This bill proposes significant updates to the Arizona Revised Statutes concerning Arizona empowerment scholarship accounts. Key changes include new requirements for applicants and qualified schools, such as the necessity for all school personnel to possess a valid fingerprint clearance card and meet specific educational qualifications. Additionally, qualified schools must report their graduation rates and excessive absences to the department annually, and new financial performance requirements are introduced for schools receiving funds from the scholarship accounts. The bill also mandates that the department provide clear notifications regarding the rights waived by parents when enrolling in the program. Furthermore, it changes the frequency of fund transfers from quarterly to monthly and establishes stricter guidelines for allowable expenses, including prohibiting the use of funds for luxury goods or services. Moreover, the bill enhances oversight by requiring annual audits of qualified schools and mandating the department to develop a financial transparency portal. It also introduces new requirements for the auditor general to conduct performance audits of the Arizona empowerment scholarship accounts program, including evaluating whether the program's objectives are being met and holding public hearings for testimony from the public and department officials. Additionally, qualified schools must post information about the percentage of scholarship funds spent in the classroom on their websites and submit regular status reports on audit findings to the auditor general. The bill expands the definition of entities that can provide information regarding a person's qualifications to include qualified schools and clarifies that current school personnel must comply with new fingerprint clearance card requirements within six months of the law's enactment, ensuring comprehensive coverage of relevant laws.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 15-106, 15-2402, 15-2403, 15-2407, 15-2408, 23-1361, 41-619.51, 41-1279.03, 41-1750, 41-1758, 41-1758.01, 41-1758.08, 15-183, 15-512, 15-766, 15-2401, 15-505, 15-534.04, 28-9551, 15-802, 15-185, 15-943, 35-190, 2020-2021, 35-113, 15-2401.01, 15-2404, 93-380, 15-241, 15-914, 13-2310, 15-161, 41-2954, 41-2952, 41-619.57, 8-804, 41-619.55, 3-314, 8-105, 8-322, 8-463, 8-509, 8-802, 15-503, 15-534, 15-763.01, 15-782.02, 15-1330, 15-1881, 17-215, 28-3228, 28-3413, 32-122.02, 32-122.05, 32-122.06, 32-823, 32-1232, 32-1276.01, 32-1284, 32-1297.01, 32-1904, 32-1941, 32-1982, 32-2022, 32-2063, 32-2108.01, 32-2123, 32-2371, 32-3430, 32-3620, 32-3668, 32-3669, 32-3922, 32-3924, 32-4222, 32-4128, 36-113, 36-207, 36-411, 36-425.03, 36-446.04, 36-594.01, 36-594.02, 36-766.01, 36-882, 36-883.02, 36-897.01, 36-897.03, 36-3008, 41-619.53, 41-1964, 41-1967.01, 41-1968, 41-1969, 41-2814, 41-4025, 46-141, 46-321, 42-6106, 42-6107, 28-6392, 28-6533, 13-3601, 32-2422, 32-2441, 32-2612, 32-2622, 41-1758.03, 41-1758.07, 41-2411, 14-5303, 14-5407, 14-5206, 14-5304, 14-5401, 14-5651, 13-3827, 15-550, 8-453, 99-169, 13-3825, 8-341, 41-619.52, 13-3623, 35-146, 35-147, 41-1758.04, 92-544