AFC Will Keep Fighting to Protect Arizona ESA Families
DALLAS, Texas — The American Federation for Children condemns the self-serving actions of political figures who have once again proven their willingness to accept catastrophe for the 100,000 kids who depend on Arizona’s school choice program.
The so-called “Protect Education Act,” a union-backed ballot initiative that would gut the program, now remains at risk of being on the ballot in November. If it passes, it will effectively destroy school choice in Arizona. Unfortunately, self-serving actions of certain figures cratered deals over commonsense policies, including those that have more than 70% support among voters and are in place in every other ESA program with universal eligibility in the country.
Statement from Tommy Schultz, CEO, American Federation for Children:
“AFC has been fighting for years to protect the Arizona school choice program from calamity. Tragically, Governor Hobbs and Senator Jake Hoffman are willing to sacrifice scholarships for 100,000 families by joining up with local figures from the Heritage Foundation and Arizona Free Enterprise to risk a vital school choice program over their petty politics and online theatrics.
It’s no secret that the unions and Governor Hobbs have been attempting to kill the program for years. Modest policy tweaks to align it with every other school choice program in the country would have neutralized their hyperbolic threats.
And the one deal that would have actually saved the program, which was bipartisan, was destroyed by reckless conflict merchants. It’s as if Senator Jake Hoffman and Scot Mussi, along with their enablers at Heritage Foundation, never wanted any deal: it was more important for them to sacrifice ESA families so they could continue to fundraise or debate-society their way off a cliff.
Let’s be clear: The policies on the table were widely popular and in place in every other ESA program with universal eligibility.
For now, we’ll prepare our efforts to challenge the union petition. But Arizona’s ESA families deserved better because Governor Hobbs, the unions, and far too many supposed “school choice advocates” have put these families needlessly at risk.”
