Tom Horne Overrules His Own ESA Director, Persuading the Arizona Department of Education to Put Off Changes to the Private School Voucher Handbook

Perhaps feeling the pressure from election denier Jake Hoffman and the semi-rally he was holding at the State Capitol along with private school voucher zealots, protesting proposed changes to the Empowerment Scholarship Account handbook, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne overruled the efforts of his ESA Executive Director John Ward and persuaded the state Department of Education to defer alterations to the handbook for one year.

The official reason for asking for the deferment, according to Superintendent Horne, was to allow added time for parents to offer their input on the suggested changes.

According to news accounts from AZ Central, the suggested revisions to the ESA handbook included:

• “Voucher holders would be barred from applying vouchers strictly for summer use. Loopholes have allowed families to enter the Empowerment Scholarship Account program after the public school year ends, receive two-quarters of funding, and then return to public school by the start of the next school year.”
• “Parents alone would be the custodians of their online voucher accounts, not private schools. Some schools have previously maintained total control over families’ Empowerment Scholarship Account program accounts.”
• “Students with disabilities who need to stay in the program past 12th grade would have to obtain an education plan every year in coordination with an evaluation team. Currently, parents only need to attest to the need for voucher enrollment for additional years.”
• “Voucher holders could not purchase items “that do not involve a reasonable expense (such as designer items or items whose prices are at or near the highest end of the price range for the type of item).”

The current ESA program has come under scrutiny since its inception partially because of the granting of outlandish spending requests.

It has also generated controversy because the ESA team, backed up by Horne, has not released specific numbers, detailing how many ESA student recipients were children who were already attending private schools.

Last month, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced indictments against three former ADE ESA team members for fraud in the scholarship program.

According to reporting to NPR and AZ Central, the restrictions on what the scholarship funds can be spent on and when have caused the most consternation among Voucher parents. Many of these parents probably represent families who home-school their children, a prime conservative voting group that people like Mr. Horne rely on come election time.

In reaction to the year deferment of the ESA handbook, several Arizona legislators, all of them educators or public school activists, voiced their perspectives on that development.

State Senator Christine Marsh commented:

“This is the latest showing of the refusal to accept basic oversight of the ESA program. I am disappointed by these actions but am by no means surprised.”

State Representative Jennifer Pawlik wrote:

It’s really disappointing that the SBE did not consider the concerns of those who believe the ESA Voucher program needs some guardrails to ensure children are safe and taxpayer money is used appropriately.

“We tried to make changes through the legislative process by introducing many bills as well as an ESA omnibus. Two bills failed in the Senate, but none were heard in the House. Democrats in the House and Senate will continue to advocate for guardrails for this ever-expanding program.”

State Representative Consuelo Hernandez offered:

“It is shameful that common sense ESA reforms were not implemented because of politics. We have a duty to ensure our dollars are being spent appropriately. Barring extravagant purchases should not be controversial.”

State Representative Nancy Gutierrez relayed:

“Rather than edit the ESA Parent Handbook to ensure more fiscal responsibility and diligence with public tax dollars, Superintendent Horne has failed once again to provide any true leadership. He continues to pander to the right-wing extremists who do not have our state budget or the education of our students in mind. The students whom these vouchers were originally intended to help are at the back of the line and not able to get the funds for their children with special needs. Instead, parents who want to use public dollars for expensive ballet shoes are the focus. I am once again extremely disappointed that instead of doing the right thing, they chose to do nothing.”

Beth Lewis of Save Our Schools issued a statement, saying:

“The proposed regulations rejected by Supt. Horne and Republican lawmakers would have provided a thin veneer of oversight for Arizona taxpayers by disallowing things like waterpark tickets, big-screen TVs, dining, Apple watches, motorized vehicles, refrigerators, and musical instruments over $2,000. The fact that extremist Republican lawmakers are trying to stand in the way of these bare-bones regulations speaks to their myopic and stubborn unwillingness to listen to voters and ensure transparency of our taxpayer funds. It is clear that these extremists are out of touch with voters and will oppose any and all attempts to add accountability to the out-of-control ESA voucher program that will siphon $1 billion a year from Arizona’s K-12 schools.”

Voters need to ask themselves this question when electing members of the State Legislature this November.

Do they want candidates that will support welfare for the rich and MAGA supporters that drain money from the state coffers to pay for their affluent child’s private school tuition or the education of home school students who, in many cases, are using public dollars for either luxury items or religious or political indoctrination?

It is really not a trick question.