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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, First Regular Session
Arizona empowerment scholarships; quarterly report
Purpose
Requires the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to prepare an Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program quarterly report containing outlined information.
Background
A qualified
student with an ESA may use ESA monies for permissible expenses, including: 1)
qualifying tuition or fees; 2) textbooks, curricula and supplementary
materials; and 3) outlined goods and services. Statute prescribes seven
specified categories of qualified students who are eligible for an ESA. In
2022, the Legislature expanded eligibility to include a universal category for
any Arizona resident who: 1) is eligible to enroll in an Arizona public school;
and
2) does not otherwise qualify for an ESA account (A.R.S. §§ 15-2401;
15-2401.01;
and 15-2402).
State Board of
Education (SBE) rules require ADE to provide a quarterly report on the ESA
Program to the SBE that includes: 1) the number of students in the ESA Program,
disaggregated by eligibility, grade level and each student's associated school
district or charter school; 2) the annual award amount associated with each
student; 3) the number of ESA applications received, approved and denied in the
preceding quarter, including denial justifications; 4) the number of
applications processed within 30 days of receipt and the number of
administratively incomplete applications; 5) parent input or feedback and ADE's
response;
6) specified information on the contracted financial management firm; 7)
information regarding appeals filed with the SBE that were resolved prior to a
hearing; and 8) any other SBE-requested information (A.A.C.
R7-2-1503).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires ADE to submit an ESA Program quarterly report, consistent with federal law, to the SBE, the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
2. Requires the ESA Program quarterly report to include:
a) the number of applications received, whether each application was approved or denied and the justification for each denied application;
b) the number of applications processed within 30 days after receipt and the number of administratively incomplete applications;
c) the number of qualified students, disaggregated by:
i. eligibility category;
ii. for qualified students eligible through the universal category, the number of qualified students who attended a public school in the school year immediately preceding the first year of a qualified student's enrollment in the ESA Program;
iii. grade level;
iv. if applicable, the school district or charter school that each qualified student attended in the school year immediately preceding the first year of enrollment in the ESA Program;
v. the types of educational services used, including the amount of expenses approved for each type of educational service;
vi. English language learners;
vii. qualified students who are subject to an individualized education program or who have a Section 504 accommodation plan;
viii. self-reported race and ethnicity; and
ix. household income;
d) the annual award amount associated with each ESA account;
e) the number of qualified students who withdrew from the ESA Program, failed to renew the ESA or were removed from the ESA Program and the amount of monies that must be returned by the students;
f) the amount of approved expenses, disaggregated by type of expense, according to the statutorily-prescribed categories of permissible expenses; and
g) the percentage of qualified schools that are accredited.
3. Directs ADE to provide a copy of the ESA Program quarterly report to the Secretary of State and publish a copy of the ESA Program quarterly report on ADE's website.
4. Defines type of educational services as a qualified school or instruction provided by an approved vendor or provider outside of a qualified school.
5. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 13, 2023
LB/MH/slp