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New legal battle brews over efforts to put school voucher program to a public vote

Published  August 24, 2017 6:47pm MST
FOX 10 Phoenix

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - There is a new battle in the fight over the expansion of the school voucher program in Arizona that has been temporarily put on hold.

The Goldwater Institute has filed a lawsuit over efforts by a group called "Save Our Schools". The group claims they have gathered more than enough signatures to block the expansion of the school choice program, and let voters decide its fate.

People with SOS reportedly gathered more than 100,000 signatures to block Senate Bill 1431, until the 2018 November election. Now, lawyers are involved, and say the signatures aren't all valid, one of the reason being an error in the paperwork that the referendum committee filed with the Secretary of State. The description of the bill is reportedly wrong.

The bill expanded a program, which allowed parents to use a taxpayer-funded savings account to pay for private school tuition. Save Our School supporters say that's taking money away from already under-funded public schools.

Lead lawyer of the case Korey Langhofer says with the referendum pending, families can't use the program.

"If we put that law on pause for a year-and-a-half and wait for the next election, families who kids aren't getting a good education now can't use that law to get a better education," said Langhofer.

He says the next steps will be up to the court.