Talk about a potential scam.
Or blatant stupidity.
The Empowerment Scholarship Account (E.S.A.) Division at the Arizona Department of Education has indicated, through a response on their call center on social media, that taking children to a waterpark could count as a valid expense for physical education activities/coursework.
Education advocates and Legislative oversight leaders should follow up with the private school or home school provider that sent this query and ask where attending a waterpark, at state expense, fits in with their P.E. curriculum?
Better yet, can they show their curriculum for P.E. or any other subject?
Or can they demonstrate that there is an educator at the waterpark to help conduct the lessons for the children?
They should also ask leaders at the Department of Education where in the Health and Physical Education State Standards going to a water park is a reasonable activity in student outcomes.
Not long ago (two months ago), going on field trips to waterparks or activities where schools rented large recreational water ride floats sponsored these “P.E.” activities without asking the state to pay for them.
They were also not considered activities that could be counted for satisfying the state or district P.E. standards.
Commenting on the Department’s willingness to take funds to pay for home school and private school children to go to waterparks like Golfland in Mesa, the Flagstaff Acquaplex, Funtasticks in Tucson, or even a trip to Legoland in California or Florida (would the family ask for gas and hotel reimbursement from the state in that case,) House Democratic Whip and Legislative District (LD) 18 Representative Nancy Gutierrez commented:
“The most recent misuse of state funding in ESA vouchers is to allow waterparks as an acceptable expense and label the expense as “PE.” This is so disturbing and wrong. I am about to begin my 11th year teaching PE in a public school, and to think that our state funds are going to water parks is maddening. As a certified PE teacher, I have state standards to adhere to, instructional minutes to fulfill, and hundreds of students to motivate and teach. Many of our public school students don’t even get to participate in PE during middle school because funding is so scarce. Some elementary school teachers have to lead their own physical education because the district can’t fund enough PE teachers to accommodate the number of students in the school. Physical education is vital to our students, but with universal vouchers that are rapidly pushing our state budget into the red, private and homeschool parents can just bill their children’s water park excursion to taxpayers and call that physical education? This is just another way that the current State Superintendent of Public Instruction is disrespecting teachers and public education. This is just another way that they are failing our students and encouraging the waste of our public funds. This is just another way that they are dismantling our public schools. It is wrong. It is disrespectful. It is a scam.”
Beth Lewis, the Director of Save our Schools Arizona offered:
“The universal ESA voucher train has officially run off the rails. With reports this week of Supt. Horne’s ADE approving myriad ridiculous and extravagant voucher expenditures, including waterparks as PE, it is more evident than ever that the Arizona Legislature has created a system-wide open for grift, fraud, and abuse. Meanwhile, public schools are struggling to fund PE teachers & field trips — as well as basic supplies like Kleenex, crayons, and paper. It is beyond clear that this massive experiment at taxpayer expense must be reined in and made accountable immediately.”
UPDATED: Doug Nick, the Communications Director for the Arizona Department of Education has submitted a late response for this article, stating:
One of our call center reps erroneously told a parent that such an expense is valid. When the parent submitted the paperwork for reimbursement, it was denied since it is not an authorized expense.
It is fortuitous that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued an advisory to families yesterday that some private school entities and vendors may, per their own program or, in some cases, nefarious designs, deny children and their families civil and educational rights normally guaranteed by traditional and charter public schools and to watch out for scams home school and private school vendors that may attempt on new applicants.
In a July 24, 2023 statement from the Attorney General’s office:
Despite the many rights given up by accepting an ESA, Arizona families are still protected by Arizona’s robust consumer protection laws and anti-discrimination laws. So, if an ESA vendor or private school makes promises related to your child, their admissions policy, or their curriculum, they will be held to those promises.
“As a mom, I know how important a child’s education is and I know that, as parents, we all want what is best for our children. I want families to know that if vendors or private schools take advantage of this, the Attorney General’s Office will investigate to the fullest extent of our authority.”
If you believe you have been the victim of fraud by an ESA vendor or private school, file a consumer complaint by visiting www.azag.gov/consumer. If you need a complaint form sent to you, contact the Attorney General’s Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431.
If you believe you or your child has been discriminated against by an ESA vendor or private school based on disability, race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, or ancestry, contact the Civil Rights Division of the Attorney General’s Office by visiting www.azag.gov/civil-rights.
Horne, added to the one vote majority it took to approve money laundered vouchers, should all be indicted for criminal conduct.
So how much in bribes, excuse me I mean donations, from the water park lobby did it take for Horne to come up with this ridiculous policy?