Parent Guide: ESA Is The Right Choice! Why Are Parents and Students Being Left Out?

Almentia Academy will be enrolling select ESA students on a first come first serve basis. If you have applied for Arizona ESA, and are awaiting an acceptance letter, (Check your 19/20 Application Status) your student can enroll now and start taking classes within 24 hours. We are a qualified school eligible to receive ESA applicants, and accept payments from a parent to cover tuition throughout the year. During each Quarter, (July 2019, October 2019, January 2020, April 2020) you will receive an Invoice from Almentia KG, Llc to submit payment for tuition. You will then submit your paid invoice as a Quarterly expense report to Arizona ESA. A non-refundable $150 registration and tech fee due at the time of registration applies. Paying the registration fee now allows your student to be enrolled in Almentia Academy’s Private Online School, no advance payment required. Please contact our ESA liaison Aimee Jones at 480-577-2831 for further details. Available seats are filling up fast. Don’t delay!

Many parents and hundreds of students are in limbo waiting for the Arizona Department of Education (DOE) to approve their Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) applications. Ironically, parents have been waiting for AZ.gov to release the A-F letter grades for Arizona public schools. The letter grade is one criteria to qualify for the ESA funds. Students who attended a “D” or “F” rated school during the 2018/2019 school year will qualify if they met the 100-day-rule in a public or charter school during 2018/2019. However, without the letter grades, the ESA program administrators have not been able to determine if a student qualifies under that criteria to which there is no excuse.

It is evident the ESA program and AZ Department of Education is out of compliance with the law and statue. Statue 15-2403. Empowerment scholarship accounts; administration; audit; rules. Statue G. states “The department shall accept applications between July 1 and June 30 of each year.  The department shall enroll and issue an award letter to eligible applicants within forty-five days after receipt of a completed application and all required documentation. On or before May 30 of each year, the department shall furnish to the joint legislative budget committee an estimate of the amount required to fund empowerment scholarship accounts for the following fiscal year. The department shall include in its budget request for the following fiscal year the amount estimated in section 15-2402, subsection C for each qualified student.”

Parents, don’t give up, stay vigilant, and make sure you adhere to the ESA rules; because they will certainly hold you accountable. If you pay your student’s private school tuition before you receive an acceptance letter, ESA will not reimburse you for the cost. If you do not submit a Pupil Withdrawal Document within 60 days of receiving the approval letter, your application will be closed and you must reapply. If you plan to use ESA funds to attend a private online school, do not file an affidavit of intent to home-school. Most importantly, utilize the language of the statue, and exercise you right to an appeal if your application is rejected. “A parent may appeal the department’s decision pursuant to title 41, chapter 6, article 10.”

HEAR WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT ESA

The Right Way: Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Supports Parents And Students

The Right Way: 1 in 5 Students Qualify For Arizona ESA

Left Out: Navajo Families Denied ESAs

Left Out: The Military Family ESA Loophole Causing Heartbreak!

Left Out: Why Are ESA Approvals On Hold?

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