I Will Pay You Tomorrow for an ESA Today
Yesterday, a somewhat reconstituted House Ways and Means Committee heard two related pieces of legislation dealing with Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), Arizona’s pseudo-voucher program for private schooling. Click here to read the AZEdNews story about the hearing
HB2853 Arizona empowerment scholarship accounts; appropriation (Toma), essentially separates the ESA population into two parts—the current, what we’ll call “legacy” eligibility requirements (students with special needs, attending D-F schools, etc.)—and all other students K-12 who do not fit any of those categories, which we’ll call the “expansion” population
The bill attempts to impose some quasi-accountability on the expansion population in the form of a standardized test of the school or parent’s choosing—for students enrolled full-time in private school. These results would be made available to the parent, but not the department of education or the public.
Students would also be enable to enroll directly in the ESA program beginning in Kindergarten without having attended a public school, providing a path for parents who intend to educate their students in private school K-12 to receive a public subsidy to do so. It can even be used as one of Arizona’s only true sources of public financial aid for college. (15-2402(K))
Meanwhile, HB2854 K-12; school finance; weights (Toma) is supposed to act as an “incentive” to those organizations that oppose ESA expansion. The bill creates a formula weight tied to free and-reduced price lunch eligibility, increases the ELL weight, increases district and charter additional assistance, and appropriates $200M to the Classroom Site Fund. All told, it spends about $200M in formula increases plus a $200M one-time appropriation to the CSF. The bill would not take effect until FY2024, and it is conditionally enacted on the ESA bill becoming law. This means that if any attempt to refer the ESA ballot were successful and it did not go into effect, the money would not flow. If not, the money would flow on July 1, 2023.
ASBA is opposed to both of these bills. The organization’s membership has been very clear over the years that it does not support the expansion of the ESA program. Moreover, as a matter of policy, ESAs should stand on their own. If the Legislture wants to expand ESAs, it should expand ESAs. If it thinks spending money on K-12 education is worth doing, it’s worth doing outside of ESAs, and it’s worth doing now.
Spending on K-12 education should not be used as insurance to try to block the referral of a measure that opponents believe is unpopular with voters.
We encourage all members to contact their Legislators to inform them of their feelings on ESAs.
The Budget…Remains Elusive
Yesterday’s K-12 spending bill in Ways and Means is the only real education spending bill we’ve seen as of yet. Everything else FY2023 budget remains in conceptual form as of now, with only spreadhseets flying around the capitol to look at. The race to July 1st is on, as lawmakers will be staring at a mere 9 working days until the end of the fiscal year to produce a budget when they return to work on Monday.
Other Bills
HB2008 schools; academic standards; civics instruction (Nguyen)—is awaiting action by the governor
SB1412 Race; ethnicity; sex; classroom instruction (Mesnard)—is headed to conference committee on Tuesday