Education
Moms sue Dept. of Ed over ESA requirements demanded by Arizona AG
Two Arizona mothers are suing the state Department of Education over curriculum requirements for the school voucher program that Attorney General Kris Mayes has instructed the department to enforce. The Empowerment Scholarship Account, or ESA program, works by giving the parents of participating students a debit card that can be used to pay for various […]
Federal appeals court continues block on Arizona transgender sports law
A federal court continued a lower court block on an Arizona law that restricts transgender students on sports teams.
Tom Horne is trying to deceive us with his false voucher numbers
Tom Horne, our state’s Republican superintendent of public instruction, isn’t known for cozying up to the truth. But his latest attempt to spin private school voucher numbers marks a new low even for him. Last week, Horne fired off a press release bragging that the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA), the formal name for the universal […]
Supreme Court keeps lock on Biden’s student loan repayment plan
WASHINGTON (CN) — After an extended delay, the Supreme Court on Wednesday kept President Joe Biden’s student loan repayment plan on pause, rejecting a pair of emergency applications to the court. Biden’s SAVE program (a backronym for Saving on Valuable Education) was blocked by the lower courts while the justices considered an emergency appeal from […]
Hobbs calls for special audit after Horne loses millions in funding for needy schools
Gov. Katie Hobbs and legislative Democrats are calling for a special audit of some of the Arizona Department of Education’s allocations after the department lost $29 million in federal school funding because the money wasn’t spent before the deadline to use it. “I commend the members of the state legislature who are demanding accountability and […]
Contentious ‘Project 2025’ plan uses Arizona as education model
Project 2025, a contentious policy blueprint for the next Republican presidency, seeks to dramatically concentrate power in the White House while fundamentally changing how the federal government operates on nearly every front. And when it comes to overhauling public education, the sweeping right-wing manifesto borrows heavily from Arizona’s playbook. The roughly 900-page “Mandate for Leadership”—crafted […]
Teacher shortages persist in Arizona, but may be easing
WASHINGTON – A few weeks into last school year, 30% of teacher positions in Arizona remained unfilled. The shortage persists, but there are signs of improvement. Tucson Unified School District currently has 164 classroom openings – down from 300 at the same time last year. Deer Valley Unified School District is close to fully staffed. […]
Appeals court blocks Title IX rule protecting LGBTQ kids, reversing Alabama federal judge
Just a day after a federal judge struck down an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX, a federal appeals court granted the states’ request for an administrative injunction Wednesday — temporarily blocking the updated regulations from taking effect in those Southern […]
‘It was a cult’: Traumatizing troubled teens
Outside the small town of Mayer, Arizona, 14-year-old Katie Farran and other teenage girls were engaging in a ritual they had done many times before. At the Spring Ridge Academy, Farran and others gathered in a room for “Feedback Group,” a pseudo-group therapy that involves shouting grievances at other participants. The teenage girls were encouraged […]
Arizona AG investigating school voucher program for illegal payments
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is investigating the state’s school voucher program for alleged illegal payments that were approved without documentation required by state law. The Empowerment Scholarship Account program works by giving the parents of participating students a debit card that can be used to pay for various educational costs, or reimbursing the parents […]
New partnership will boost agricultural education for Indigenous students
Indigenous students will have access to more comprehensive, culturally relevant agricultural training and education under a new program by the Bureau of Indian Education and the Native American Agriculture Fund.
Only 2% of Native American remains returned to tribes: Inside ASU’s repatriation record
Thirty-four years ago, Congress granted Native American tribes a pathway to reclaim ancestors that were dug up, stored and sometimes displayed in museums. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act or NAGPRA required American institutions to return them. The road to repatriation has been long at Arizona State University. The university has made under […]