School vouchers bill goes to Ducey
Amid protests, governor voices support for plan
In a marathon session Thursday, Republicans in the Arizona Legislature voted to expand the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program, sending to the governor legislation that allows any student to use taxpayer dollars to pay private-school tuition and other educational expenses.
The legislation is not as expansive as the original proposal, which would have allowed all 1.1 million public-school students to use the program by 2021. Instead, Senate and House Republicans sent to Gov. Doug Ducey legislation to, within several years,
allow all students to apply for the program, but limiting the number who could become eligible.
An estimated 5,500 additional students would be allowed to sign up each year, but no more than about 30,000 could sign up by 2022. While the program would be capped at a lower number than originally proposed, Democrats and moderate Republicans seized on the expansion as evidence of conservatives’ desire to “dismantle” public education, because the program takes money from public schools and directs it to private and sometimes religious schools.
The debate drew public-school advocates to the Capitol on Thursday, and dozens protested against the proposal outside the Executive Tower. As the House wrapped up its vote Thursday night, some people watching from the gallery shouted, “Shame! Shame! Shame!”
Ducey was not publicly visible, but his influence on the legislation was felt in both chambers as he and his administration met with key lawmakers to press for their support.
Minutes after its passage, the governor promised to sign the bill.
The program began in 2011 to help parents of students with learning disabilities but has since expanded to students from poorly performing schools, Native American reservations and others. The move to open it to all public-school students came at an opportune moment for its key architects and supporters.
The legislation gives Ducey, who touts himself as a proponent of both school choice and public schools, a win with conservatives and national school-choice groups. And it comes as he has proposed more money be added to the budget for K-12 public education.
The Senate, meanwhile, is controlled by Sen. Steve Yarbrough, a school-choice proponent who reaps personal financial benefits of a separate school-choice program. Throughout the session, the Chandler senator repeatedly told The Republic he hoped ESA-expansion legislation would advance.
The House of Representatives is overseen by Rep. J.D. Mesnard, another Chandler Republican who is favorable to school choice. His chief of staff is Michael Hunter, a previous top staffer for the Goldwater Institute, a key proponent of the legislation. Hunter urged members last year to pass similar legislation. Mesnard also hired a former top staffer of the Center for Arizona Policy, which played a key role in passing the measure.
The plan would save the state’s general fund $3.4 million in fiscal year 2021, according to a fiscal note by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The committee estimated the original legislation to expand the program to all 1.1 million students would cost the general fund $24 million in fiscal 2021.
The legislation adopted by the Senate also:
» Allows all publicschool students to qualify for the program. Currently, eligibility is limited. For example, students are eligible if they have special learning needs, attend poorly performing schools, have been placed into foster care, live on a Native American reservation, have siblings in the program or are the children of active members of the military.
» Removes the ability for parents to use ESA funds for college savings accounts. That practice came under scrutiny following an Arizona Republic story highlighting possible illegal use of the accounts.
» Bases funding for new participants on district funding levels rather than charter-school levels, which are higher. Students in the program by June and those leaving charter schools would keep higher funding levels.
» Gives low-income students and children who are or have been in foster care 100 percent of funds for private schools and other educational expenses. Currently, students receive 90 percent of funds. “Low-income” is defined as families earning 250 percent or less of the federal poverty level, or about $61,000 annually for a family of four.
» Requires schools that have 50 or more students who receive ESAs and that administer standardized tests to publicly make available the aggregate test scores of their students. Currently, private schools are not required to make test scores public, but few private schools are likely to meet the testing and enrollment criteria.
During debate in the Senate on the amendment, Republicans advocated for the proposal and Democrats opposed it.
“As a body, we support all education, whether it’s in a district school, a charter school, private school, online school or home school,” said Sen. Debbie Lesko in explaining her “yes” vote. “This ESA legislation will just provide one more option for parents to improve education for their child.”
Sen. Bob Worsley, RMesa, who wrote the amendment, told senators, “I am not a proponent of ESAs. I am not a proponent of no ESAs. I am simply a senator trying to find a pragmatic solution between two warring factions here in the state.” He added: “This amendment is to find what I thought is the best happy medium. This amendment will give the opportunity to private schools to belly up to the bar and prove they can deliver the results in the next six years . ...
“It gives us six years of some peace and quiet in this body to let this program do its thing and prove to us that the private schools can deliver superior results from this experiment.”
Thursday night, amid rumors he had made a deal with Ducey or his representatives to support ESA expansion, Worsely told The Republic: “I got nothing — except to make sure it was capped. There was no trading for anything else.” He said transportation funding was a top priority for him this session, “and that’s not going to happen. The governor made it very clear when we talked that he wants to get the transportation, but this year he’s focused on education. There was just no deal to make.”
Democrats, who are the minority party, focused on concerns that the program would be used by more-affluent families to subsidize private-school tuition bills. They argued that expansion of the program could lead to the dismantling of a public education system that is already underfunded. And they pointed out that lower-income families may not have the resources to cover other private-school expenses, such as transportation, tuition gaps and school fees.
A Republic analysis found that counter to its characterization as a benefit to lower-income students in poorly performing schools, the program is largely being used by students leaving higherperforming districts in more-affluent areas.
Sen. Steve Farley, DTucson, said he believes the program will most benefit wealthy families who might already plan to send their children to private school. He said Thursday’s battle over expanding the ESA program reflects the broader fight “over the future of public education” in Arizona.
“We’re looking at a transfer from the havenots to the haves,” he said. “A lot of people have said this is a six-year experiment. I don’t believe we should experiment on our children.”
Sen. Juan Mendez, DTempe, said in opposing the legislation, “I cannot in good conscience condone the segregation that will happen by expanding school vouchers.”
The legislation passed along party lines, with 16 Republicans approving it and 13 voting against it. Republican Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, of Phoenix, joined Democrats to vote against it. Democratic Sen. Robert Meza, a Phoenix Democrat, was absent.
Hours later, a divided House of Representatives approved the plan 31-28, with more conservative Republicans fending off criticism from moderate Republicans and Democrats.
Proponents said the changes would allow more parents to choose schools that best meet their children’s needs, while adding more academic and financial accountability.
Rep. John Allen of Scottsdale, a Republican and a bill sponsor, told members that public funding of private schools for some parents “could be one of the greatest moments of their lives.”
Republican Rep. Regina Cobb of Kingman, had opposed the measure because the original bill would have allowed the cap on scholarship recipients to expire, but she changed her mind and supported the amended measure.
The governor, until he tweeted support for the legislation on Thursday, had avoided taking a public stance on full expansion of the divisive ESA program. He had, however, conducted behind-thescenes meetings with key lawmakers to press for their support.
Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said after the bill’s passage Thursday night that it was “very critical for the governor” that the legislation “focus on low-income families” and closing the achievement gap for poor and minority students.