Arizona Charter Schools: The Good, The Bad, and The Costly, Part 6: Rep. Lujan Responds

by David Safier

(Here are parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.)

I emailed State Representative David Lujan (D-Phoenix) about HB2816, since he is the only Democratic sponsor of the bill, and said I would give him a chance to respond to my concerns. He wrote back within a few hours (I love my Democratic Reps when they care enough to respond so thoroughly and so quickly). So tonight, Lujan gets the last word. I’ll chew over what he said and write about it tomorrow.

Hi David,

HB2816 makes changes to the TAPBI (technology assisted project based instruction) program. The TAPBI program was created by the legislature in 1998 to extend academic options beyond the traditional classroom. Of the 14 schools/school districts that are offering TAPBI programs, 7 are charter schools and 7 are traditional public school districts, including Tucson Unified, Mesa Unified, Tempe Union, Deer Valley Unified and Peoria Unified school districts. So HB2816 does not just apply to charter schools.

HB2816 does not provide any additional funding for TAPBI programs. The purpose of the bill is to address and fix issues that were raised in an Auditor General’s Report that was conducted last year on the effectiveness of the TAPBI programs. For example, the Auditor General’s report found that some of the TAPBI programs that had students who were enrolled in both traditional “brick-n-mortar” schools and a TAPBI program were receiving more funding than they were supposed to from the State. These were both traditional public schools and charter schools that were receiving too much money from the State. So one of the main provisions in HB2816 is to clarify that the ADM for students in TAPBI programs cannot exceed 1.0 students or 1.25 if they are enrolled in a JTED program. HB2816 also addresses concerns raised in the Auditor General’s Report about academic accountability by making TAPBI programs more accountable to state standards.

HB2816 has not been a partisan bill. It passed 54-2 in the House and passed unanimously in the Senate Education Committee. I think it is a good bill to ensure that the TAPBI programs are held more accountable as was recommended by the Auditor General. I agree with you that we should be focusing on provided better funding to traditional public schools and I would not support this bill, nor likely would many of my Democratic colleagues, if this bill was going to take away scarce educational dollars.

If you have additional questions, please let me know and I will do my best to get answers. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond.

David Lujan
State Representative – District 15