Arizona Education Chief Supports Legal Battle Against Attorney General’s School Choice Limits

By Staff Reporter |

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has voiced support for a lawsuit aimed at contesting Attorney General Kris Mayes’ restrictions on the state’s school choice program. Horne is concerned that Mayes may require families to return funds from the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program under her interpretation of the law regarding allowable expenses.

In July, Mayes informed the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) that, based on her reading of the law, parents should not receive reimbursements for supplementary educational materials that are not explicitly mentioned in the curriculum. Despite recognizing the absence of a clear definition for “supplemental materials” in the statute, she referenced the State Board of Education’s definition, which stipulates that such materials must enhance or support the curriculum.

This narrow interpretation requires explicit documentation of all materials necessary for the curriculum, which includes typical supplies like pencils and erasers. However, the ADE’s handbook does not demand such documentation for items generally recognized as educational.

Mayes has directed the ADE to provide records of supplementary material expenditures from 2019 to the present, as well as expenses on curriculum materials lacking appropriate documentation. In response, the Goldwater Institute has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two ESA mothers, Velia Aguirre and Rosemary McAtee, who homeschool their children.

The Goldwater Institute argues that Mayes’ directive violates the law and jeopardizes a significant backlog of purchase orders, potentially harming the education of children reliant on ESA funding. Furthermore, they highlighted that even conventional school curriculums often do not specify supplementary items like pencils and erasers.

Horne expressed hope for a favorable outcome in the Goldwater Institute’s lawsuit, stating, “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 ESA holders to return funds if they did not comply with her office’s interpretation.”

He noted that a previous court ruling limited the ADE’s ability to file lawsuits directly, though he disagrees with Mayes’ interpretation of supplementary materials needing to be tied to the curriculum. As of Monday, the ESA Program has enrolled more than 78,600 students, highlighting its significance in Arizona’s educational landscape.