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Hobbs calls ESA program ‘billion-dollar boondoggle,’ urges income caps
Income caps, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ sole solid policy proposal to rein in the Empowerment Scholarship Account program in her State of the State Address, expectedly saw early support from public education advocates and immediate dismissal from school choice supporters.Â
GOP will present responsible budget that Hobbs should sign
Like last year, the Republican majority will submit a responsible, balanced budget which spends within our means and prioritizes the needs of our citizens while eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. Hobbs ought to sign that proposal, and not repeat the same billion-dollar mistake.Â
3 women indicted in alleged scheme to defraud state’s voucher, Medicaid programs
A state grand jury indicted three women last year for allegedly funneling more than $100,000Â from the Empowerment Scholarship Account program and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System into private school and caretaking companies. Â
ESA program added almost 50,000 students in the past year, state reports
The state added nearly 12,000 students to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program in the last quarter, bringing total enrollment to 61,689 at the end of June and renewing debates about the costs and benefits of the program.
ADE recently spent $600K to advertise ESA program
The Arizona Department of Education spent more than $600,000 in the past two weeks to broadcast advertisements for the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, according to invoices from the department.
ESA expansion sparks wave of microschools
The universal expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, and the public policy push toward school choice in Arizona have ushered in a wave of microschools, an education approach situated somewhere between homeschooling and online learning.
$150 million for housing, half a billion for education in budget proposal
A new budget proposal emerged today that delivers a child tax rebate, major spending on housing and education, and a reshuffling of money destined for water projects.Â
ESA advocate heads program, draws parents’ ireÂ
Before working as director of the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program, Christine Accurso was an ESA mom herself and a ferocious supporter of universal expansion, but now the ESA parent groups that Accurso sprang from have turned their backs on one of their own. Â
Parents protest Hobbs’ proposed repeal of universal ESA
A brigade of strollers and children toting magic marker-adorned posters descended upon the Capitol to protest Gov. Katie Hobbs’ proposed repeal of the universal Empowerment Scholarship Account program. Hobbs announced her proposed budget with public education funding hinging on savings from repealing universal ESAs. Â
Hobbs seeks ESA repeal in budget proposal, GOP offers ‘continuation’ with no new spending
Arizona’s Democratic governor and Republican-controlled legislature are on a collision course after they laid out diametrically opposed plans for the state budget this week.
Senators aim to increase eligibility for school-choice accounts
A political battle could be in the making, as two state senators have separate proposals that could make thousands more children eligible for a program that provides public money for students to attend private school.
State money spent on empowerment scholarships nearly doubles
There will be almost double the number of students from last year starting the new school year in a program that provides public money for private schools.
