Key Points:

• Vote delayed on handbook to allow additional input from lawmakers, account holders.

• Concerns over price caps and impact on families of students with disabilities remain.

• State board wants at least one “town hall”-style forum with ESA parents.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and the State Board of Education delayed a vote on the Empowerment Scholarship Account handbook to allow additional input from lawmakers and ESA account holders. 

The process of adopting year-to-year guidance for ESA users has again proven contentious, as home educating families and lawmakers continue to oppose a proposal to cap prices on certain purchases. 

State board members were slated to vote on the latest draft manual promulgated by the Arizona Department of Education and its ESA Parent Handbook Committee on April 28, but Horne requested a postponement due to concerns from lawmakers. The state board agreed, given a lack of direct dialogue between the department and ESA users. 

The state board plans to consider adopting a handbook again in June. It requests that the department hold at least one “town hall”-style forum with ESA parents. 

Meanwhile, Horne is meeting with lawmakers. 

“They wanted discussions and possibly negotiations,” Horne said in his superintendent’s report. “The Legislature makes our laws. They are the supreme authority. And I, of course, do whatever they ask me to do.”  

The department released the first draft of this year’s handbook in early March — a byproduct of a draft from the parent committee and later edits by the department. 

The 2025-26 ESA Handbook draft included price limits on certain purchases – a proposal first presented by the parent committee and kept, but altered, by the department. 

If adopted, ESA account holders would be prohibited from spending more than $2,000 on personal laptops and computers, $4,000 on instruments, $2,500 on physical education equipment, $2,500 on a playground, $3,000 on a SmartBoard, $1,500 on vocational education, and $500 annually on home economic equipment. 

The draft included an exemption for students with disabilities as long as they could provide a letter from a medical provider or specialist showing the necessity to exceed the price caps. 

On first consideration during a State Board of Education meeting on March 24, opposition focused on how price caps could negatively impact students with disabilities and home-educated students taking on higher-ticket vocational studies. 

The state board declined to vote on the first draft, requesting that the department clarify and better specify the exemption for students with disabilities. 

The second draft made the exemption clearer and changed the “limit” for “coverage amounts” in describing price caps, though it kept the same figures, prompting some ESA users to reach out to their representatives.

Stacey Brown, an ESA parent and former member of the ESA Parent Handbook committee, has continued to advocate against the current handbook’s passage, and said parents had been in contact with Rep. Michael Carbone, Rep. Lisa Fink, Rep. Michael Way and Sen. Jake Hoffman. 

Fink said the two problems at this point are the price caps and the potential impact on families of students with disabilities if the department requires a letter from a specialist in order to exceed purchase limits. 

“What’s happening is moving the goal posts on the parents,” Fink said. 

Horne met with lawmakers on May 1.

Horne said they hadn’t gotten “down to brass tacks” just yet, but continued the conversation. He said he planned to meet with legislators again, with the potential to involve ESA Parent Handbook committee members down the line.

Horne noted that the Education Department’s position continues to be that all educational expenditures serve a legitimate educational purpose and are bought at market price. 

“There may be some negotiations,” Horne said. “I can be flexible on specifics, so long as they’re reasonable.” 

Beyond legislative input, Board President Katherine Haley said that members agreed to postpone the vote, given the need for more direct discussions with ESA account holders. 

Haley drew attention to the fact that board members had previously requested the Arizona Department of Education hold at least two town hall meetings to get direct parent feedback. She said the board was “disappointed” the request was not honored. 

However, looking ahead to the June meeting, Haley noted that the department had agreed to hold a forum with parents. 

“Direct dialogue with families is essential to building a better program, and we remain committed to ensuring their voices are heard,” Haley said. 

State law requires the Arizona Department of Education to develop an ESA applicant and participant handbook, with up-to-date information on the policies and processes of the program. 

State Board of Education rules set a March 1 deadline for a draft and a May 1 deadline for handbook adoption, though with an effective date of July 1 in line with the statute. The board plans to take up the handbook for final consideration in June.