Voucher expansion up for negotiation in Legislature

With all legal recourse exhausted, school choice advocates are weighing their legislative options to expand the state’s voucher program even as a referendum that could thwart their efforts looms.

And that has meant approaching the anti-voucher group behind Proposition 305, Save Our Schools Arizona, in an attempt to craft a replacement they may not oppose.

On March 21, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that state law at the time Prop. 305 was filed did not allow individuals to challenge petition drives. The justices’ decision cleared the way for voters to have the final say on vouchers.

That left the Legislature with three options: an outright repeal of SB1431 as passed last session, which House Speaker J.D. Mesnard ruled out as “exceedingly unlikely,” repeal and replace, or allow Prop. 305 to go to the November ballot.

Mesnard, R-Chandler, said legislation to repeal and replace won’t be introduced this week.

But that hasn’t stopped his colleagues from exploring the option at length.

SOS Arizona spokeswoman Dawn Penich-Thacker has said repeatedly that the anti-voucher group would be willing to sit down with advocates for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, the state’s voucher program, to find common ground.

And Sen. Sean Bowie, D-Phoenix, said SOS Arizona would be operating from a position of power because the fate of the referendum seems to favor the anti-voucher side. A no vote would undo the law Republican legislators approved to expand vouchers in 2017.

“Both sides have polling numbers showing that 305 is likely going to be defeated on the ballot,” Bowie said.

Defeat for Prop. 305 would be a victory for SOS Arizona.

With that in mind, SOS Arizona has leverage to make their demand of those who want to repeal and replace the law.

If a replacement does not satisfy SOS Arizona, Penich-Thacker has said it will simply be referred as well.

“We see referring any replacement as basically a good time, a walk in the park,” she said. “There is no expansion of a voucher system that we will allow forward without a fight.”

And voucher supporters have acknowledged as much.

Penich-Thacker said invitations have already been extended to work with the pro-voucher side to concoct an option that might keep SOS Arizona from rallying against a replacement plan.

Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, told the Arizona Capitol Times that he’s in talks with all parties interested in the fate of the voucher expansion law – that includes SOS Arizona, according to Penich-Thacker.

Worsley was considered a mediator during the heated debate over SB1431 and ultimately cast the decisive vote.

Now, he’s working on crafting a replacement with legislators and expansion opponents to see if both camps can be satisfied – perhaps by allowing the expansion but with amendments that would please the anti-voucher folks.

He declined to comment on the details or what such an amendment might look like, but Penich-Thacker had a few ideas.

She said SOS Arizona won’t shut down conversations to find a middle ground just because something is not “our Prop. 305 or our creation.” But the group’s position from the beginning has been that the most “offensive” aspect of voucher expansion is that “no matter how you spin it, it is money leaving the public school system,” she said.

In talks with Worsley, she laid out SOS Arizona’s terms, which the senator seemed open to consider.

Those included the extension of the education sales tax under Proposition 301, which lawmakers approved March 22. Penich-Thacker also advocated for a 10-percent raise for teachers and for the Legislature to halt a Republican-backed proposal to broaden access to private school scholarships.

But even with provisions like new accountability measures, reporting requirements or income requirements, she said, that may not be enough to get SOS Arizona to sign off on a replacement.

“All of that is moot if the public education budget isn’t dramatically improved,” Penich-Thacker said.

The extension of Prop. 301 was a victory for public education advocates, but she said any continued dialogue on education would be moot if schools remain underfunded.

And that will take action, not just Gov. Doug Ducey’s word that the state will tackle the issue in the years to come.

“I don’t think anyone in education feels like a promise from the governor is something to hold your breath over,” Penich-Thacker said.

Ben Giles and Paulina Pineda contributed to this report.