Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs wants to regulate school choice out of existence

OPINION:

Any business owner who saw 450% growth in one of the company’s products or programs over a 15-month period would be ecstatic. And it’s safe to say that whatever that program was doing must be working.

But for Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and her allies in the teachers unions, who have never been known for their math skills, it’s a different story when it comes to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program.

In July 2022, when Republican then-Gov. Doug Ducey signed universal school choice expansion into Arizona law, 13,400 students were enrolled in the program. As of Jan. 16, that number has grown to an astounding 73,415 students — up nearly 450%. Clearly, the program is in high demand, and it is working. But after signing the Republican budget bill last year without any cap or restrictions on these accounts, Ms. Hobbs is trying to push a barrage of regulations that would effectively dismantle the popular program.

Earlier this month, our governor announced her plan for the program. And despite the fact that Ms. Hobbs is a product of private schools herself, her proposed changes would turn private schools into de facto public schools and cause children to lose their scholarships, forcing them out of their schools.

Among the regulations promoted by Ms. Hobbs and the teachers unions is a requirement to attend public school for at least 100 days in order to qualify for the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. So, let’s get this straight. Parents who know that they do not want to send their children to public school — or that the public school won’t be able to meet their child’s needs — will have to send their children to a public school for an arbitrary number of days in order to participate in the state program.

That’s interesting, given that there is no such requirement for families who want to switch school districts or move to a public charter school. Why should students who want to attend private school, as our governor did, be treated any differently? Maybe it’s because Ms. Hobbs and the teachers unions are desperate to do anything they can to boost the declining enrollment in our state’s public schools.

Another of Ms. Hobbs’ proposals requires manual review of purchases over $500. This likely came from a false expenditure claim by Save Our Schools Arizona, which falsely claimed in a post on X that the Arizona Department of Education approved a reimbursement for a $500 Lego set. The fact is that under the current superintendent of public instruction, Tom Horne, every single Empowerment Scholarship Account purchase is already reviewed. If Ms. Hobbs wants to look at anyone for frivolous spending, perhaps she should start with her friend Kathy Hoffman, the former superintendent of public instruction whose tenure was known for approving odd expenses.

But perhaps the most absurd change Ms. Hobbs and the teachers unions want to make is to prohibit so-called price gouging by implementing price controls on private schools. This is hilarious considering that for decades, teachers unions have pushed for billions more to be poured into public schools, which they got, and Arizona taxpayers are giving district schools more money than ever, at nearly $15,000 per student — more than double the cost of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts.

Not once did Ms. Hobbs or any teachers union raise the concerns of price inflation associated with dumping more money into the system, even though Arizona always seems to be another billion dollars away from “fully funding” education. And yet, now that Arizona has universal education savings accounts, they decided we need price controls, but only for private schools. It’s hard to tell which is worse: their greed or their hypocrisy.

The reality is that education savings accounts strengthen all schools because competition delivers the best product, which leads to better students, families and communities. That’s why Arizona’s program has become so popular — and why Ms. Hobbs is hiding behind a flood of regulations rather than pushing for a repeal or cap on it. Now, it’s up to Arizona lawmakers to make sure her plan for the Empowerment Scholarship Account program is dead on arrival.

• Scot Mussi is president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club.