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New voucher rulebook delayed a year for parent input
Following backlash from parents in the Empowerment Scholarship Account program and Republican lawmakers, the State Board of Education adopted last year’s program handbook in lieu of approving a new redlined draft from the Arizona Department of Education today.
Mayes blames lawmakers for making voucher program ‘easy to target for fraud’
Three former Empowerment Scholarship Account employees are accused of defrauding the program of more than $600,000 by using falsified birth certificates and disability diagnoses to enroll five adults, seven children and five “ghost children.”
Senate panel kills one Hobbs voucher bill, moves another
A Senate committee killed a measure to require private schools to lay out and provide services for students with disabilities Wednesday and narrowly advanced a bill to require updated Empowerment Scholarship Account cost projections from the Arizona Department of Education.
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 $100,000 from the Empowerment Scholarship Account program and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System into private school and caretaking companies.
Horne vouches vouchers no drain on budget
Arizona’s education budget is set to see a $28.5 million surplus by the end of the year, according to the latest report from the Arizona Department of Education.
Governor’s wish list depends on cuts to GOP-favored programs, spending
Gov. Katie Hobbs proposed a $16.2 billion spending plan is built on cuts to vouchers that are unlikely to survive the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Freedom Caucus slams Hobbs’ plan to regulate school vouchers
Arizona’s Freedom Caucus leader said today any legislation Gov. Katie Hobbs proposes to modify the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program is “dead on arrival at the legislature.”
Lawmakers to start 2024 session with massive budget deficit
From a $2 billion surplus to a $450 million deficit, lawmakers will have tough choice to make to balance the budget.
Hobbs takes aim at regulating school vouchers
Gov. Katie Hobbs released an eight-point plan to curtail the Empowerment Scholarships Account program, but the proposals, slated to run in Hobbs’ executive budget and in the upcoming legislative session, caught near-immediate opposition from Republican leadership who claimed the governor fundamentally misunderstands the program.
State agency spends millions marketing vouchers
The Arizona Department of Education is on track to spend about $2.5 million on advertising for the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, or school vouchers, through the end of the year.
Republican legislative leaders face first budget crunch in nearly a decade
Republican leaders in the Arizona Legislature are facing their first budget crunch in nearly a decade and minority Democrats are pointing the finger right at the GOP, saying the pain that will be felt by state residents is a self-inflicted wound.
State spending more money for vouchers for students this budget year than was reserved through June
Less than four months into the budget year, Arizona already is spending more money for vouchers for students to attend private and parochial schools at state expense than was set aside through June.
