APACHE JUNCTION, AZ — Some parents who use Arizona Empowerment Scholarship funds are pushing back against the state for upping requirements to get reimbursed for educational materials.
Rosemary McAtee homeschools most of her children with the help of ESA funds and her expenses are like any other classroom.
“From 2019 on, I have been able to get basic school supplies, reading books, those sorts of things, without needing to submit a curriculum,” McAtee said.
She sings the praises of the ESA program.
“It's given us a lot of choices for how our education looks like,” McAtee said.
Now, parents using ESA funds must submit a curriculum for any supplementary materials, from books to pencils and more.
"Making your life more difficult,” McAtee said.
McAtee, along with another parent and the conservative think tank, Goldwater Institute, are suing over the recent change that requires all materials bought to have a curriculum in order to be reimbursed. The lawsuit says the requirement “needlessly exacerbates a backlog of tens of thousands of purchase orders awaiting review, and senselessly burdens and limits parents in their ability to provide for the education of their children.”
"I just really hope to relieve the stress of a lot of parents,” McAtee said.
ABC15 has reported extensively on how ESA money went towards purchasing things including karate lessons, new pianos, golf gear, and even ski tickets.
Attorney General Kris Mayes' office said that based on those expenses, documentation is needed to prevent the misuse of taxpayer dollars.
Beth Lewis with Save Our Schools Arizona agrees.
“I think it really flies in the face of what Arizona taxpayers want, which is some amount of accountability for this program,” Lewis said. “You should be able to put any sort of books, or, you know, resources into a curriculum. You should be able to justify that.”
But for families like McAtee’s, she says the new rule adds unnecessary red tape.
"I do think parents have the right to pick what they're spending it on if it's in that educational category,” McAtee said.
State Superintendent of Education Tom Horne said he supports the lawsuit in a statement:
“The Department of Education concedes the argument of the Goldwater Institute. When this issue first arose in July, my concern was that the Attorney General could force Empowerment Scholarship Account holders to return funds if they did not comply with her office’s interpretation of the law. This lawsuit will settle the issue in court and my sincere hope is that the arguments made by Goldwater will prevail.”
Attorney General’s Kris Mayes office released a statement in response to the lawsuit Tuesday:
"The Attorney General has simply stated what is required by law. 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 to prevent the misuse of taxpayer funds. Attorney General Mayes believes Arizonans deserve full transparency and accountability in how their tax dollars are used and will continue."
