PHOENIX — Arizona public educators say they are shouldering an unexpected burden caused by the state’s ESA private school voucher program.
Since the universal voucher law was passed nearly two years ago, there has been a surge of families going to school districts seeking special needs evaluations for their kids, according to superintendents and lawmakers. These families do not enroll their kids in the district and therefore the district gets no per-pupil funding for the students. The families get an evaluation – at a considerable financial cost to districts - and then obtain ESAs for homeschooling or private school.
“The legislature needs to find money to pay these bills since they aren’t my kids,” said Dr. Curtis Finch, Superintendent of Deer Valley School District, the fourth largest in the state. Finch, in his 25th year as a superintendent, said he is being blunt because he is frustrated.
His district has provided a battery of learning and psychological tests to at least 94 ESA students this year.
“Obviously the impact on our system is time. All these people, my specialists, have now spent a bunch of time doing all these evaluations. And then they have less time for my students who are actually in my system,” finch said.
Horne: Federal law requires districts provide evaluations
But federal law requires school districts to provide evaluations to kids based on where they live geographically, not based on whether they are enrolled in the district, according to the Arizona Department of Education. Critics say those laws, created decades ago, do not take into account Arizona’s “school choice” environment and ESA program. Despite efforts by Democrats, Republican leaders at the legislature showed no interest this year in finding ways to reimburse districts for the burgeoning costs.
ESA families receive higher funding with a special needs diagnosis
Finch said his district has dedicated roughly half a million dollars in professional hours to perform special needs evaluations for ESA students this year.
Evaluations and screenings, depending on the amount and type, range from $3,500 to nearly $7,000 per student.
“I know why families are coming to us. It's because of our expertise. I have staff members that are highly trained,” Finch said.
The spokesperson of another district, Chandler Unified, tells 12 News they provided more evaluations for “private school students” in the first quarter of this school year than the previous two years combined.
Superintendent: Many families are seeking Autism diagnosis
The ESA amount depends on the diagnosis. The most recent average for non-special ed ESAs was around $7,000. It was $9,300 for students with at least one diagnosed disability.
Finch said many families are seeking a diagnosis for autism, which carries a higher ESA payment.
An 18-year language and speech pathologist who works at another school district in the Valley told 12News she has also seen an uptick the last two years for both families seeking evaluations and for families seeking an autism diagnosis.
“I don’t blame these parents (of ESA students) for coming to our school district. The education system as a whole is set up to provide these services,” they told 12News, asking to remain anonymous because they were not authorized by the district to speak publicly. “Regarding autism, a lot of these parents see their kids dealing with anxiety and social isolation and they want to know if autism is the reason. They want a diagnosis.”
Disagreement over how to support school districts
A spokesperson for State Superintendent Tom Horne says federal law requires school districts to provide evaluations for children who live within the district boundaries.
“It’s not our opinion, it’s federal law,” said spokesperson Doug Nick in written statement.
Finch told 12News he does not interpret the law the same way and his district’s policy is to reject families seeking evaluations whose children are not in the district or don’t plan to be.
“Technically, the state is the district for ESA students and they should put up the bill for evaluation. The state doesn’t want the bill, so they give it to us,” Finch said.
Finch took over the job at Deer Valley Unified seven years ago after serving as a superintendent in Michigan for 17 years. DVUSD has 42 schools.
“What families often tell us, ‘Oh yeah, I'm coming to your school.’ They've been coached. And so we start the process,” Finch said. “And then sure enough, as soon as they get the designation that they want, then they're gone.”
Chandler Unified said it is their district’s “obligation” under federal law to evaluate all students “who reside within Chandler Unified and also students attending a non-profit private school within our boundaries but who may not necessarily live within our district boundaries.”
Horne: Solution must come from federal government
12News asked Superintendent Tom Horne if he has a solution for district leaders concerned about the cost of evaluations. Horne’s spokesperson said a change would have to be addressed at the federal level because it is a federal issue.
Arizona State Representative Nancy Gutierrez disagrees. Gutierrez said the state legislature should provide a system to reimburse school districts for evaluations of ESA students.
“I think people don’t understand how much time this testing takes from school psychologists, speech pathologists and even special education teachers,” Gutierrez said. “We have so many Democratic bills that deal with reigning in ESA’s and not one of them was heard in committees this year,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez says the Tucson Unified School District has spent about $75,000 on evaluations for ESA students this year. She said there is one psychologist charged with serving 3,300 students.
“Our specialists and special education teachers are already stretched so thin. Each student’s evaluation takes hours,” Gutierrez said.
Republican lawmakers are not responding
Public school advocates said Arizona State Senate Education Committee Chair Ken Bennett was made aware of the problem earlier this year. Bennett did not respond to a request for comment.
A lobbyist for public educators said they informed legislative leaders in the fall about the issue, but were unsuccessful in getting legislation done.
“We are always willing to help all students in Arizona, but when the students are using an ESA to go to a private school we should be reimbursed like any other provider for our services as allowable by federal law,” said Meghaen Dell’Artino.
Finch said he has reached out to State Representative Beverly Pingerelli (R), who represents his district boundaries. Pingerelli has not responded to him, Finch said.
12News asked Pingerelli for comment. She did not respond to 12News.
Analyst: Public schools are underfunded for special education
Anabel Aportella, a longtime analyst of Arizona school funding who has worked for charter and district schools, says the state per-pupil formula for district students covers special education costs. It originates from both federal and state funds. However, that money is not tied to the amount of evaluations performed and it is historically not sufficient to meet the needs of districts.
“Yes there is funding out there (for special education evaluations) but that doesn’t even mean districts have enough funding for their existing special education needs,” Aportela said.
Many schools operate with a special needs funding gap. In order to meet the needs of students with disabilities, the districts must dip into funds intended for the rest of the student body.
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