New Arizona Education Bills Pass After Spirited Debate And Testimonies

Published: Thursday, February 14, 2019 - 11:49am
Updated: Friday, February 15, 2019 - 8:59am
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Arizona Superintendent Kathy Hoffman delivered her State of Education address Feb. 4, 2019.

Two bills were debated in front of a packed room at the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday: One to change the age and boundary requirements for Empowerment Scholarship Account — or ESA — eligibility, and the other to move oversight of those accounts from the Department of Education to the State Treasurer’s office — who would then tap a third-party firm to do that work.

Both bills passed on party lines, 6-4, but not before spirited testimony from Superintendent of Public Schools Kathy Hoffman, "Save Our Schools" supporters wearing red, and “I Love ESA” supporters in yellow.  

Ben Giles from the Arizona Capitol Times joined The Show to talk about what he heard at the committee hearing.

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