on the bill Wednesday morning but held it, a sign that it might not have the votes needed to advance.

The Republic found that during the 2015-16 school year, the program accounted for $20.6 million being taken out of public schools that were rated A or B. Only $6.3 million was taken from schools rated C or D by the Arizona Department of Education, far less than the share of C and D schools statewide.

This is the first time the program's statewide impact on school funding has been made public. Several school districts contacted by The Republic said they were unaware of how much money empowerment scholarships had taken from their state funding.

With this story, the newspaper is publishing a database of the impact on districts statewide.

Database: Search forautistic, might have gotten lost in the public-school system, unable to keep up with the work and struggling with social interactions, according to Jackie Taylor, Noah's mom.

Two years ago, Noah, then 14, dreaded going to his neighborhood public school in Gilbert.

He was in special-education classes and largely spent his days isolated from other kids, Jackie said. He often didn't get the attention he needed, she said.

Noah ate lunch alone at his desk and spent recess in the library buried in Greek mythology books to avoid being bullied. He began to wear hooded sweatshirts so he could cover his head during class and zone out or fall asleep.

"I never really fit in," said Noah, now 16.

Jackie and Tim Taylor were convinced their son would be unable to live on