Arizona’s Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is supporting a new lawsuit against his own office. It’s from parents who say they’re getting stonewalled by new requirements on Arizona’s school voucher program.
Two moms are suing the Arizona Department of Education because their requests for reimbursement of school supplies were rejected under a somewhat recent policy required voucher recipients to provide proof their purchases are tied to some sort of curriculum.
“ESA parents are being intentionally attacked by having to provide this curriculum,” Velia Aguirre said in a video provided by the Goldwater Institute — which is supporting the suit.
Aguirre is one of the plaintiffs and homeschools her three sons with special needs
In July, Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes warned the Department of Education in a letter that parents receiving vouchers for private schooling and homeschooling must provide justification for their purchases to avoid misuse of taxpayer funds.
Goldwater Education Policy Director Matt Beienburg disagrees. He notes that according to the ESA handbook (which is adopted by the State Board of Education), no documentation is needed for many supplemental materials including books — which is what the plaintiffs were purchasing.
“This is not providing any process improvement or discernible benefit, it simply grinds the program down and makes life more difficult for both parents and the administration of the program,” Beienburg said.
Horne said that he’s entirely on the side of the Goldwater Institute and hopes the court will find the education department’s requirements are illegal so they can reverse the policy.
Horne said the lawsuit wasn’t his idea, but he knew it would happen and that he told the Goldwater Institute he’d be supporting it.
Horne said he’s always disagreed with Mayes’ position.
“I didn’t want to defy it without court permission, because I was afraid if I distributed money, she [Mayes] could claw it back from parents,” Horne said.
Mayes spokesperson Richie Taylor pushed back on the idea that Mayes changed the ADE’s rules or made illegal threats.
“The law doesn’t prevent parents from purchasing paper and pencils, but it does require that materials purchased with ESA funds be used for a child’s education. With instances of voucher dollars being spent on things like ski passes, luxury car driving lessons, and grand pianos, it’s clear that providing documentation on spending is essential,” he said in a statement.
“Attorney General Mayes believes Arizonans deserve full transparency and accountability in how their tax dollars are used and will continue to fight for accountability and oversight in the voucher program,” he added.
Taylor also referred back to a statement Horne made, which is posted on the ADE’s website:
“When I received the attorney general’s message, I sent it to the most knowledgeable people in my department. I asked them to look at it, not as an advocate, because we all disagree with the Attorney General, but in a neutral way, as though they were judges to determine if they could give me a reasonable assurance of success. They analyzed the statutes on which the attorney general relied, and indicated to me that as a neutral judge, they would rule against me.”
