AZGOP Presses Forward on Expanding Vouchers Against AZ Voters’ Preferences

SOSAZ weekly education report dropped today:

An urgent matter before the AZ Leg now is the attempt by the AZGOP to expand privatization of our educational dollars via a massive expansion of vouchers, a policy roundly rejected by AZ voters in Prop 305:

In the Senate, SB1657 (an all-but-universal expansion) and SB1707 (which makes Gov. Ducey’s voucher grant program permanent) both passed along party lines and now head to the House. On that side of the courtyard, lawmakers in the House Ways and Means Committee advanced HB2803 with a striker that expands ESA vouchers to the alleged victims of “harassment, threatening, intimidating or fighting,” which is a thinly veiled version of a universal expansion. What will it take for them to finally respect the will of Arizona voters and prioritize public education?

The one bright spot is the bipartisan lack of support for further voucher expansion. Michelle Udall (R-25) told press last week she will not support more vouchers without major changes to ensure accountability such as mandatory testing: “I don’t want to see taxpayer money get wasted on education that we don’t know is really education.” We commend Rep. Udall for this common-sense stance and urge more lawmakers to follow her lead and demand accountability for the more than $320M of the more than $380 million in taxpayer dollars that go to private schools every single year every single year.

The newsletter was a litany of what to oppose (hint: almost everything the AZGOP is trying to do is bad for public education), but there are a few bright (or less grim) spots to highlight, including a rare bill by a Republican worth supporting:

HB2040, Udall (R-25), requires voucher schools to notify newly enrolling families in writing what special education services they will provide before taking the voucher. This will help families for whom the ESA voucher program was originally intended. SUPPORT.

SB1519, Quezada (D-29), would require the Arizona Department of Education to complete a cost study every two years on the cost of providing special education programs to students. Special education in Arizona is desperately underfunded, but the size of the gap between funding and school needs is unclear because it’s been nearly two decades since the last cost study was completed. SUPPORT.

And there are some great suggestions as to how to get involved with Save Our Schools:

• Sign up for a Community Action Team: East Valley, West Valley, Metro Phoenix, Northern Arizona,  and Southern Arizona! Your local coordinators will help you with using Request to Speak and contacting your lawmakers.
• Request an SOSAZ Education Roadshow presentation HERE
• Sign up to automatically receive the SOSAZ Legislative Weekly Report HERE 
• Get your #PublicSchoolProud shirt and mask HERE. Our 2022 Legislative Special is now $20 to cover costs and shipping. Wear Public School Proud gear to show your dedication to well-funded public education in Arizona!