Don’t forget to vote! Arizona’s Primary Election is next Tuesday, July 30. More information at www.azvoterguide.com. 

Opponents of educational freedom provide a lesson in unethical tactics and the vigorous manipulation of facts. The title of the class could be ‘A means to an end,’ with areas of study such as “how to wield power over parents,” and “five ways to undermine state laws you don’t like.” If activists and certain lawmakers are instructors, Attorney General Kris Mayes would certainly be the dean of the department.

Mayes has used her office to hamstring educational freedom laws passed by our elected representatives and signed by the governor at the time. Mayes has always opposed parents choosing the best education for their children through the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, which continues to grow in popularity. She recently threatened State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, in an effort to coerce him to comply with her meddling in private education.

Goldwater Institute explains here that Mayes’ efforts include forcing parents to justify purchases such as a biography of Abraham Lincoln, and a copy of the Federalist Papers through an onerous demand the law never required. Goldwater wrote:

“Specifically, the AG’s office has proclaimed that any purchase of “supplementary materials” (including things like textbooks, workbooks, flash cards, study guides, and more) using ESA funds is illegal unless accompanied by a written curriculum specifically calling for use of that specific material. Yet this reflects neither the intent nor letter of state law, nor common sense.”

AG Mayes should go back to being a state legislator if she wants to change laws. Her job now is not to write public policy or search for some possible loophole she can use to trip up laws with which she disagrees.

Under the theory that repetition makes right, opponents of parent-directed education continue to lob false accusations at those who support parental control over bureaucrat control. The oft repeated and debunked mantra that ESAs will bankrupt the state continues, regardless of the basic fact that ESA awards total about $7,000 per student, while it costs the state $14,000 to educate a public-school student. Math is still math. Yet, opponents try to blame the state’s $1.4 billion budget shortfall on the ESA program.

Again, Goldwater Institute sets the record straight here.

This recent wave of attacks comes on the heels of wild accusations taken completely out of context in an effort by opponents to paint the ESA program as lax, giving license to extravagant shopping sprees. One such jab vilified the purchase of Legos, a popular educational tool even public schools use. See CAP’s op-ed correcting the false claim here.

I have detailed the fraud in the public school system and compared it to the 0.001% fraud rate of the ESA program after AG Mayes tried to sully the program based on a single incident that turned out to be an inside job. Read that here.

The bottom line: As more Arizona families discover the benefits of choosing the best educational environment for each of their children through the ESA program, the more popular it becomes and the more hits it will take from those who prefer to control the education of Arizona students.

But we know their tactics, we have read their class curriculum. They may have earned an A for effort, but they deserve an F for accuracy.

CAP will always fight for parents to control their children’s education, and work to hold on to the gains we have made here in Arizona to give families options.

We will be covering the vital issue of educational freedom all month as students prepare to get back to school.

Please join me on Thursday, August 1 at 7:00 p.m. when I will lead a webinar on the future of educational freedom in Arizona. I will be joined by a panel of esteemed state advocates. This event is part of a month-long effort to offer resources and empower parents and families to advocate for educational freedom as our children prepare to return to school. Register Here.

ICYMI:

• Read here how schools in California are encouraging kids to “transition,” using QR codes that direct them to gender clinics and other referrals.
• Read here about Virginia landlords fighting to evict an abortionist they say misled them about the nature of her business.
• Read here how the warnings are proving true as legalized marijuana use is leading to depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.