Superintendent Horne’s response to Governor’s ESA proposal

For immediate release: January 2, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Superintendent Horne’s response to Governor’s ESA proposal

PHOENIX - State schools chief Tom Horne has issued the following statement in response to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ proposal for potential changes to the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program:

“My job is to administer the ESA program in line with state law, and if changes are made the Department of Education will follow them.

However, one proposal stands out because it’s already in place: The governor recommends a manual review of ESA purchases over $500. My office already reviews all expense requests regardless of amount, unlike the previous superintendent who approved many frivolous requests. In 2023, we rejected several thousand ESA applications for lack of adequate documentation and suspended almost 2,200 accounts totaling $21 million because the student was enrolled in a public school. We’ve also rejected more than 12,000 ESA purchase order requests.”

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