State Superintendent Hoffman may not like vouchers — but that’s no excuse for this
Releasing personal information is just the latest example of sloppy management of Arizona’s empowerment scholarship account program
School Choice Week started off with a bang this year. In Arizona, it was more like an explosion.
This week, reporters revealed that the state Department of Education released the personal information of nearly 7,000 families who use Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. Worse still, they sent it to Save Our Schools, staunch opponents of the program and educational choice in general.
ESAs enable parents, mostly those who have children with special needs, to direct their taxpayer dollars for specialized educational therapies or curriculum. The accounts help bridge the huge financial gap for families requiring customized assistance in the classroom.
The department released a spreadsheet that included the account balances of every ESA account in the state, along with names, email addresses and the grade in which the student is enrolled. Special needs students even had their disability listed.
Any parent would be horrified to find their children’s diagnoses shared with the press and political activists. As a parent of a special-needs child myself, I’m horrified for them. (My family hasn’t used ESAs so our information is safe, at least for now.)
Parents weren’t informed of the privacy breach but learned about it from news reports. A day later, the Arizona Department of Education notified the account holders. “ADE sincerely apologies for errors that led to this situation,” they wrote in their statement. “ADE takes these matters very seriously and will continue to make every effort to ensure data security and privacy.”
The breach is not only a black eye for the department, but likely a violation of federal privacy law. Rep. Mark Finchem and Sen. Sonny Borrelli have called for a federal investigation. Attorney General Mark Brnovich referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney for Arizona.
Hopefully, the breach was a mistake as the department claims. Yet, it is just the latest example of their sloppy management of the program. Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman is on record as opposing ESAs, making her release of sensitive information to fellow school choice opponents all the more disturbing.
Earlier this month, the Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit against the department over its mishandling of ESAs.
The standards have been arbitrary, the process confusing and parents have been forced to delay or even give up promising educational opportunities for their kids.
Other school choice proponents are just as outraged. “This is an absolute betrayal of these families and students,” said Steve Smith, the Arizona state director for the American Federation for Children. “Under Superintendent Hoffman, who opposes the ESA program, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) has repeatedly made applying for and participating in the program extremely difficult for Arizona families.”
Hoffman might not like parents choosing special educational options for their kids, but she must follow the law. Every child is entitled to privacy, whether in a traditional public school or a charter public school. I have a child in each, both receiving an excellent education in a style suited to their individual needs.
Just as I don’t deserve to have my personal information spread to political activists or the media, neither do ESA parents. Every mom and dad in Arizona is merely giving their kids the best education for their learning style and their future success.
That’s the beauty of school choice, and politicians on either side of the aisle better learn to accept it. According to a recent poll, support for school choice is 67%. This is up four points from last year and includes majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents.
Every parent and every child should be able to pursue their dreams – and their choices – without being undermined by government officials.