Grand Canyon Times

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has postponed the release of the 2024-25 Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) handbook, signaling a strategic pause for additional community engagement to refine guidelines that will better serve students while safeguarding taxpayer funds.

The new ESA handbook was withdrawn earlier this year. Instead the current ESA handbook will remain in place.

“After a weekend of whipping votes, the State Board of Education did exactly what we asked them to do,” the Arizona Freedom Caucus said in a post on X.

In an interview with Grand Canyon Times, Horne cited two primary reasons for the postponement.

“Number one. Parents complained, a number of parents, not just a few, complained that they did not have a chance to give input,” Horne said.

Expressing agreement with the parents' concerns, Horne emphasized the necessity for transparency, noting that the decision to postpone was to ensure everyone had the chance to contribute their thoughts effectively.

“I'm all for transparency and so I thought it was a valid complaint, and we should extend it to give everyone a chance to get this input.”

He added the second reason was more important.

"The second reason is that the most significant parts of the changes to the handbook are aspects we're already implementing," Horne said. "Postponing the handbook doesn't impede our commitment to enhancing oversight, such as scrutinizing and denying requests for unreasonable expenses.”

Horne also addressed criticisms directed at previous administrations, particularly citing lax oversight during the administration of previous superintendent Kathy Hoffman, a noted friend of the Hobbs administration.

“They were lax, and I'm and I'm being much more insistent that everything be a valid educational purpose, be consistent with legislation, be reasonable.”

Horne noted he has spent time untangling the Hoffman administration's spending.

“I'm entrusted with taxpayer dollars and I have to be prudent in response,” he said.

In a letter addressed to the State Board of Education, Republican lawmakers underscored the significant discontent among parents and constituents regarding the proposed changes to the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) handbook, viewing them as overly restrictive and beyond the scope of legislative intent. They expressed concern over the lack of public involvement in formulating these regulations.

“With the proposed changes, additional constraints are added that overstep the boundaries of the laws passed by the Legislature,” the letter reads. “If there is a desire to see these changes in the ESA program, the appropriate channels must be navigated through legislation after a rigorous stakeholder process.

Urging the board to reject the proposed handbook, the legislators advocated reauthorizing the previous version for the upcoming school year.

Horne, who served as Attorney General from 2011-2015 has a background in both law and education. Prior to his reelection in 2022, Horne had already served as Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2003 to 2011.

During his legal career, he spent 24 years on the school board of the state’s third-largest school district, including ten years as president, while also serving four years in the Arizona legislature.

He graduated with honors from Harvard Law School after earning his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Harvard College.