Parents Overwhelm Dept. Of Ed Website To Apply For ESA Credit Up To $7K

Parents Overwhelm Dept. Of Ed Website To Apply For ESA Credit Up To $7K

By Terri Jo Neff |

With nearly $7,000 becoming available for every K-12 student to attend a private school or be homeschooled through the recent expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), the Arizona Department of Education’s website has been overwhelmed with parents seeking to apply.

The credit becomes available on Sept. 24 but the number of parents applying in advance has created issues for the Department of Education’s website. An advisory posted to the website this week noted “high volume” may cause users to receive an error message when trying to establish an account.  

On Saturday, Ducey took to Twitter as word spread about the tremendous interest.

The ESA expansion legislation sponsored by Rep. Ben Toma provides families of all 1.1 million of Arizona’s K-12 students the option of allocating 90 percent of state funding which would have been allocated to the student’s district or charter school and have it be available for private school tuition, home-schooling, tutoring, and other educational needs such as transportation, textbooks, and computers.

Among the permitted expenditures for homeschoolers is the cost of specialized teachers for subjects such as foreign language, art, and music.

Ducey presided over a Aug. 17 ceremonial signing of HB2853. He later said making ESAs available to all of Arizona’s K-12 students was putting “the power back in the hands of parents, who are best suited to make decisions for their children’s education.”

Jenny Clark, founder of Love Your School, attended last week’s ceremony (Ducey actually signed HB2853 on July 7). Clark says Arizona’s ESA program can be life-changing for Arizona’s students.  

“My five children have benefitted from ESAs and I can’t help but think how many kids don’t get the help they need,” Clark said. “Now, they will. Every child in Arizona will have the same opportunities and ability to get the education tailored to their needs.”

Corey A. DeAngelis of the Federation for Children was one of the stakeholders  involved in ensuring passage of HB2853, calling it “a national model” that empowers parents. He too used Twitter to comment on what the high demand on the ADE website means.

“This is why the government school monopoly fights so hard against giving families a choice,” DeAngelis wrote. “They’re terrified. They know parents want alternatives.”

Information about ESAs and eligibility can be found at https://www.azed.gov/esa

Major Changes At State Board of Education With New Appointments

Major Changes At State Board of Education With New Appointments

By Terri Jo Neff |

The Arizona State Board of Education (SBE) will have a bunch of new faces at its next meeting following Monday’s announcement by Gov. Doug Ducey of seven new members.

Created within the Arizona Constitution, the mission of the 11 member board is to develop successful citizens through robust public education. The SBE oversees the public school system by establishing policies, setting courses of study, and gathering data on pupil performance.

The new members chosen by the governor are:

Jason Catanese, an algebra and geometry teacher at Pueblo Del Sol Elementary School in the Isaac School District who is a former national teacher of the year for Teach For America. He is also chairman, co-founder, and executive director of the Camp Catanese Foundation.

Jenny Clark, the founder and CEO of the non-profit Love Your School which helps families navigate school options, whether in a district, charter, private, online, homeschool, microschool, or learning pod setting.

Jacqui Clay, the elected Cochise County superintendent of schools who has worked as a teacher, assistant principal, and director of career technical education.. She also spent 25 years serving in the U. S. Army.

Dr. Scott Hagerman, superintendent of the Tanque Verde School District and Continental Elementary School District. His experience includes past positions with Tucson Unified School District, along with work as a principal and classroom teacher.

Katherine Haley, whose nearly 20 years of experience in public policy and philanthropy has involved expanding educational opportunities by building coalitions to advance federal policies which improve school choice and strengthen students’ workforce readiness.

Julia Meyerson, the founder and executive director of Vista College Prep charter schools in Maricopa County. A Phoenix native, Meyerson joined Teach For America after college and served as an educator in Brooklyn, New York. 

Karla Phillips-Krivickas, the founder and CEO of Think Inclusion who has more than 20 years of experience in state and federal policy. She uses her experience to advise education leaders on sound policy and best practices to advance academic achievement for students, including those with disabilities. 

The outgoing members are Janice Mak and Calvin Baker, whose terms had expired back in January 2020;  Lucas Narducci, Michelle Kaye, and Patricia Welborn, whose terms ran only to January 2021; and Jill Broussard and Armando Ruiz, whose terms expired in January 2022.

“Arizona is grateful to the outgoing members for their service and commitment to students’ success, and for their steady hand in guiding our educational institutions during the pandemic,” Ducey said with the announcement. “Our new board members have big shoes to fill, but I am confident that with their new energy, fresh ideas and diverse backgrounds, we will be able to continue strengthening education for our students.”

The new SBE members will join Christine Burton (January 2023) and Dr. Robert Robbins (January 2024) and as well as Kathy Hoffman who is a member due to her position as the state’s elected Superintendent of Public Instruction.  Also carrying over for now is Dr. Daniel Coor as the community college representative, whose term expired in January 2021.

Ducey’s announcement included two community members for the Arizona Board of Regents, which is the governing body for the state’s three public universities: Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona.  

One of the new Regents is Gregg Brewster, a senior sales executive of Brewster HealthCare Consulting who has expertise in health care, supply chain management and transportation. According to the governor’s office, Brewster is a member of the AORN Foundation Board of Directors, as well as an active participant on the Arizona State University Alumni Board.

The other new Regent is Doug Goodyear, CEO and a founding partner of DCI Group, a public affairs firm with offices in Arizona and Washington, D.C. The company has grown into of the country’s largest independently-owned public affairs firms. Goodyear has been active in the Phoenix chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization. 

The outgoing Regents are William Ridenour and Ronald Shoopman.