World News | Arizona identifies largest U.S. school coupon program, faces challenges

PHOENIX, July 8 (AP) Republican Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday signed into law a massive expansion of the state’s private school voucher system, even as he faces efforts promised by public school advocates , to block the bill and ask voters to remove it during the November election. .

The expansion plan signed by Ducey will allow every parent in Arizona to use public funds now sent to the K-12 public school system to pay for their child’s private school tuition or other educational expenses.

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Arizona already has the widest range of educational options in the nation and, if the bill goes into effect, will have the most comprehensive voucher system.

An estimated 60,000 private students and about 38,000 homeschooled students will be immediately eligible for grants of up to $7,000 a year, although only a few currently receive vouchers. All 1.1 million students attending traditional regional schools and charter schools will also be eligible to leave public schools and receive funding to enroll in private schools. About one-third of students already qualify, but only about 12,000 students across the state now use the system.

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Ducey has been an advocate of “school choice” during his eight years in office. He signed a universal voucher expansion plan in 2017 that included a cap on admissions that a grassroots group called Save Our Schools Arizona referred to on the ballot.

Voters voted 2-1 in the 2018 election to reject the expansion outright, but advocates formally known as the “Empowerment Scholarship Account” pushed forward with a new expansion anyway. The universal voucher bill passed only with the support of a majority of Republican lawmakers in the legislative session that ended earlier on June 25.

Save Our Schools Arizona executive director Beth Lewis said her group will immediately apply to put the law on the ballot under a provision of the Arizona Constitution that allows opponents of the new law to collect the signatures of 5 percent of eligible voters and Block it until the next general election.

In this case, they would need to collect nearly 119,000 valid signatures, with backers typically adding a 25% buffer. They need to collect these documents and turn them over to the secretary of state by the end of September to prevent the law from going into effect and put it on the November ballot.

“I have every confidence that we will be able to recommend HB2853,” Lewis said in an interview. “Our statewide network of volunteers is ready.”

Lewis and other public school advocates say the vouchers draw money from an already underfunded public school system, while proponents claim the program is about letting parents choose the best education for their children.

Lewis said the price tag of the new voucher law is likely to increase more than the new school funding lawmakers this year, which is closer to $1 billion in ongoing and one-time cash.

“In short, this bill will suck more than $1 billion a year out of public schools and go to irresponsible private colleges, microschools and homeschools,” Lewis said. “And we simply can’t let that happen.”

Many students in the voucher program are disabled. By adding current private and homeschooled students, she said anywhere from $400 million to $600 million would “like disappear overnight, automatically qualifying on September 26.”

Budget analysts for the legislature see the cost of the expansion to be much lower, at $125 million two years later, but acknowledge the figures are highly speculative and based on new costs, not losses to public schools. Many private school students receive money from tax credit programs, but the average amount of these payments is much less than vouchers, so many may switch.

Ducey has been promoting the expansion on social media for the past two weeks, touting references to conservative news outlets in a press release announcing the bill’s signing.

In a statement, Ducey called the signing “a monumental moment for all students in Arizona. Our children will no longer be locked up in underperforming schools.”

However, most underperforming schools are located in low-income areas with few opportunities for private schools, and their parents rely on local public schools, which have been underfunded for years.

He did not mention the overwhelming rejection of the 2017 expansion or the expected new challenges. Instead, he touted Arizona’s lead in private school selection.

“With this legislation, Arizona solidifies its position as the state of choice for school choice and becomes the first state in the nation to offer all families the choice of the school environment that best suits them,” he said.

The voucher law does not contain accountability provisions such as testing that some Republicans seek. Oversight of allocated funds is also limited.

The program started in 2011 for students with disabilities only, but has greatly expanded over the years to include many others, including students living on American Indian reservations, attending underperforming public schools and other groups.

Nearly 12,000 enrolled students received $196 million in awards for the just-ended school year, according to the Arizona Department of Education. About $20 million of that has yet to be paid.

Parents receive 90 percent of state funding, which typically goes to local public schools for private school tuition and other educational expenses. Students with disabilities can receive up to $40,000 in professional therapy. (Associated Press)

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