Republicans fast-track school-voucher bill in Arizona Legislature

Republican lawmakers in the Arizona Legislature are attempting to fast-track a plan to eventually offer vouchers to every public-school student and, in separate legislation, privatize oversight of the public money given to parents to pay private-school tuition and other expenses. The Legislature is training its sights on the plan to broaden eligibility for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, a school-choice program created six years ago for disabled children. Under the legislation, all of Arizona's 1.1 million students would be eligible for the program by 2020.  SAs allow families to use public-school dollars on private-school tuition and other educational expenses. ESAs would be offered to four grades in 2017-18 and incrementally to all public-school students by 2020-21.