrictions on allowed items would be detrimental to “artist” families like hers. The department added footwear to the list of ineligible items and limited musical instruments to $2,000 or less. She said this is a problem because her daughter needs expensive shoes for ballet, and students who excel in music technology need increasingly expensive items to stay competitive. Ta.
Another change would require service providers to include their initials, a “paid” stamp and the student's grade level on payment receipts that parents submit for reimbursement. Parents said such a requirement is impractical in the digital age, where bills are generated electronically.
“The proposed handbook appears to take away parental freedom and the authority of the legislators who enforced the law,” said Becky Green, a Voucher parent. “I am concerned that this is a lack of transparency to work with people who are not invested in the program and its success.”
Save Our Schools Arizona, a public education advocacy group that opposes the expansion of Arizona's school voucher program, accused Horn of giving in to a campaign of intimidation.
“The fact that radical Republicans are trying to get in the way of these minimal regulations shows that they are short-sighted and stubbornly unwilling to listen to their constituents and ensure transparency in their taxpayer dollars. That's telling,” said Beth Lewis, executive director of Save Our Schools. statement. “It is clear that these extremists are out of touch with voters, and any attempt to add accountability to the out-of-control ESA voucher program that siphons $1 billion a year from Arizona's K-12 schools. would be against it.”
As of Monday, more than 76,500 students had enrolled in the voucher program.
Contact the reporter at nicholas.sullivan@gannett.com.
