Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

As teachers, students and their families eagerly wait to hear when they will return to the classroom, education policy wonks, advocates and school districts are trying to figure out how they’ll spend coming federal money.

Arizona's three state universities have announced tuition proposals for the 2020-2021 academic year, proposing increases for some students but holding steady for others while waiting to decide in still other categories.

An audit into the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program management shows that the Arizona Department of Education needs to hire 21 additional full-time employees in order to run it smoothly.

As Arizona is reeling from the fallout of COVID-19 and people are sitting somewhere between preparation and panic, an unlikely duo has formed to put partisan politics aside during the pandemic.

The state's estimated 86,000 high school seniors won't be prevented from graduating just because the governor shut down Arizona schools through the end of the academic year.

Republicans in the House and Senate have filed legislation to allow teachers to educate their students in “alternative” formats as schools grapple with statewide closures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

On a 3-6 vote Tuesday the Senate Education Committee quashed legislation which would have allowed these colleges to start offering baccalaureate degrees.

Fueled by additional state dollars, Arizona schools are spending a greater percentage of their available dollars this year in the classroom than last year.

An organization of public school supporters wants voters to limit the number of vouchers of state tax dollars that parents can use to send their children to private and parochial schools.

A pair of Republican state senators plans to independently amend an Empowerment Scholarship Accounts bill to change partial oversight of the program and establish a plan to determine what happens to unused money in accounts with high balances.