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Board of Education approves ESA handbook despite concerns
The State Board of Education voted to approve the Empowerment Scholarship Account handbook today, though two board members voted against adopting the final draft, citing frustration with accepting last minute “substantive” changes without sufficient stakeholder input.
Gress wants to expand Teachers Academy program
A first-term state lawmaker wants to expand the Teachers Academy program that provides scholarships to prospective public school teachers to students attending private and religious colleges.
Arizona can still be the leader in school choice
Now is the time for Arizona, my home state, to continue its role as the leader in the movement to provide increased educational opportunities for its students.
DOE’s proposed ESA handbook edits draw parents’ anger
The Arizona Department of Education’s proposed edits to the Empowerment Scholarship Account handbook were met with backlash and claims of improper outside influence in a state board of education meeting today.
ESA advocate heads program, draws parents’ ire
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.
Anti-ESA governor is living endorsement of school choice
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is, in spite of herself, perhaps the greatest living billboard for education savings accounts (ESAs) in the nation.
ESA parents complain about mid-year changes
Two months in, Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) parents say the program is at risk of imploding.
Bill to expand ESA reporting advances, barely
A bill that would expand reporting requirements for the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program narrowly passed the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 15.
When it comes to school regulation, less is more
Let’s identify needless regulations and cut the red tape holding back our district and charter schools. Let’s free the education innovators, truly put parents in charge of their children’s education, ensure more of every dollar gets spent in the classroom instead of the front office and build the best possible education system for Arizona!
House votes to waive AEL with bipartisan support
The House voted to waive the aggregate expenditure limit (AEL) today with bipartisan support, clearing the two-thirds majority necessary to send it forward. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, needed 40 votes to pass and received 46.
Nation watches as Arizona’s universal ESA voucher fiasco fails
Universal ESA vouchers are already a dismal failure defunding our local public schools, threatening to bankrupt our state and raising red flags about taxpayer-funded discrimination. And the nation is watching as special interests rush to force through vouchers in other states before the cautionary tale of Arizona comes fully to light.
Pandemic, culture wars revive ‘school choice’ policy push
With memories fresh from pandemic-era school closures and curriculum battles — particularly over how matters of gender and race are taught — legions of parents are trekking to the marble floors of their state Capitols to fight to create education savings accounts, also known as ESAs. Such accounts exist in Arizona and West Virginia, though Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs argues the dollars would be b[...]
