Viewpoints: The case for expanding Empowerment Scholarship Accounts – AZCentral.com

Jonathan Butcher, AZ I See It 5:46 p.m. MT Feb. 24, 2017

The Arizona Legislature is training its sights on the plan to broaden eligibility for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, a school-choice program created six years ago for disabled children. Wochit

Lanae Enriquez and her daughter, Addison.(Photo: Courtesy of Lanae Enriquez)

Two children, born a decade apart, can teach their parents the same lesson. For Lanae Enriquez, her stepsons young life and her daughters bright potential emphasize the value of a quality education starting from day one.

Arizona lawmakers are considering legislation that would give every Arizona child the chance to have this opportunity, regardless of their ZIP code or parents paychecks.

Lanae traces her stepsons current struggles in high school back to his being passed along from year to year in elementary school. He is doing all he can to keep up with his classes now, she says.

We have kept on top of him more (in recent months), so its brought his grades up, Lanae says. Its really concerning because now, I have to think, Do I want that for my daughter? Lanae says, whose daughter, Addison, turns 5 in March.

Lawmakers are considering giving all families access to a flexible learning option that has only been available to certain students since 2011: Education Savings Accounts. With these accounts, the state deposits a portion of a childs funding from the state formula into a private bank account that parents use to buy educational products and services for their children.

The accounts are distinct from other educational options because parents can choose multiple learning services simultaneously for their child. Some parents may choose to hire a personal tutor for their student to help them in math, while others may combine online classes, private schoolingand public school extracurricular activities.

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Arizona pioneered the accounts in 2011 for children with special needs, expanding access to the accounts over time to help children with challenges like those assigned to failing schools, children adopted from the state foster care system, and students on Native American reservations.

Research from EdChoice finds that one-third of participants are making multiple educational choices with the accounts sometimes, but not always, including a new school. A survey of participating families in 2013 found that 71 percent of participants reported being very satisfied with their childs account. No parent reported any level of dissatisfaction.

Parents and students can't wait for the state to straighten out its complex school funding formula. They need options now.(Photo: Michael Schennum/The Republic)

Lanae is one of thousands of Arizonans who are well-acquainted with choosing how and where their child learns when an assigned school is not the right fit. She moved her stepson to a new district school as he wrestled with his studies. Some 200,000 Arizona parents choose charter schools. Scholarship organizations awarded 60,000 scholarships to eligible students this year to attend K-12 private schools. Thousands more move across district lines to choose a different traditional public school.

Lanae considered a charter school for Addison, but the charter schools in their area fill seats using a lottery. These lotteries conjure images of gymnasiums full of nervous parents holding a ticket that may determine their childs academic success or failure. Lanae wants more than just to hope that my child gets in, she says.

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All parents want their child to succeed from her first day of kindergarten to when she is handed a high-school diploma. If their child is struggling in a local school, some Arizonans can find public schools across town or charter schools with seats available.

But others may not have these options. And for all of us, life happens: Lanae is expecting a baby and had to leave work now that she is well into her pregnancy. Addison was attending a private Montessori school, but times are tight for her family.

Its heartbreaking for us as parents that she is not eligible for an education savings account now, Lanae says, because the account would allow Addison to remain at the Montessori school.

The accounts can help families cross the income divide. Average accounts for mainstream students are worth $5,600, according to legislative analysts. A survey of Arizona private schools finds that about half of private schools have tuition at or below this level, making this option a possibility for more families. Approximately 85 percent of private schools in the state provide tuition assistance to help cover the rest.

Families that want more than just a new school can use the account to buy an online class or even pay for a college class before the child graduates high school. A child with a visual impairment could use their account to buy braille materials to help with schoolwork.

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All Arizonans care about education. Last year, voters chose to add $3.5 billion to public schools over the next decade. Fiscal analysts report that the education savings accounts awarded to children with special needs save the state $1,400 per student. Arizonas dizzying funding formula also creates a cost savings for students transferring from certain other public schools and creates a cost savings for districts in expenses like transportation and food service.

Lawmakers have worked for more than 15 years at simplifying the states funding formula to make sure resources are used to improve student learning. But a $10 billion education budget has proved hard to steer.

Parents and children like Lanae and Addison cannot wait for a better funding system when Addison can have a chance to succeed now with an education savings account. The same is true for traditional and charter public schools. Ideas to give these schools more flexibility and to help teachers challenge students should not be in a holding pattern while we adjust how tax dollars flow to schools.

For Lanae, and for thousands of parents who want their children to dream big, its not about the money. I would love to have her in the best school that I possibly could. Someplace that could nurture her talents and talents that we dont even know that she has, Lanae says.

Jonathan Butcher is education director at the Goldwater Institute and senior fellow at the Beacon Center of Tennessee.

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Viewpoints: The case for expanding Empowerment Scholarship Accounts - AZCentral.com