Public school advocates submitted more than 420,000 signatures Thursday in support of a ballot initiative that would place new restrictions on Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account voucher program.
The campaign submitted well above the number required to qualify for the November ballot, though signatures still must be verified.
The measure — called the Protect Education Act — would prohibit unused ESA funds from rolling over indefinitely. It would also establish academic and safety standards in alternative classrooms and enforce an income cap on program eligibility.
The campaign is led by the state’s largest teachers union and the advocacy group Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ). The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office will now begin validating the signatures to ensure the measure can be placed on the November ballot.
SOSAZ Executive Director Beth Lewis said she expects legal challenges from groups that support the current ESA program.
At the same time, she’s “very thrilled” Protect Education reforms could make it to the November ballot for the people’s vote.
The signature submission marks a significant milestone for public school advocates, who argue Arizona's universal ESA program diverts funding from traditional public schools.
The reform advocates argue the universal ESA program has contributed to financial strain on district schools because state spending on ESAs has grown to roughly $1 billion annually, representing about one-eighth of Arizona's K-12 education budget.
Supporters of the initiative also say the program needs stronger oversight. They point to the Arizona Department of Education's practice of automatically approving reimbursement requests under $2,000, which the department has attributed to staffing limitations.
Some parents have been charged with fraud after prosecutors alleged they continued spending ESA funds after moving out of state.
The reform initiative has been met with fierce opposition from lawmakers, organizations and parents who support the universal program and want to uphold its accessibility.
In recent weeks, the teachers union and state legislature have tried negotiating a deal that would give up some of some of the initiative's proposed restrictions in exchange for lighter opposition.
But negotiations ultimately failed on Monday, meaning a Republican-backed measure that would block or override portions of the Protect Education Act if both measures pass.
Parents, educators worry reforms could limit ESA-funded alternatives
Arizona became the first state in the nation to make ESA vouchers universally available in 2022, after a decade of funds only being available to students with disabilities.
Kathy Visser’s son was one of the original students who joined the ESA program as a second grader in Phoenix. He has autism, ADHD, dyslexia and is legally blind.
“I was about ready to rip my hair out with our public school experience,” Visser told AZPM.
The mother-of-two and former public school teacher said her son’s high needs were not being met in the classroom and that he started having panic attacks going to school. ESA funds, Visser said, allowed her to homeschool her son for 14 years, provide him with occupational therapy, tutoring and the sensory enrichment that he was missing in public school.
Visser said her family has also saved enough rollover funds to put him through a vocational training program now that he’s aged out of the K-12 system.
She’s worried the reforms proposed by the Protect Education campaign would lead the state to confiscate those funds — about $40,000, she said.
“For four more years he can continue to have an education. It doesn't cost a taxpayer a dime because I have already budgeted and managed the funding that was already allocated for him,” Visser said.
Educators and families in Tucson’s microschools share similar concerns. April Simmons just finished her first year running a microschool called A Mind of Magic and Reason whose 11 students all use ESA funding.
“We're not afraid of accountability. We're not afraid of somebody paying attention to where we're spending our money. We're not afraid of any of those things,” she said. “The only part that really scares us is taking things from kids.”
