Reporter: Tyler Mitchell
Editor: Rei Tedoco
Some families with Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) say the state is taking too long to reimburse them for basic school supplies like pencils.
Jeanette Aldana Perry is the mother of two homeschooled children.
On Sept. 23, Perry brought her concerns to the State Board of Education not only as a concerned parent but she said as “a voice of countless families across Arizona who rely on the ESA.”
She claims that ESA funds were supposed to be a “Lifeline” and a tool to provide the children with the specific resources they need to thrive. She said that lately she hasn’t been met with their promise and feels like a burden. With one of her children having autism she really needs support with keeping their learning on track.
Perry homeschools her children Monday through Friday.
As of recently, Perry says the state has been falling short of their commitments and has been enforcing pointless rules. Perry has been keeping in touch with other ESA parents to seek help and to find a community for what she has been dealing with. She has been dealing with late reimbursements and finding herself having to over-explain why she needs the basic tools to help support her children's education, when it was never this hard before.
“You have to provide a curriculum for everything that you buy, even basic stuff, as I was saying, like pens, pencils, crayons, books and whatnot.” Perry said.“So some stuff that you would think it's like, it's pretty clear that this is going to be used for education.”
She explained that during prior school years it would only take about a week to get reimbursed , but now it's taking anywhere from two to three months.
“ I bought a lot of stuff on Amazon Prime Day, which was back in mid July, and I submitted it shortly after to ESA and I was not reimbursed for it until, I think, just a few days ago. So, that can lead to even more delays.” Perry said.
State Board of Education member and ESA advocate, Jenny Clark, said it’s the result of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes interpreting the law differently than the past several years on what’s required for ESA purchases.
“Mayes has made navigating the ESA program incredibly difficult, especially for special needs families,” Clark said.
A spokesman for the Arizona Department of Education said “In July, the Attorney General’s Office sent ADE a letter telling us that we could no longer approve any supplemental materials unless they have a curriculum demonstrating that you need them for an ESA student’s education.”
When some of the families have been seeking out tutors for their children, they have been told by the state that they have to pay the tutors upfront and just wait on the reimbursements to come back because they take a long time to do “vendor pays”.
Perry just wants the state to consider everyone affected by the new rule and think about changing it.
“In public schools, they're not asking teachers to write a curriculum for why their students need pens or pencils or crayons or paper. It's pretty clear why. So why are homeschool children being treated differently especially those with special needs children jumping through these extra hoops?” Perry said.
Richie Taylor, Communications Director for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, responded to concerns raised by ESA families.
“The Attorney General has simply stated what is required by law," Taylor said. "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. Instances of voucher dollars being spent on things like ski passes and luxury car driving lessons make it clear that providing documentation is essential to prevent misuse of taxpayer funds."
Taylor also pointed to the broader consensus on the Attorney General’s interpretation, noting that even Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne’s team had agreed with the Attorney General’s stance.
“They analyzed the statutes on which the Attorney General relied, and indicated to me that, as a neutral judge, they would rule against me,” he explained.
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