Arizona has amazing and supportive ways to help support parents in choosing a private school option to educate their children. One of those ways is through the Empowerment Scholarship Account. It does require a little effort to acquire the funds on your part as the parent. I expect when it is all said and done, the effort will be worth it.
I spoke with Gaby Ascencio with American Federation for Children and received her permission to use their helpful materials on the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program in Arizona. I have included all they sent me. If you are interested, please contact Gaby. She is very enthusiastic and helpful. Her information is on the bottom of this blog.
Just a few points. You cannot use ESA funds with tax credit monies. I included information on the website about IBE, a tuition scholarship organization here in Arizona that is also very enthusiastic and organized. But you can use any of the other over sixty tax credit groups in the state.
ESA funds cover about two thirds of our tuition give or take. I hope this is useful.
American Federation for Children
Thank you for your interest in the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program offered through the Arizona Department of Education to help send your child to a private school or home school for little to no cost! You still have time to apply for the upcoming academic school year! ESA's allow parents to receive their child's allotted education dollars to pay for private school tuition (including religious schools), homeschool curriculum, uniforms, tutoring, testing fees, therapies, books and more!
IS YOUR CHILD ELIGIBLE?
Here are 7 easy questions for you.
If you answer YES to any of them, your child may qualify!
Does your child have Special Needs and have an IEP or 504 from a public school?
Is your child attending a D or F rated public school? (Here is the list of underperforming schools and their rating) https://az4children.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/FY-19-Combined-D-F-Rate-Schools.pdf
Is the child's parent active duty military or did a parent die in the line of duty?
Has your child ever been in foster care?
Do you live on Tribal lands?
Is a parent or guardian of the child visually or hearing impaired?
Do you have another child that already receives an ESA or was a past recipient of an ESA?
If you answered NO to all of the above questions, there are still ways to receive scholarships, please email me back to request more scholarships.
STEPS TO APPLY:
Click here to apply or if you already have an account created, click here to log in :https://esa.azed.gov/Account
Save your Application ID and date you applied to check status here: https://esaonline.azed.gov/Status/ApplicationStatus
Check your email junk mail for application updates within 45 days
Determine if your child will attend a private school, home school or virtual learning
Contact jen.lucio@azed.gov for questions regarding applications submitted after 45 days+
Stay connected with American Federation for Children. Text the word “NEWS” to 52886 to receive reminders & deadlines on ESA’s. Reach out to me with any questions or concerns you have about your child’s eligibility or application status here: https://p2a.co/CWrh1kj.
STEPS AFTER YOU’VE BEEN APPROVED
Once you’ve received your approval letter and amount, confirm the school of your choice (private school, home school, virtual learning, Prenda Micro School) or find schools by visiting:
Schola: http://bit.ly/Find-School
Private School Review: https://www.privateschoolreview.com/arizona
Niche: https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-private-k12-schools/s/arizona/
Sign your ESA digital Contract and submit it to AZ Dept. of Education
Once the ADE receives your signed contract they will send you email instructions on how to register for the parent portal and Class Wallet
Read and review the ESA Parent Handbook to learn more about how to use ESA funds:
Create your Online ID with Class Wallet (once made available): https://esa.azed.gov/Account
Use your ESA funds and create a folder or tracking system to track expenses and invoices to submit via Class Wallet
Join thousands of parents already using ESA’s on Facebook:
ESA Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AZESANetwork/
ESA Families: https://www.facebook.com/groups/arizonaesafamilies/?ref=share
Share your story with other families and earn $50 once your story is published: voicesforchoice.net
American Federation for Children is a free resource to help parents. We are happy to help you through the application process. This could be one of the best decisions you ever make for your child. We must act quickly though, time is running out!
Best regards, Gaby Ascencio Community Outreach Manager for Arizona American Federation for Children C. 480-246-9745
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