teachers
Lawsuits over critical race theory bans are coming. Here’s what won’t work — and what might.
As states and school districts started threatening teachers with disciplinary action for teaching about systemic racism, the question naturally arose: Does this violate the teachers’ First Amendment rights? The First Amendment protects free speech against government punishment, outside of something as extreme as a threat of violence. A school district is a government agency. So […]
GOP lawmakers said ‘NO’ to Arizona students and teachers
Ducey and Arizona’s Republican legislators made their priorities crystal clear this year. They said NO to fully funding education and NO to millions of working families, but gave a resounding YES to wealthy special interests and campaign donors.
School’s out: What’s the post-pandemic catch-up plan, especially for children of color?
Tangled up in the controversy over how quickly children should return to the classroom given the COVID-19 health crisis is the still largely unappreciated catastrophe involving the damage being done to our education system, especially when it comes to the poor and communities of color.
Arizona teachers have the lowest wages in the nation, report finds
A new report shows that the nearly 53,000 teachers in Arizona have the lowest wages in the nation on average.
Education secretary nominee: teachers should be prioritized for COVID vaccines
WASHINGTON — The president’s pick to lead the U.S. Education Department said Wednesday that he wants teachers at the front of the line for vaccinations as local leaders debate reopening schools amid the pandemic.
Deficit or surplus, Republicans will always have an excuse to stiff students
Arizona’s claim to fame during the Great Recession was leading the nation in funding cuts to public education. Back then, our Republican leaders claimed this embarrassing distinction was not their fault: The state was broke, so lawmakers had no choice but to implement an austerity budget and slash billions from education.
Add COVID-19 to list of things driving Arizona teachers from jobs
Arizona schools have long struggled with teacher shortages but the problem was made worse this year by COVID-19, which has led to more teachers quitting or taking leave, school officials said.
Hoffman ‘not optimistic’ schools will be ready to open Aug. 17
Arizona Schools Superintendent Kathy Hoffman said July 15 that the already delayed Aug. 17 start of in-person classes may have to be pushed back again in light of continuing concerns about COVID-19 safety.
Better funded schools would show real appreciation for Arizona teachers
Teacher Appreciation Week is going to be different this year, as schools are closed and daily life is hugely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. But it is exactly because of times like this that we should show our public schools and our teachers how much they mean to all of us.
Arizona lawmakers are failing Native American students
State legislators are letting down Native American students in Arizona. In my four years as director of Indian education at the Arizona Department of Education, I requested state funds for the Office of Indian Education every year. The goal was simple: Improve the access and quality of education for every Native American student, teacher, aide […]
Ducey’s budget calls for new investigators for teacher misconduct
The state would have more investigators to look into teachers accused of misconduct, under the budget proposal unveiled Friday by Gov. Doug Ducey.
New push to tax wealthiest Arizonans for K-12 funding launches
Arizona schools would get nearly $1 billion in new funding annually from a tax on the wealthiest Arizonans, under a proposal unveiled Monday by a coalition of teachers, unions and public education advocates.