GOP-led Arizona Senate panel OKs school voucher expansions

By BOB CHRISTIE
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Senate’s Education Committee has approved a major expansion of the state’s school voucher program. All Republicans backed the proposal on Tuesday over protests from minority Democrats who called the bill a slap in the face of voters who rejected a slightly larger expansion in 2018. Glendale Republican Sen. Paul Boyer’s bill would make all children attending schools with a high percentage of low-income families or who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches eligible for the state’s voucher program. Children of police, firefighters, nurses and military veterans would also qualify. The program allows parents to take state funding and pay for religious or other private education and education costs.