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On Thursday, Governor Doug Ducey signed Arizona State Representative Ben Toma’s bill, which represents the most expansive school choice legislation in the nation. H.B. 2853 ensures all Arizona K-12 students will now be eligible for scholarship funds to access the education that best fits their unique needs.
“In Arizona, we fund students, not systems, because we know one size does not fit all students,” said House Majority Leader Toma. “It was my privilege to sponsor the most expansive school choice law in the nation, opening Empowerment Scholarship Account eligibility to all school-age children without restriction. I appreciate Governor Ducey for his strong support to help Arizona become the first state with a truly universal ESA program, delivering educational freedom to more than 1.1 million students.”
Arizona families who participate would receive more than $6,500 per year per child for private
school, homeschooling, micro schools, tutoring, or any other kinds of educational service that helps meet the needs of their students outside the traditional public school system.
“Our kids have been crying out for better schools to be open to them,” said Pastor Drew Anderson, of First Watch Ministries and Legacy Christian Center in South Phoenix. “Today we said ‘enough is enough.’ We broke open those doors and saved our children. As a pastor I’ve seen too many of our black and brown children struggling; going to fast food restaurants just to connect to WiFi or just looking for some guidance on homework. I’m grateful to Governor Ducey and the Legislature for putting our kids first by expanding the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. We avoided a crisis for our children and helped them achieve greatness.”
In addition to the monumental legislation, the bill includes improvements to make accessing an ESA more user-friendly process for parents.
“My five children benefit from the Empowerment Scholarship Account program,” said Jenny Clark, founder of Love Your School. “Because of the program, our kids had access to wonderful curriculum, resources and special education that they needed. It has been life changing. Every Arizona child now has access to the same opportunities – unbound by their parents’ income. Thanks to the hard work of Governor Ducey and the Arizona Legislature, all Arizona students have equitable access to a great education.”
“With the signing of this bill, Governor Ducey and Arizona Republicans freed thousands of families from government-run schools that aren’t meeting their needs,” said Senior Fellow of the American Federation for Children Corey DeAngelis. “Arizona families will no longer be forced to send their children’s taxpayer-funded education dollars to government-run schools regardless of their choices. All Arizona families will finally be able to direct their children’s taxpayer-funded education dollars to the education providers that best meet their needs, whether it be a public, private, charter, or home-based educational option. Arizona has figured out how to fund students instead of systems, and now solidly leads the nation in educational freedom.”
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