Southwest
Arizona homeschooling moms say state imposing burdensome regulations with policy change: 'Feels deliberate'
Arizona homeschooling parents are accusing the state of imposing burdensome regulations on families after Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes cracked down on the state’s voucher program requirements this summer.
Homeschooling moms Velia Aguirre and Rosemary McAtee are plaintiffs in a new lawsuit, filed by The Goldwater Institute, against the state of Arizona, Arizona Department of Education and Superintendent Thomas Horne. Aguirre and McAtee participate in the school’s Empowerment Scholarship Account “ESA,” which gives homeschooling families 90% of state taxpayer dollars that would otherwise go to the public school district or charter schools to purchase educational materials, including books and supplemental materials, for their children’s schooling.
The suit alleges that in July, AG Mayes issued “legal threats” to the Department of Education to make sure every ESA purchase had a curriculum tied to it. Goldwater says that the education department is now rejecting reimbursement requests from ESA families for the purchase of “basic educational materials,” including things like pencils and erasers, “unless parents could provide an explicit ‘curricular’ document justifying the use of each specific book title or material for their child.”
“It’s very hard. Because I’m spending several hours a week developing curriculum for things I’ve never had to develop curriculum for when I was a district employee or being in the program for four years,” Aguirre told Fox News Digital.
“So it’s cumbersome. It’s really time-consuming. It’s burdensome,” she added. “It feels like I have to present this false narrative of developing a curriculum for erasers or pencils or colored markers.”
Arizona homeschooling parents Velia Aguirre, left, and Rosemary McAtee, right, are suing the state of Arizona and Department of Education over new requirements to the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account “ESA” program that they say imposes burdensome regulations on parents. (The Goldwater Institute)
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“It’s just odd because the attorney general just seems to lack a lot of knowledge with the whole ESA program entirely. It’s really causing strain, and it feels deliberate, being imposed on families that already have it hard educating children with developmental delays,” Aguirre said.
Aguirre teaches her three boys with special needs at home and draws on her experience as a former public school Special Education teacher to develop lessons, activities and goals tailored to each of her children’s specific needs. But the lawsuit says when she submitted receipts for several educational materials, including the classic novel, “Where the Red Fern Grows;” a periodic table of elements; math and spelling activity books; and pencils and erasers to the department in August, her reimbursement request was denied.
Parents are already required to submit expense receipts for every item purchased with the scholarship funds, the suit says. It alleges the new requirement imposes a burden on parents that “violates state law and state regulations” while adding to the “backlog of tens of thousands of purchase orders awaiting review” and puts a “senseless burden” on parents.
The second plaintiff, Rosemary McAtee, has homeschooled seven of her nine children with funding from the ESA program since 2019. She also had her purchases denied by the state after she bought four books, including the children’s classic “Brown Bear, Brown, Bear What Do You See?,” and a Catholic Encyclopedia for Children.
Both moms appealed these denials, the suit shows, but the Board of Education denied them, citing the need to provide a formal curriculum that includes these books.
Arizona homeschooling parents in the suit say the state has made their jobs much tougher with new regulations. (iStock)
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“I honestly am kind of afraid to buy anything now because if they can change the rules at the drop of a hat, and break the law, – it does break the law that the legislature put in 2020 — it just leaves me with a question mark of, ‘Am I going to be stuck carrying thousands of dollars that I’m waiting to be reimbursed on, and then they’re going to deny me, even if it meets my contract to my curriculum?’” McAtee told Fox News Digital.
According to Goldwater, Arizona lawmakers added clarifying language in 2020 to the law ensuring supplemental material that is not explicitly tied to a curriculum would not be denied to families in the ESA program. Additionally, they say the State Board of Education has also “approved rules for the program explicitly permitting the purchase of these materials without additional documentation.”
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Events and protests were held in downtown Los Angeles Saturday on the one-year anniversary of one of the largest immigration enforcement actions in California.
One June 6, 2025, federal agents stormed the L.A. Fashion District, arresting and detaining dozens of workers.
The enforcement action served as a catalyst, igniting a wave of subsequent raids across Southern California. In response, city leaders affirmed their “unwavering commitment to the immigrant communities” in Los Angeles, as events were held throughout the city to remember those who were deported and those whose immigration cases remain unresolved.
Protesters advocating for immigrant communities gathered outside a federal detention center in downtown Saturday, waving flags and signs. One woman was arrested during a clash with police.
The initial raid in the L.A. Garment District swept up workers, including the father of one woman who described the experience as “one of the most traumatic experiences” of their lives. This operation was among the first deportation actions that resulted in families being separated and triggered days of civil unrest.
At a commemoration event, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and the Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of L.A. stood together, vowing to protect immigrant communities living in fear.
“We all felt attacked, and I think what’s so critical today, is to know and remember and acknowledge that this is still going on every day,” Bass said.
While the Department of Homeland Security maintains that its enforcement operations target criminals, families of those detained argue that immigration enforcement terrorizes hardworking people. These families contend that many immigrants pay taxes and contribute to society, even if they are not U.S. citizens.
Immigration attorneys report that thousands of individuals are still trying to locate their loved ones. They also highlighted that hundreds of people swept up in immigration raids last year remain detained in facilities, facing medical neglect, inhumane conditions and the denial of basic due process protections.
Watch the full report from KTLA’s Sara Welch in the video at the top of this story.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTLA. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTLA staff before being published.
Los Angeles, Ca
Pasadena motorist knocked unconscious in unprovoked assault after other driver flashes high beams at him
A motorist was rendered unconscious after what authorities are calling an unprovoked attack that occurred after another driver flashed their high beams at him, authorities say.
According to the Pasadena Police Department, the victim, a 63-year-old man, was driving northbound on Raymond Avenue near Washington Boulevard when a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction flashed him around 1 a.m. Saturday.
“The victim reported that he was driving northbound on Raymond Avenue from Washington Boulevard when he observed a vehicle traveling southbound flashing its high beams at him,” a Pasadena Police Department spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. “The victim stated he stopped his vehicle and exited. He was then assaulted by an unknown suspect. The assault was unprovoked.”
The attack left the man unconscious and with a three-inch deep laceration to his head, police added. Upon regaining consciousness, the man transported himself to Huntington Hospital, and it was around 1:20 a.m. when police responded there to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon and began their investigation.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the victim told police that, due to his injuries, he was not able to provide a description of a suspect, vehicle or the weapon used, nor was he able to tell police the exact location where the assault occurred, although it was confirmed to be somewhere near Raymond Avenue and Washington Boulevard. La Pintoresca Park is located near that intersection.
No further details were immediately available.
Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to contact the Pasadena Police Department right away.
Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.
A woman was struck and killed by a driver while crossing the street on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach.
On June 3, the female pedestrian was using the crosswalk at Pacific Coast Highway and Pacific Avenue around 4:50 a.m.
She had walked against a red light and was hit by a 19-year-old driver in a Chevy sedan, Long Beach police said.
Despite lifesaving efforts, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation.
“At this time, impaired driving, distracted driving and excessive speed are not believed to be a factor in this collision,” police said.
The woman’s name is being withheld pending identification by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information on the incident is asked to call Detective Joseph Johnson at 562-570-7355.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
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