State board agrees to new ESA Parent Handbook

Supt. Horne sides with 8-1 majority

PHOENIX – After more than a year of gathering input from parents, lawmakers and other interested stakeholders, the updated Arizona Department of Education Empowerment Scholarship Account Parent Handbook has been approved in an 8-1 vote by the State Board of Education. State Superintendent Tom Horne made the successful motion to approve.

Horne said, “I am very pleased that the board has endorsed the updated handbook. The changes reflect the needs of parents to have clarity in how ESA expenses are reviewed, allow the department to continue its efforts to ensure the program is well-managed and that taxpayer dollars are used for appropriate educational purposes. Anything less would potentially damage the ESA program. I am committed to its long-term sustainability because it is a vital way for parents to have the freedom to choose the best education for their children.”

He added, “More than a year ago, in response to concerns some parents and legislators had about the proposed updates to the handbook, I made the motion, which the board accepted, to delay implementation so that we could gather more input for proposed changes. My department established an advisory group of parents that did tremendous work over many months to develop changes. More recently, we expanded that process to include more town halls and responded to requests from lawmakers. Today those many months of work have culminated in the updated handbook.”