Governor Doug Ducey funded school vouchers with federal COVID-19 relief aid

In August, when COVID-19 seemed to be receding as a health problem,
and as public schools ramped up for in-person education lessons
with masking mandates, Gov. Doug Ducey offered parents who didn’t
like those rules an alternative. He said the state would
provide vouchers worth up to $7,000 per student to those approved
for a grant intended to sidestep masking, promote in-person
learning and use federal emergency stimulus funds to do so. Stacey
Barchenger, who covers the Ducey administration for The Arizona
Republic, has gone over the records to see how the early stages of
the controversial new program are working out. A closer examination
of the program reveals that it’s not just the U.S. Department of
Education, public schools across Arizona and public health
officials who are unhappy with it so far. In this week's episode of
The Gaggle, host Ronald J. Hansen speaks with Barchenger about the
demand for vouchers, how the state is doing at approving requests,
the allocation of money and more.  Learn more about your ad
choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices