WASHINGTON – Today, Heritage Action, a conservative grassroots organization with two million grassroots activists, including thousands of Arizonans, released a statement from Executive Director Jessica Anderson thanking the Decline to Sign campaign and Arizona school choice advocates after an anti-school choice group failed to meet the threshold of valid signatures to challenge Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program on the ballot.
Arizona’s parents have spoken and they have declared victory on the most expansive school choice program in the nation. As the top-ranking state for school choice on the Heritage Foundation’s Education Freedom Report Card, Arizona has proven not only that school choice policies are effective for students, but are also the preference of parents.
Thanks to the Decline to Sign campaign and all of the volunteers who educated the public and deterred citizens from signing the petition to reverse the school choice law, Arizona families and students will continue to benefit from the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs must expedite signature verification on the petitions so that the 11,000 families and students waiting to enroll in ESAs do not face further delays in accessing the education of their choice.
BACKGROUND:
Heritage Action: Arizona Enacts Nation’s Top School Choice Law
The Heritage Foundation: Education Freedom Report Card
Jessica Anderson in the Washington Examiner: How lawmakers can defeat big education
Earlier this year, Heritage Action launched Save Our Schools, a campaign advocating for universal school choice, parental rights, and student success. The campaign has also included trainings for parents and activists in California, Virginia, and several states in between.
The Daily Signal: Apparent Victory Rings Hollow for Group Opposing School Choice