SB 1553 Summary

• Establishes Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program for students with disabilities, allowing parents to withdraw students from public schools and receive 90% of the base support level funding for qualified educational expenses.

• Eligible students must have a documented disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act or be identified as a child with a disability by a school district, and must have attended public school for at least 100 days before transferring to a qualified school.

• Funds deposited in accounts can be used for tuition at nonpublic schools, textbooks, tutoring, educational therapies, curriculum, standardized testing fees, and postsecondary institution expenses.

• Parents must sign an agreement committing to provide education in core subjects (reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies, and science), withdraw the student from public school, and use funds only for authorized educational purposes.

• Department of Education administers the program with treasurer managing accounts through contracted private financial firms; department conducts random audits and can remove families for non-compliance with account usage requirements.