Schools accepting Arizona education account payments would report finances and spending

Arizona's Department of Education would develop a financial information portal. The State Board of Education could set school financial standards and reporting rules. The rules would cover eligible schools accepting empowerment scholarship account payments. Families use these accounts to pay education expenses. If adopted, reporting rules must require the same financial audit data collected from district and charter schools and assess schools' ability to keep operating. Schools receiving account money would follow reporting duties and answer portal information requests in line with federal student privacy law.

Arizona's auditor general would organize a team to check schools' classroom spending and randomly select schools for audits each year. Eligible schools accepting account payments would prominently post the auditor general's latest report showing their share of account money spent in classrooms on their website home page. Audited schools would state whether they agree with the findings and whether they will follow, modify, or refuse the recommendations. Schools would attend any legislative hearing scheduled during the follow-up period. Schools would report every six months for two years after an audit ends. The auditor general would review progress every six months after receiving reports and could continue beyond two years for unfinished recommendations.

Legislative committees would review the education account program. The auditor general would audit its management or results, and committees would hold at least one public hearing. The review would cover Arizona's empowerment scholarship account program as a whole. The review would not automatically end the program. Committees would assess the program's need and goals and consider the review and audit when deciding whether it should continue or end. Arizona's education department would have 40 calendar days to comment on the draft review. The committee review would be due at least 17 months before the overall deadline, and its draft report at least 11 months before that deadline. The preliminary review report and program audit would be due by October 1 of the year before the scheduled review deadline. Committees would hold the public hearing after receiving the audit.

Arizona's Department of Education would post an account handbook with a warning about knowingly obtaining an account through fraud. The handbook would serve account applicants and participants. It would explain account rules and warn that fraudulently obtaining an account is a serious crime called a class 2 felony. The warning would cover knowingly obtaining an account through false claims, fraudulent promises, or leaving out important facts. The education department would develop and post the handbook by July 1 each year.