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Josh Barnett-AZ @BarnettforAZ - Amending ARS §15-2402.B): The bill strikes the required parental agreement clause that currently says parents must not "accept a scholarship from a school tuition organization pursuant to title 43 concurrently with an Arizona empowerment scholarship account... in the same year." This deletion (shown with strikethrough/underline in the PDF) eliminates the prohibition, so families are no longer barred from accepting an STO scholarship while using ESA funds.
- No new explicit "stacking" or "$15,000 match" mechanism is created—the bill doesn't mention $15,000, public per-pupil totals ($14,000–$15,000 average statewide), or any automatic top-up formula. It simply removes the restriction, allowing families to potentially combine:
- ESA funding: ~90% of the state's base + additional assistance per-pupil amount (typically $7,000–$11,000+ for standard students; significantly higher for disabilities/special needs).
- STO scholarships: Tax-credit funded, often $5,000–$9,000+ (with caps in current law like $5,600–$7,500 in prior years, adjustable annually).
- In practice: This could let total support approach or exceed typical public school per-pupil funding for private tuition or other expenses, especially if a private school accepts layered payments (e.g., ESA covers most tuition + therapies, STO covers remaining tuition/fees). Double-dipping the exact same dollar of expense is still prohibited (anti-fraud rules remain), but layering for different or overlapping approved costs becomes feasible.
### Other Key Changes in These Final Pages (STOs Focus)
The bill amends STO rules in Title 43 (tax credits) to refine eligibility for low-income/corporate STO scholarships/tuition grants:
- Priority and eligibility tweaks: STOs must prioritize students/siblings on waiting lists. Expands/elaborates on qualified students (e.g., those who previously participated in ESA but didn't renew to switch to STO, foster care placements, military dependents, homeschoolers/transfers, expulsions/special needs not met by public schools, etc).
- Caps and refunds: Maintains/adjusts annual scholarship limits (historical context from similar bills: e.g., increases by $200/year post-2021, but bill text focuses on priorities/refunds if award exceeds tuition).
- Other: Requires refunds of excess awards, allocation rules for multi-year or reallocation, and court judgment provisions if tax credit limits are ruled unenforceable.
No changes here reinstate the ESA-STO ban or add new restrictions on combining.
### Bill Overview and Status
HB2832 is a school choice expansion/refinement bill (Republican-sponsored, focused on ESAs and STOs/student eligibility). It:
- Removes the concurrent-use ban → allows ESA + STO together.
- Adds ESA oversight (parent committee, audits, handbooks, databases).
- Refines STO eligibility/priorities for tax-credit scholarships.