On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department advised Governor Doug Ducey that his administration’s use of federal funds to give parents a choice of schools in order to protect children from questionable COVID-19 protocols will not be tolerated.
Ducey responded defiantly in a string on Twitter:
Here in Arizona, we trust families to make decisions that are best for their children. It’s clear that President Biden doesn’t feel the same. He’s focused on taking power away from American families by issuing restrictive and dictatorial mandates for his own political gain.
After the many challenges of last year, it should be our top priority to get our kids caught up. That’s exactly what this program does — it gives families in need the opportunity to access critical educational resources. Why is the president against that?
Here in Arizona, we trust families to make decisions that are best for their children. It’s clear that President Biden doesn’t feel the same. He’s focused on taking power away from American families by issuing restrictive and dictatorial mandates for his own political gain. 1/ https://t.co/oeoNIzgOtq
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) October 5, 2021
In August, Ducey announced that his administration was providing $163 million in grants for public and charter schools that were in compliance with a law passed by the Legislature this year that prohibited mask mandates in schools. Ducey also made available $10 million in federal funds to provide up to $7,000 per student to families who were forced to find new schools for their children because their original schools refused to follow Arizona law.
In a letter to Ducey, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo claimed that the programs are “not a permissible use” of the COVID-19 relief funds.
“We are concerned that two recently created Arizona grant programs undermine evidence-based efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19,” wrote Adeyemo.
Adeyemo told Ducey that the state had 30 days to describe how it “will remediate the issues with the two programs described above.” If Ducey fails to respond, the feds will attempt to claw back the cash.
The Treasury began investigating Ducey’s programs at the request of Rep. Greg Stanton. Stanton is best known for participating in a House Transportation Committee vote while on a boat as his fellow Arizonans were in their homes as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown.
“There’s no getting around it: I messed up and I’m sorry for it. I participated in the five-hour markup mostly from inside and went outside to watch my kids (while listening in the entire time) shortly before the vote was called,” Stanton said at the time in a tweet.
There’s no getting around it: I messed up and I’m sorry for it. I participated in the five-hour markup mostly from inside and went outside to watch my kids (while listening in the entire time) shortly before the vote was called.
— Rep. Greg Stanton (@RepGregStanton) July 17, 2020
“I applaud Governor Ducey for doing all he can to provide more education options for Arizona families through this unprecedented time,” said Steve Smith of the American Federation for Children. “It is alarming that anyone, especially elected officials whose responsibility it is to advocate for Arizonans, would not only oppose these options but then actively lobby the federal government to take these resources away from families. It’s all the more frustrating considering the fact that 97% of the $190 Billion in federal relief funds have gone to public schools that in many cases, are still sitting on it.”