{"id":766,"date":"2023-07-25T00:40:45","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T00:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.loveyourschool.org\/arizona\/?p=766"},"modified":"2023-11-29T00:41:20","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T00:41:20","slug":"counting-crows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loveyourschool.org\/arizona\/2023\/07\/25\/counting-crows\/","title":{"rendered":"Counting Crows"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the coolest things I did in college (well, my kids don\u2019t think so) was being a part of a student group that put on a sold-out concert at the University of Arizona with\u00a0Counting Crows<\/a>\u00a0in 2001. I know \u2013 so random, right? The tickets were like $11 \u2013 and as a result, students decided to camp outside Centennial Hall the night before to ensure they got one of these smoking deals. I was only 19 and I was so worried about something happening at the ticket-campout so I camped out too, somehow hoping nothing crazy would happen on my watch. I slept on a concrete bench and got like three hours of sleep. The concert sold out and Counting Crows was just as incredible as we could have hoped. They played like 18 songs and even came outside after to sign memorabilia for fans.<\/p>\n

Here are some photos I found from the AZ Daily Wildcat in 2001 by Kevin Klaus:<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Looking back on that event, with my now much older memory (yes, this was 20 years ago) all I remember is that it was CRAZY! I didn\u2019t know the first thing about planning a concert then. I remember flipping through a magazine of some sort that was used for booking musicians. I kid you not, it had their name, estimated costs, and the names of their agents or booking company. And you just called them. If they were interested, you could sign a contract and they\u2019d come. Ah, the good ol\u2019 days!<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t it always seem to go
\n<\/i><\/b>That you don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve got till it\u2019s gone
\n<\/i><\/b>They paved paradise
\n<\/i><\/b>And put up a parking lot\u201d
\n<\/i><\/b>Big Yellow Taxi \u2013 Counting Crows version\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

ESA Debit cards: gone?<\/b><\/h4>\n

If you\u2019ve heard anything out of Arizona since the Universal ESA program passed in the past several months, you\u2019ve likely heard something here and there about debit cards that some families have, and some do not. Let\u2019s clarify the issue, and talk about why it\u2019s an issue in the first place. My goal with this Mixtape is to help policy makers and state leaders realize\u00a0they may not know what a good thing they\u2019ve got in debit cards . . . until they\u2019re gone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Bank of America cards to a Marketplace<\/b><\/h4>\n

When our older kids initially qualified for an ESA in 2018-2019, we were issued a Bank of America debit card to utilize our Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA). The process was straightforward: we would upload receipts and credentials for each transaction. You had to make sure that all your expenses were accounted for, in order to receive the next quarter\u2019s funding.<\/p>\n

About a year later, the program transitioned to using a third-party vendor so that we could have an online marketplace to make purchases through. Families were told we wouldn\u2019t lose our debit cards, but that quickly changed. The online marketplace was difficult, most of our vendors weren\u2019t in it, and all of a sudden a lot of families saw our services for our kids come to a screeching halt during the transition. Thanks to some incredible ESA parent advocates who challenged the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) \u2013 (run by Kathy Hoffman at the time), debit cards were given to ALL ESA families who wanted them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that not all families wanted or needed a card. That\u2019s because their child may have been attending an online or in-person private school and they were happy with the \u201cpay vendor\u201d option that was provided. Arizona families on an ESA prior to February 2023 had four ways to make purchases once debit cards were reinstated in 2021:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Online marketplace (shop inside the platform)<\/li>\n
  2. Pay vendor (selecting the company inside the system and uploading the invoice)<\/li>\n
  3. Reimbursement (spend your own money, get paid back)<\/li>\n
  4. Debit card (pay with the card, upload the receipt or invoice in your child\u2019s account)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Why is a Debit Card Needed?<\/b><\/h4>\n

    First and foremost, the flexibility debit cards provide empowers families who need it the most to access the educational resources their children need. I also strongly urge free-market folks and education policy leaders to support the use of debit cards and continue to appreciate the beauty of ESAs in \u201cunbundling\u201d a child\u2019s education. Debit cards can play a key role in this unbundling.<\/p>\n

