Education
Parents want answers on how ESA money is spent
Parents whose children go to public schools and those whose kids attend private schools through Arizona’s universal school voucher program want more transparency about how the program uses tax money to pay student tuition at private schools. The Empowerment Scholarship Account program has existed since 2011, originally created to help special education students, those attending […]
Why did county attorney Rachel Mitchell appear at an anti-LGBTQ hate group’s event?
A Moms for Liberty event that took place in Mesa last week applauded state legislators who have actively promoted anti-LGBTQ+ policies. But the event also included Rachel Mitchell, the Maricopa County attorney, who has in the past remained silent on the debate waged by conservative lawmakers on LGBTQ+ rights in public schools. The full meeting […]
‘You think that you’re dumb’: Graduates of AZ’s English immersion model say it was traumatizing
As the Arizona Department of Education continues its fight to teach English language learners through full immersion, the department’s deputy chief said that she’s never heard that the learning model contributes to mental health issues for students. But several former students who learned English that way told the Arizona Mirror that their experience with full […]
There are no rules for school vans because the council tasked with making them has no members
Who is ensuring that the people driving vans full of K-12 students in Arizona are properly qualified? Not the Student Transportation Advisory Council, which is tasked with making recommendations for the use of those vans, because the council effectively doesn’t exist — and hasn’t for at least a year. When lawmakers passed a bill last […]
GOP senators accuse University of Arizona nursing school of ‘grooming’ children
Arizona Senate Republicans are accusing the University of Arizona school of nursing of “stealing the innocence of young children” by instructing doctoral candidates on how to discuss gender identity issues with patients. In a Friday morning statement, the Republicans accused the school of “catering to a radical left agenda” after learning that students at the […]
Hobbs, Horne spar over federal COVID aid for private schools
Nearly $27 million in federal pandemic aid for private schools is in limbo while the Arizona Department of Education and the Governor’s Office spar over who has the authority to spend it. On Friday, Gov. Katie Hobbs sent a letter to Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, accusing him of dragging his feet when it […]
Horne sues AG, governor over dual language instruction in Arizona schools
Arizona’s public schools chief is taking the governor and attorney general to court in an ongoing spat over how English Language Learner students should be taught. On Wednesday, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, a Republican, filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court asking the judge to settle a disagreement over the interpretation of […]
Horne cancels $70 million in COVID-19 funding to set up tutoring program
State schools chief Tom Horne is canceling millions of dollars in contracts funded by COVID-19 aid that his Democratic predecessor awarded to Arizona education programs in order to funnel the money into a new tutoring program for struggling students. But the tutoring will help only about 10% of the students who are falling behind academically. […]
Millions enrolled in new student loan repayment program
WASHINGTON — More than 4 million federal student loan borrowers are enrolled in the Biden administration’s new repayment program, according to figures released Tuesday by the Department of Education. With the pause of more than three years on federal student loan repayments coming to an end in October, and the Supreme Court’s summer decision to […]
First-year students jump at NAU, including a record number of Indigenous students
As Arizona’s three universities welcomed students back for the school year last month, Northern Arizona University saw the largest number of first-year Arizona resident students in its history, including an influx of first-time Indigenous students. NAU had a 47% increase in new Indigenous students this fall semester, bringing NAU’s total Indigenous student enrollment to an […]
Tom Horne is targeting LGBTQ students, and putting them at risk in the process
If anyone had told me when I started advocating on behalf of my peers in a racially diverse school district in downtown Phoenix several years ago that, rather than focusing on the worryingly low number of school counselors or the mold I saw growing on the boys bathroom ceiling, we would instead see elected officials […]
Schools chief says AZ schools shouldn’t let trans kids use their preferred bathroom
Arizona’s top education official is continuing to lash out at trans inclusive policies, issuing a statement advising public schools across the state to keep school facilities, like bathrooms and locker rooms, separated by biological sex. “The Arizona Department of Education strongly advises that schools not initiate a policy that allows biological boys to use restrooms, […]