    Those who oppose the use of debit cards\u2013 both inside and outside the school choice movement\u2013 often express an unwarranted concern over misuse and ignore both the benefits they provide and the safeguards in place to prevent misuse. It\u2019s important for policy makers to remember the following:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The families who benefit the most from debit cards are those who are low-income or have a child with a qualifying disability or who live in rural communities. To state it another way, the\u00a0lack<\/i>\u00a0of a debit card option disproportionately impacts low-income or special needs or rural children.<\/li>\n
    2. Much of the apprehension toward debit cards, even from national school choice groups and education policy folks, seems to be based on a misunderstanding of how the cards would work in an ESA program and a lack of understanding of the benefits they provide. (I don\u2019t care much what anti-school choice groups say. You could buy the exact same textbook with an ESA that is used in a district classroom and they\u2019d still cry foul).<\/li>\n
    3. In Arizona, where debit cards have been used for several years, the incidence of\u00a0misused funds is less than 1%<\/a>. I wonder how this compares to other government programs?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What Happened In Arizona?<\/b><\/h4>\n

      The debit card fiasco in Arizona has been so confusing and frustrating for ESA families, especially for those who were issued a debit card for one child, but couldn\u2019t get one for the other. Families have been allowed to request a debit card since it became \u201coptional\u201d in 2021. This continued even after the Universal ESA law went into effect in late September 2022. Then, in early February 2023, current ESA families were told via a weekly update from ADE that no more ESA cards would be issued. This created an unfair situation with \u201chave\u201d and \u201chave nots\u201d within the ESA program.<\/p>\n

      ESA parents heard two conflicting justifications for why no new debit cards would be issued:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. One explanation was that the change in policy was to address misuse of scholarship funds. However, those who already had a card could keep it.<\/li>\n
      2. Another explanation was that there were no actual issues with misspending, but that managing debit cards for so many students was untenable for ADE staff. The program could simply not be scaled if debit cards were issued to new participants.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Obviously, this left parents, vendors, private schools, pretty much everyone, extremely frustrated and even more confused! Which was true, and why are we removing this option, when the majority of ESA families are not asking for a debit card?<\/p>\n

        Concerned parents spoke up at meetings, provided feedback (when there was still a decent online form to give feedback), sent emails, asked for data, for clarification, for some honesty around the issue. They still haven\u2019t gotten it.<\/p>\n

        So, Where Are We Now?<\/b><\/h4>\n

        We are at the same place we were in February 2023. Some parents have cards, like me (phew, most of my vendors require that I pay with the card and not through the online system) and a growing majority of parents, those who applied after February, do not. Do ESA families know if debit cards are going away entirely? Nope. Do we know if all families will finally get this option as they should? No again.<\/p>\n

        I get asked weekly from parents, \u201cWhere are we at now on the debit card thing?\u201d Their guess is as good as mine \u2013 no one knows because no one has communicated with parents.<\/p>\n

        Considerations:\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n
          \n
        1. When crafting ESA programs, policy makers should consider that families unbundling their child\u2019s education will need more than just an online marketplace to make purchases.<\/li>\n
        2. Not all families will need a card to access their scholarship funds, but those that do are likely unable to do reimbursement or live in areas where getting their vendor on a platform is exceptionally difficult.<\/li>\n
        3. Tracking misspending and fraud, just like in any government program, is essential and should be a top priority. However, when analyzing and reporting the misuse of ESA funds it should be done in comparison with misspending in public schools and other government programs like Medicare and SNAP.<\/li>\n
        4. Do we trust parents? Is that really true? Or are we going to live in fear of supposed misspending and regulate ESAs to the point where no families want to use them. States need to decide where they stand.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Arizona\u2019s weekly ESA update includes a chart showing orders to be processed: (this one is from June 30, 2023)<\/p>\n

          \"\"<\/p>\n

          What type of payment method do parents appear to use the most? Well, according to the chart \u2013 the answer is pretty clear. It\u2019s the debit card option. Shouldn\u2019t we support a broad range of free-market solutions, including debit cards, when it comes to ESA programs?<\/p>\n

          Warmly,<\/p>\n

          \"\"<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Listen to \u201cBig Yellow Taxi\u201d by Counting Crows<\/a><\/p>\n

          \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          One of the coolest things I did in college (well, my kids don\u2019t think so) was being a part of a student group that put on a sold-out concert at the University of Arizona with\u00a0Counting Crows\u00a0in 2001. I know \u2013 so random, right? The tickets were like $11 \u2013 and as a result, students decided 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